God

A Human History

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.

A must listen.

Absorve a new/old universal perspective of humanity and it's believes...

For all ears: agnostc, gnostic and sceptic.

Did I lose my faith in Reza Aslan with God?

What made the experience of listening to God the most enjoyable?

The author of the book Reza Aslan actually narrated it, I enjoyed that aspect quite a bit. The book is well written and investigated, if you like history and religion you'll like this book.

What other book might you compare God to and why?

I would compare it to Zealot life and time of Jesus...,because even though I liked that book it had some issues that he has fixed in this book.

Have you listened to any of Reza Aslan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

nopethis is the first time.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Origins of the Force jajajaja, you are going to have to read the book to know what I'm talking about.

Any additional comments?

The book is pretty good a 8 out of 10, but it does has issues and stuff that I'm not on the same page with the authors ideas, some debatable stuff that I need to investigate with other investigators, and he does omit some stuff to maintain a narritive. But he does a great job answering the question that he establishes in the introduction about the origins of the concept of God/s and it evolution.

Exceptional

The way Aslan outlines the course of religious history is beautifully detailed and clear. His performance is passionate while still distinct. A must read for any lover of religious or spiritual history.

Should Be Called a History of God through 800AD

My only criticism is that Reza Aslan essentially ends the discussion with Mohammed, and a brief review of Sufi Mysticism. There is no discussion whatsoever of the protestant reformation, Bahai, Joseph Smith, or any of the cults of the 1960s. If he called it a Human History of God through 800AD, I wouldn't complain, but he leaves a lot of fertile ground unloved. Furthermore, his conclusion that pantheism is only logical, should have just been omitted altogether. The story of humans and their relationship with God is ongoing. It didn't end with the death of Mohammed.

The Evolutuon of God

Would you listen to God again? Why?

Yes I will listen again, with all the refernces its a great book to learn more of mankinds history

What was one of the most memorable moments of God?

I like how it covers the earliest man to the views of today clearly we can see how one belief grew out of another.

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.

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!

I loved everything about this book.

I’m listening to it for the second time. A must read/listen for anyone seeking to provide the phenomenon we call God a proper historical context. So well researched and I love Reza’s voice. Overall, incredible, informative, and life changing.

Engaging storytelling builds to crescendo!

I read this a few years ago. Listened to it a few months ago. And just listened again within a two day period (mostly at 1.5 or 1.8 speed like I do when I can follow along). The fact that I went straight through this book without my normal juggling of 15 or 20 books, along with long form journalism, etc, says a lot! This subject matter is important to me and Reza Aslan conveys it masterfully. His depth of knowledge in this area is great and his telling of this complex story strikes the perfect balance of being succinct yet thorough. I now realize this will be one of those books I revisit several times (like Huston Smith’s “World Religions”) in order to gain a firmer grasp on the story of religion from the approach of its core truths. To quote Rumi, “one turning and burning diamond.”