Karen Armstrong's A History of God

As RiverKids Director Amelia Cunard was preparing for her sermon titled "Returning to the Mystery of 'I AM'," one of the resources she consulted was Karen Armstrong's book A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam. If you are interested in checking it out, we have a copy available in the River's Lending Library!

Armstrong has a fascinating story. After spending seven years as a nun, Armstrong left the convent and proceeded to distance herself from organized religion for 13 years. After this long break from religion, while on a television broadcast assignment in Jerusalem, Armstrong had a "breakthrough experience" that defied her prior assumptions. This experience allowed Armstrong to revisit her own faith and was the inspiration for virtually all of her subsequent work as a scholar of world religions.

Interviews with Armstrong

• "Karen Armstrong on what surprised her studying scripture" on Broadview by Noelle Boughton (2020)
• ​"TED and Reddit interview Karen Armstrong" responses to the top 10 questions asked and voted on by the TED and Reddit community (2009)
• "Karen Armstrong Builds A 'Case For God'" on Fresh Air with Terry Gross (2009)
• "Religion Scholar Karen Armstrong" on Fresh Air with Terry Gross (2004)

Armstrong's Author Bio
Karen Armstrong is the author of numerous books on religion, including The Case for God, A History of God, The Battle for God, Holy War, Islam, Buddha, and Fields of Blood, as well as a memoir, The Spiral Staircase. Her work has been translated into 45 languages. In 2008 she was awarded the TED Prize and began working with TED on the Charter for Compassion, created online by the general public, crafted by leading thinkers in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Confucianism. It was launched globally in the fall of 2009. Also in 2008, she was awarded the Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Medal. In 2013, she received the British Academy’s inaugural Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Transcultural Understanding.

About A History of God
Amazon.com Review:
"Armstrong, a British journalist and former nun, guides us along one of the most elusive and fascinating quests of all time—the search for God. Like all beloved historians, Armstrong entertains us with deft storytelling, astounding research, and makes us feel a greater appreciation for the present because we better understand our past. Be warned: A History of God is not a tidy linear history. Rather, we learn that the definition of God is constantly being repeated, altered, discarded, and resurrected through the ages, responding to its followers' practical concerns rather than to mystical mandates. Armstrong also shows us how Judaism, Christianity, and Islam have overlapped and influenced one another, gently challenging the secularist history of each of these religions." —Gail Hudson