A History of God

A History of God is a book by Karen Armstrong that was published by Knopf in 1993. It details the history of the three major monotheistic traditions, Judaism, Christianity and Islam, along with some details on Buddhism and Hinduism. The evolution of the idea of God is traced from its ancient roots in the Middle East up to the present day. Summary Judaism Armstrong begins with the rise of the cult of Yahweh (Jahweh), one of the deities of Canaan. According to Armstrong, the cult of Yahweh consisted of a variety of ethnic groups that migrated to Canaan in three waves. These groups were united by their loyalty to Yahweh. Yahweh was unique in the ancient Middle East in that he actually participated in the profane lives of his worshipers. She then examines the sources of the Pentateuch by way of the four authors or groups of authors, known according to the Documentary hypothesis as J, E, P and D. Moreover, she explores some of the textual tensions that exist in the Pentateuch as a result of the theological tensions between these authors, or groups of authors. For Armstrong, this tension can be seen in, for example, the contrasting accounts of theophanies. The Jahwist (J) writes of very "intimate" encounters between Abraham and Yahweh, while the Elohist (E) "prefers to distance the event and make the old legends less anthropomorphic."