An interesting, thought-provoking read which gives an alternative viewpoint on religion. Deep without being inaccessible, I really enjoyed this book.

Insightful and definitely a welcome addition to thoughts on religion and the afterlife and religious practice. Challenging and so easily readable

Went through a phase of getting "read now" books that sounded vaguely interesting. Never got around to reading this one.

Received a free copy from NetGalley

This is the first time I have read anything from this author, Reza Aslan .

I found 'God: A Human History' to be an engaging and educational read. The book is well written and an easy read. The book takes us through the human history of religion and the mans need to create god in this own image. A thought provoking book that looks at many cultures and the way they see god(s).

A good attempt to answer the an impossible question - What is God ?

I found this book informative, thought provoking and educating about the different viewpoints about God.

This is an absolutely fascinating book. Having just read a work of non-fiction that was somewhat less engaging, I approached this book with trepidation. After all, the title is specific and yet could've gone off on a number of tangents.

But I need not have worried. The writing was detailed but didn't make assumptions about knowledge either. The author is clear about their own views but I didn't feel that this resulted in bias about the information presented. And considering how large the topic could've been, it felt like an excellent summary on the history of God and particularly the imagery of God.

I would strongly advise others to read this incredibly insightful book.

This is a fascinating exploration of our changing attitudes and relationship with the idea of 'God'. A very enjoyable read.

An informative and interesting look at various depictions of deities and religions and how they have been socially constructed over time.

Having little knowledge of the history of religion, I found this a very readable and concise book. However, the lack of different viewpoints was detrimental, it would have been interesting to have other views discussed and countered.

We probably all have our own idiosyncratic views on religion and the part (if any) it plays in our lives. This book suggests how from our earliest ancestors, mankind has sought answers to unanswerable questions about the origins of life on earth and of the universe as a whole. No matter how much science uncovers there is always more to learn. It's natural to try to express what we experience in human terms, to deify creation whether in the garden of Eden or the Big Bang. I guess it's also natural to politicise what we cannot understand, to claim powers and knowledge we do not possess, to elevate arguably common sense philosophies for human interactions into a religion motivated as much by self-interest as by concern for the common good. Sadly, all too easily this search for understanding turns into a shouting match: "MY story is THE ONLY right one, and you deny that on pain of death". At the end of the day they are only stories. But the suffering and death are real.

Thought-provoking. Aslan never shies away from taking on a contentious subject, and always does it in style

I come to this book with a personal and academic interest in the subject matter. Aslan writes well and clearly but is not saying anything new or unusual, he argues against straw men for a humanistic pantheism. Cognitive theories of religion give one way in which belief in the infinite could have developed as a spandrel (accidental outworking of the necessary cognitive structures), but how would reality look different if there really was a God out there and our brains were set up so as to be able to interact with God? Aslan generalises about religion to such an extent that the specificities and complexities of the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity Islam) are melded together into generic pabulum, but it is in the specific daily life of religious communities that the divine spark, spirit and power for moral change is found. The history moves in the second half to a clear argument for Aslans conviction of pantheism- that we are all gods, there is no moral absolute and the religious search is over. He totally ignores the depth and complexities of the South Asian religions, and of the non theistic Buddhism. Glossy and shiny, a well crafted book but ultimately unsatisfying.

This is a book with a lot of footnotes and I am so glad I didn't let that put me off. It is an intelligent and well written track through the history of "God" from earliest times to today and it is fascinating. The author looks at all aspects of God, religion and faith but walks a line that doesn't follow specifically any belief.

A couple of quotes:-

"If the propensity for religious belief is inherent in our species, then, scientists reasoned, it must be a product of human evolution. There must be an adaptive advantage to it. Otherwise there would be no reason for religion to exist."

"Either way this fundamental truth remains: All is One and One is All. It is simply up to the individual to decide what "The One" is: how it should be defined, and how it should be experienced."

Those two statements show how it is possible to go through millennia and believe in 'something' even if you have no idea what that 'something' might be and the author makes clear that trying to create an image of "God" is "too slippery and unreal to work". That allows each of us from whatever part of the world to seek a spirituality that suits us.

This is an easy read and very worthwhile as a lot of deep thinking goes on here and you learn without being preached at. Recommended.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Not my usual type of reading matter, but I'm so glad I gave this book a chance. Enjoyable and thought-provoking. I will be looking out for more titles by Reza Aslan.

This is an academic storytelling of the history of human religion. The premise of the book sounded really interesting, and as someone who has an interest in religion but never studied it to any sort of capacity, I thought this could be a worthwhile read. I must admit that I did give up on the book quite early on and put it away for a few weeks, but once I got into the heart of the book, it became a a bit more intriguing. In the end, although this book is full of interesting substance, I didn't take as much from it as I hoped I would..

Aslan studies the human development between of the relationship between God and man and it’s very fascinating. A non-scientific approach with an interesting analysis that actually made me want to learn more. I hope I find the chance to read on this later.

Yet another wonderful book from Rena Allan. A very accessible overview of th3 history and development of man's belief in the divine. Thoughtful and inspiring.

From prehistoric times Man has tried to explain events and actions by reference to more powerful beings. In this book Aslan shows how the polytheism of early man has, over time, been developed into a monotheism covers the three main religions. In this respect the book is excellent, looking at the origins of religion and the ways that events are interpreted - the section on the great flood really reflects that. However there is a focus on the main religions of the West, with a slight detour to encompass Zarathustra the main ideas are about the Abrahamic religions. This is probably as they fit most closely with the theme of the book, that of Man's belief in a single being - a God. Therefore there is little reference to polytheism or to religions that do not have a 'God' in those terms. As a book on the relationship between man and god this works but not as a book on comparative religions.

A fascinating look at humankind's relationship with the divine and our deep seated need to make sense of ourselves through a spiritual lense. I found many of Aslan's arguments compelling even if I did not necessarily agree with his conclusions. However the last third of the books compares and contrasts the Abrahamic religions and Aslan draws on his own experience as someone who has converted from Islam to Christianity to Isam to Sufiism, which gave another dimension to his conclusions. While I can't hep feeling that here is a man who is continually seeking something outside himself, I also applaud the courage needed to convert not once but three times. If you genuinely believe in god and have been taught there is only one true god, one true faith, this is no easy task. I don't agree with his final conclusions in this book but the were certainly thought provoking.

I've seen Reza Aslan on television a couple of times and he had struck me as knowledgeable, passionate and a very good communicator.

In this new book of his he is attempting to explain the birth of spiritual thought, how that developed into religions and then evolved into the few monolithic monotheistic religions that both unite and divide us.

By doing so he is challenging our relationship with the divine as well as our perspective on faith and the birth of religion.

The blurb claims that it: "challenges everything we thought we knew about the origins of religious belief, and with it our relationship with life and death, with the natural and spiritual worlds, and our understanding of the very essence of human existence."

Does it live up to that blurb? Almost.

If this is the first book or even the second or third you've read on the history of religion it may well contain nuggets of interest and insight. But I've read a lot on this subject and I found very little in it that was new to me, I also saw a couple of presumptions that had no evidence to support them in the book.

I did find it pretty easy to read and the majority of it is well researched and the conclusions drawn seem reasonable.

Four Bites

NB I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in return for an honest review. The BookEaters always write honest reviews.