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Title: In the Beginning: A New Interpretation of Genesis by Karen Armstrong ISBN: 0345406044 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: October, 1997 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.25
Rating: 4
Summary: A Struggle with God
Comment: The brilliant Armstrong begins her book with a description of the well known "wrestle with God". This theme pervades the book and gives the reader some hope, that our own struggles in the search for God are not in vain. She presents through a reexamination of Genesis, that the book is not what it may seem at first reading. Our reading of this first book of the bible is colored by our religious training, and this is a fresh and welcome relook. Definately worth the read. My only criticism is that there is not enough, there could have been more evaluation and footnotes. She closes her book with the first book itself, which transforms before our eyes after reading her thoughts. Highly recommended
Rating: 4
Summary: Genesis with no mention of the Nephilim!? Bah!
Comment: "In the Beginning" takes a modern look at the teachings of the book that starts it all, Genesis. I suspect that the read should be enjoyable to the believers and unbelievers alike. ( believers, excluding fundamentalists who are offended when anyone suggests anything less than orthodox about Yahweh ) In the earlier portions of Armstrong's work, she hits the nail right on the head about why people misinterpret this book. (and all of scripture for that matter) They treat scripture as a "holy encyclopedia" as she put it. They think that every word in Genesis is literal, and that evolutionary biology is gravely mistaken. Karen reminds us that, "The true meaning of scripture can never be wholly comprised in a literal reading of the text, since that text points beyond itself to a reality which cannot adequately be expressed in words and concepts. " (pp. 5) And that, "Our authors are not interested in historical accuracy." (pp. 7) We might regard a 'myth' as an untruth, but in the premodern world it was regarded as a psychological form charting the inner world. Her commentary's main focus is on the nature of religion, and God himself. She looks at it then and now, and brings up the difference in portrayal as given in the book of Genesis and modern Christian theology. She purports to show God as arbitrary, big emphasis on this, and unpredictable. Not only this but that the Genesis authors are inconsistent when writing about God, we can't fully understand the divine. She compares what "faith" was in that day, how a true religious life was lived, and the emphasis of all the great religions, kindness to others. You should try this work if you would like to open up to an alternate perspective on the God of the Israelites, and his intervention in human antiquity.
Rating: 5
Summary: A standout...
Comment: Karen Armstrong's "In the Beginning" came to me at the tail end of a two year study of Christianity. I looked at its dustjacket (a reproduction of Adam from the Sistine Chapel) with indifference, and decided to read it only because it was brief. To say I was pleasantly surprised is an understatement. For one thing, Armstrong is a lyrical writer -- as a copyeditor, I truly marveled at her sentences for both their clarity and poetry. For another, in this book she does something many clerics and scholars have failed to do: successfully apply meaning to the garbled message of Genesis.
She states her case pretty early on: there is no way to get a coherant understanding of God from reading Genesis. He is utterly contradictory -- creative and all-powerful in one story; vengeful and capricious in the next. This paradox has befuddled many of reader. I, for one, had come to think of Genesis as typical of the flawed meaninglessness of the Bible. But Armstrong has me reconsidering my conclusion. It seems clear, she says, that all the characters in Genesis have to endure afflictions and unfairness. Whether they are favored in God's eyes or not, their lives are difficult. A relationship with God doesn't spare them difficulties -- instead the meaning in their lives is derived in part by making it through their difficulties with their faith intact.
I really enjoyed this book. Just when I had grown tired of a subject, a new author has revived familiar terrain with a fresh perspective. I look forward to reading Armstrong's other books.
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Title: A History of God: The 4,000-Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity and Islam by Karen Armstrong ISBN: 0345384563 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: September, 1994 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: The Battle for God by Karen Armstrong ISBN: 0345391691 Publisher: Ballantine Books Pub. Date: 30 January, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.95 |
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Title: Islam: A Short History (Modern Library Chronicles) by Karen Armstrong ISBN: 081296618X Publisher: Modern Library Pub. Date: 06 August, 2002 List Price(USD): $11.95 |
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Title: Muhammad: A Biography of the Prophet by Karen Armstrong ISBN: 0062508865 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: September, 2001 List Price(USD): $15.00 |
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Title: Holy War: The Crusades and Their Impact on Today's World by Karen Armstrong ISBN: 0385721404 Publisher: Anchor Pub. Date: 27 November, 2001 List Price(USD): $17.00 |
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