God

By: Reza Aslan

Narrated by: Reza Aslan

Length: 5 hrs and 22 mins

Publisher's Summary

The number one New York Times best-selling author of Zealot and host of Believer explores humanity's quest to make sense of the divine and sounds a call to embrace a deeper, more expansive understanding of God.

In Zealot, Reza Aslan replaced the well-worn portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his contradictions. In his new book, Aslan takes on a subject even more immense: God, writ large.

In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, Aslan narrates the history of religion as one long and remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. According to Aslan, this innate desire to humanize God is hardwired in our brains, making it a central feature of nearly every religious tradition. As Aslan writes, "Whether we are aware of it or not, and regardless if we are believers or not, what the vast majority of us think about when we think about God is a divine version of ourselves."

But this projection is not without consequences. We bestow upon God not just all that is good in human nature - our compassion, our thirst for justice - but all that is bad in it: our greed, our bigotry, our penchant for violence. All these qualities inform our religions, cultures, and governments.

More than just a history of our understanding of God, this book is an attempt to get to the root of this humanizing impulse in order to develop a more universal spirituality. Whether you believe in one God, many gods, or no god at all, God: A Human History will transform the way you think about the divine and its role in our everyday lives.

©2017 Reza Aslan (P)2017 Random House Audio

His best work yet

absolutely loved it! Reza just keeps getting better with each book this one is absolutely worth reading.

7 of 7 people found this review helpful

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thought provoking human history of God. weaves fascinating history with spiritually into an interesting perspective for anyone, no matter beliefs.

6 of 7 people found this review helpful

An interesting exploration - even for non-believer

Appreciated the narrative tone chronicling the author's own spiritual journey. Presents a thorough history of the major spiritual traditions without proselytizing.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Eloquent, continually fascinating, compelling.

This book is packed to the brim with evocative and fascinating scholarship surrounding the history of spirituality, religion, and the human connection to the Divine. Reza Aslan is a fountain of knowledge, displaying his eloquence, dexterity, and mastership of the topic, without ever coming across as insensitive or overly cynical. The final chapter, an advocacy for pantheism is compelling and the idea is something this book has convinced me to explore further. I cannot recommend this book to everyone, but to anyone who has doubted or questioned their faith tradition, this is an accessible piece of scholarship to consider.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

God: a human history

One of the best books I have read explaining the history of God through the history of experiences of man; the changes, the different cultures. I was searching to understand God in religions but this book helped me understand more and make sense of it all.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

God is dog spelled backwards...

Another excellent book from Reza Aslan. Scholarly, detailed and well researched. He does well at giving voice to philosophical thoughts in an easy calming and natural manner.

1 of 1 people found this review helpful

Fascinating and informative

I've always enjoyed Reza Aslan books. This one takes the reader back to when "humans" created God.

3 of 5 people found this review helpful

Good and incomplete treatise on god

Reza once again shows his mature and deep understanding of his subject owed most likely to his scholarship and his ethno social background. The presentation is very balanced and lacks religious leanings.
Nevertheless, i was hopeful to hear him talk about personal god vs societal religion god, god the ideal vs god the universal law and god’s role in personal and societal existence vs the detached impersonal aloof god and god the psychological mind trick vs god the logical result of a conscious mind.
Overall great project and very American in simplicity and comfort.

insightful and confirming!

A confirmation of what my personal journey has, is and will continue to be about for as long as my conscious allows! thank you profoundly Reza Aslan!

Loved it

What a book, even tho i dont entirely agree with the conclusion, loved it! i will definitely get the physical book.