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The Case for God: What religion really means [Paperback]

Karen Armstrong
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
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Book Description

1 July 2010

There is widespread confusion about the nature of religious truth. For the first time in history, a significantly large number of people want nothing to do with God. Militant atheists preach a gospel of godlessness with the zeal of missionaries and find an eager audience. What has happened?

Tracing the history of faith from the Palaeolithic Age to the present, Karen Armstrong shows that meaning of words such as 'belief', 'faith', and 'mystery' has been entirely altered, so that atheists and theists alike now think and speak about God - and, indeed, reason itself - in a way that our ancestors would have found astonishing.

Does God have a future? Karen Armstrong examines how we can build a faith that speaks to the needs of our troubled and dangerously polarised world.


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Product details

  • Paperback: 384 pages
  • Publisher: Vintage; First Paperback Edition edition (1 July 2010)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0099524031
  • ISBN-13: 978-0099524038
  • Product Dimensions: 12.9 x 2.4 x 19.8 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (68 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 30,195 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Review

One of our best living writers on religion...prodigiously sourced, passionately written (Financial Times )

A journey through religion that helps us to rescue what remains wise from so much that to many in Britain today no longer seems true... Armstrong is one of the the handful of wise and supremely intelligent commentators on religion (Alain De Botton Observer )

A tour de force of learning. A hefty history of theology, philosophy and science, and how they converge, it knocks Dawkins and Hitchens into an intellectual cocked hat...Armstrong rejoices in the unknowableness of life and searches, logically enough for meaning therein (Sunday Herald )

It isn't an easy read - why should it be? - but she is wonderfully clear and insightful - and not out to convert anyone (Daily Mail )

This is a stunned appreciation of an 'otherness' beyond the reach of language, and for Armstrong, constitutes the heart of every religion (New Statesmen )

Book Description

An essential book for our times: a thoughtful, cultured response to Richard Dawkins.

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Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
175 of 181 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The answer is, there are no answers 24 Aug 2009
Format:Hardcover
A brilliantly refreshing, readable and clear run-through of the history of religion and mysticism, mostly Christianity, and looking more at the writings of scholars rather than the experience of the laity. Armstrong doesn't really make a case for God (as in the existence of God) but rather a case for the argument that we cannot know anything about God. She clearly explains why any attempt to understand God intellectually, or to define "him", is pointless and tends to lead to idolatry. Her argument is that seeking to define the nature of God is largely a product of the scientific age, but her evidence for a more uncertain approach to God being typical previously comes from the writings of certain Greek and early Christian mystics, which she paints as typical of their times, rather than unusual - something I'm not in a position to verify.

Importantly, she argues that religion is a matter of practice not "belief" (a word that now means an acceptance of something as fact, but which in the past had the connotation more of commitment, like love), and that where it is entered into, it is best done with the understanding that it is not based on any knowledge of God's nature.

This book could be seen as an argument for mysticism, but there is no attempt at conversion here. The book doesn't itself suggest why someone not already on a religious path should follow one. Religious practice might be rewarding, but no one could be expected to know that until they were well on it, after much hard work they could otherwise have avoided. My reading of the book is that those disposed to religious practice (by circumstances, upbringing or genetics) should follow the one that best suits them, but on the understanding that the choice of practice itself is of little consequence, as long as it is entered into without any belief in its factual superiority. Meanwhile, those not so disposed to do so, should not be expected to. In the end, it is an erudite plea for a greater acceptance of the state of Unknowing. Whether such a plea will find many listeners in an age where factual knowledge and certainty are held in such high regard remains to be seen.
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59 of 63 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Cool, authoritative, eloquent 7 Oct 2009
Format:Hardcover
In this book Karen Armstrong takes a calm and measured look at religion from the Palaeolithic era to the God debate of the 21st century, continuing some of the themes in her previous work on The Great Transformation (2006) and The Bible, The Biography (2007).
Her key argument is that humankind has always used mythos (religion) and logos (the logical exploration of the world) as allies in dealing with the challenges of life. Since 1500 logos has progressively taken over, delivered modernity, and demanded that religion should be subject to the same "scientific" laws as the rest of human experience.
Obviously the atheist attack by Dawkins, Hitchens and others on "the god delusion" is the latest instalment of a long debate. Armstrong contends that they set up Christian fundamentalism as an easy target, and they dismiss it without addressing mainstream theology, which has long come to terms with scientific thought and evolutionary theory.
She reminds us that God has always been a contested idea, and atheism is as old as religion. Her own preference is for a mystical, non-institutional form of religion - the Sufis in Islam, yogic Hinduism and Denys The Areopagite in medieval Christianity. They represent the "apophatic" (silent. mystical) approach to the supreme being/God/the infinite. Their theology is not easy - religion is hard work.
There is no "killer app" which tells us what religion means, just as there is no answer to the "does God exist?" question. But Armstrong steers us with assurance through the ways that humankind have tried to find meaning and purpose in their lives. She is a truly scholarly, humane and intelligent guide through the religious arguments of three millennia.
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36 of 39 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars A Missed Opportunity? 3 Aug 2009
Format:Hardcover
When I heard that Karen Armstrong was writing a book called `the Case for God' I thought it might well prove to be one of the most important books on religion published for many years. Unfortunately, having now read it, I doubt that it will prove as ground-breaking as I had hoped. The reason for this, paradoxically, comes back to a point Karen well recognises - that the concept of God is so abstruse that people throughout history have found it incomprehensible and too remote from their everyday lives to have any real meaning. Instead they have latched on to more simplistic ideas of God that might meet some immediate psychological needs but which are so shot full of contradictions as to be almost laughable to serious rational thinkers. Karen charts in lucid detail how this transformation in thinking has taken place and how theologians have struggled to put the genie back in the bottle, but it is doubtful that unsophisticated religious people will read her book, let alone understand it and assent to it. Her scholarship and erudition, impressive though they are, might in this case just be barriers to comprehension for many people. This would be a pity, as her overall message is actually quite simple - that the way for people to find meaning, hope and happiness in their lives is through their deeds and actions, to `live generously, large-heartedly and justly and to inhabit every single part of their humanity'. It would be a shame if this essentially humanist message got lost in the noise.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
3.0 out of 5 stars Depends of the reader
As with all religions this depends on the reader. The book is interesting, discussing the pros and cons of belief and arguments for and against. Read more
Published 27 days ago by Concise
3.0 out of 5 stars Small print
I have had to return this paperback because I personally found the print too small for comfortable reading. I have been reading it on Kindle and it is an excellent book. Read more
Published 1 month ago by pencilcase
1.0 out of 5 stars Very Poor - makes a good case for atheism
This isn't a very good book. I wanted it to be a good book. I read it because (falling for the marketing) I was under the impression it provided a well argued and well written... Read more
Published 1 month ago by A. Holliday
4.0 out of 5 stars A present for my mother in law
This was the book that she requested and she seems very happy with it. Sorry I can't recommend it personally.
Published 1 month ago by WendyWu
5.0 out of 5 stars Essential reading for believers and unbelievers alike.
If you feel alienated by both Christian fundamentalists and militant but theologically illiterate atheists this is the book for you, a theological treatise for those of us who... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Stafford Steve
5.0 out of 5 stars Required reading for seekers
There is so much misunderstanding and ignorance surrounding the topic of religion these days. This book is a very good guide to what religion means as a study and in human life. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Larry Lee Snow
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought provoking
Certainly provides a counterpoint to all the vocal atheists we have in society at the moment. I think this is a book which was needed to provide something of a balance. Read more
Published 3 months ago by cg
4.0 out of 5 stars Thought-provoking
Rather than presenting `a case for God', Karen Armstrong tracks the place of faith (with most focus on Christian faith) from the days of the Greek philosophers through to modern... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Michael
4.0 out of 5 stars A little arcane
I love this book. However, it is not a 'pick up and dip' book. Concentration is required. I am fascinated by the convergence of so many different routes to God. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mark
5.0 out of 5 stars The Case for God
Having read Dawkins' "The God Delusion" and enjoyed it, I knew I would have to read this book at some point to get the other side of the story. I was absolutely blown away. Read more
Published 7 months ago by John James Turner
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