Scorn
Active Member
I have an odd reading habit. I'll go a year without picking up a book then suddenly I go through a whole bunch in a very short period. I also have multiple books on the go at any given time. The three I'm at various stages of right now all happen to be books on religion.
1) A History of God. The 4000-year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
by Karen Armstrong.
Ballantine Books
A fabulous read thus far albeit dense. The cover description does a better job of describing than I could ever come close to. And thus far (nearly done) its lived up to its promise.
Why does God exist? How have the three dominant monotheistic religions-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - shaped and altered the conception of God?
How have these religions influence each other? In this stunningly intelligent book, Karen Armstrong, one of Britains foremost commentators on religious affairs, traces the history of how men and women have perceived and experienced God, from the time of Abraham to the present.
The epic story begins with the Jews' gradual transformation of pagan idol worship in Babylon into true monotheism- a concept previously unknown in the world. Christianity and Islam both rose on the foundation of this idea, but these religions refashioned The One God to suit the social and political needs of their followers. From classical philosophy and medieval mysticism to the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the modern age of skepticism, Karen Armstrong performs the near miracle of distilling the intellectual history of monotheism into one superbly readable volume destined to take its place as a classic.
Karen Armstrong is a freelance writer and broadcaster and former Roman Catholic nun.
2) The Pagan Christ Recovering the Lost Light
By Tom Harpur
Thomas Allen Publishers
I am also nearly done this book.
Tom Harpur takes us on a journey of the ancient Christ story and (according to him, although he is certainly not the first to suggest) its origins in early Egypt. His claim is that the Christ story had been retold countless times prior to the alleged time of Christ and that the position of the Son of God had previously been claimed by Horus, among others. He draws some compelling parallels of the stories of Horus and their uncanny resemblance to the NT stories we all know. Although the books has an extensive bibliography, Harpur sometimes seems a bit thin on his explanations for my liking. He draws an awful lot on the works of Alvin Boyd Kuhn who I am unfamiliar with as a writer. One could say Harpur is simply rehashing some old ideas here. But for the first timer its an interesting take on the origins of the stories. Especially if this cause one to dig deeper and derive more complete meaning form the stories.
Harpur is a columnist for the Toronto Star, A former Anglican Priest and professor of Greek and the New testament at the University of Toronto.
3)The Quantum and the Lotus
By Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan
Three Rivers Press New York
A friend just dropped this off for me yesterday. Looks great. I just started it. A snip from the back of the book will sum it up
When Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan met in the summer of 1997, they began discussing the many remarkable connections between the teachings of Buddhism and the findings of recent science. Matthieu Ricard trained as a molecular biologist, but left his life in science to become a Buddhist monk. Trinh Thuan was born into a Buddhist family in Vietnam but is now an acclaimed astrophysicist and specialist on how the galaxies formed.
The book is written in the form of a two sided discussion between these men. Back and forth on a variety of subjects.
1) A History of God. The 4000-year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam
by Karen Armstrong.
Ballantine Books
A fabulous read thus far albeit dense. The cover description does a better job of describing than I could ever come close to. And thus far (nearly done) its lived up to its promise.
Why does God exist? How have the three dominant monotheistic religions-Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - shaped and altered the conception of God?
How have these religions influence each other? In this stunningly intelligent book, Karen Armstrong, one of Britains foremost commentators on religious affairs, traces the history of how men and women have perceived and experienced God, from the time of Abraham to the present.
The epic story begins with the Jews' gradual transformation of pagan idol worship in Babylon into true monotheism- a concept previously unknown in the world. Christianity and Islam both rose on the foundation of this idea, but these religions refashioned The One God to suit the social and political needs of their followers. From classical philosophy and medieval mysticism to the Reformation, the Enlightenment, and the modern age of skepticism, Karen Armstrong performs the near miracle of distilling the intellectual history of monotheism into one superbly readable volume destined to take its place as a classic.
Karen Armstrong is a freelance writer and broadcaster and former Roman Catholic nun.
2) The Pagan Christ Recovering the Lost Light
By Tom Harpur
Thomas Allen Publishers
I am also nearly done this book.
Tom Harpur takes us on a journey of the ancient Christ story and (according to him, although he is certainly not the first to suggest) its origins in early Egypt. His claim is that the Christ story had been retold countless times prior to the alleged time of Christ and that the position of the Son of God had previously been claimed by Horus, among others. He draws some compelling parallels of the stories of Horus and their uncanny resemblance to the NT stories we all know. Although the books has an extensive bibliography, Harpur sometimes seems a bit thin on his explanations for my liking. He draws an awful lot on the works of Alvin Boyd Kuhn who I am unfamiliar with as a writer. One could say Harpur is simply rehashing some old ideas here. But for the first timer its an interesting take on the origins of the stories. Especially if this cause one to dig deeper and derive more complete meaning form the stories.
Harpur is a columnist for the Toronto Star, A former Anglican Priest and professor of Greek and the New testament at the University of Toronto.
3)The Quantum and the Lotus
By Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan
Three Rivers Press New York
A friend just dropped this off for me yesterday. Looks great. I just started it. A snip from the back of the book will sum it up
When Matthieu Ricard and Trinh Xuan Thuan met in the summer of 1997, they began discussing the many remarkable connections between the teachings of Buddhism and the findings of recent science. Matthieu Ricard trained as a molecular biologist, but left his life in science to become a Buddhist monk. Trinh Thuan was born into a Buddhist family in Vietnam but is now an acclaimed astrophysicist and specialist on how the galaxies formed.
The book is written in the form of a two sided discussion between these men. Back and forth on a variety of subjects.
Astronomy,physics ,time travel and religion for the layman.
