Reza aslan god a human history

Reza aslan offers so much to relish in his excellent human history of god. Report video issue go to live event javascript must be enabled in order to access c. In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, aslan narrates the history of religion as a remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. The life and times of jesus of nazareth reza aslan. In tracing the commonalities that unite religions, aslan makes truly challenging arguments that believers in many traditions will want to mull over, and to explore further. Seeing the concept of god as an expression of the self. A human history random house large print reza aslan on amazon. Dec 18, 2017 as he confesses in the introduction to god. Aslan argues that this somewhat nightmarish figure combining padded paws, owlish eyes, and. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read god. Confronting religious extremism in the age of globalization. In zealot, reza aslan replaced the staid, wellworn portrayal of jesus of nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his. Whether you believe in one god, many gods, or no god at all, god. A human history is less a biography of god than a study of why and how humans tend to anthropomorphize the divine.

Nov 07, 2017 in layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, aslan narrates the history of religion as a remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. God a human history takes on a topic of massive scope and brings information together from many different disciplines and puts it in a readable format. Its the story of how humans have created god with a capital g, and it. The religions scholar reza aslan opens his cleareyed if uneven god. I wanted to write a book about the way in which people have thought about god throughout human history, going back to the very moment in which the concept arose in our human evolution. Pittsburgh postgazette aslans slim, yet ambitious book is the story of how humans have created god with a capital g, and its thoroughly. His contribution to this welltrodden path is to see god as a mirror of the believer. When i was a child, i thought god was a large, powerful old man who lived in the sky a bigger, stronger version of my father, but with magical powers. Confronting religious extremism in the age of globalization, zealot. Rather, he delineates the evolution of god in different eras of human history by. In his new book, aslan takes on a subject even more immense. Aslans slim, yet ambitious book is the story of how humans have created god with a capital g, and its thoroughly mindblowing. All books will be signed by reza aslan prior to the event.

Aslans book is directed toward a relatively educated audience who wants to examine a very complex topic to expand a knowledge base for understand. He begins with prehistoric mans conceptions, proceeds to more contemporary and mainstream religions, and concludes with pantheism, which supposedly holds the key to understanding god. A human history with a riff on the sorcerer, a portrait of a hybrid. He focuses on the remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine in human termsnearly every religious tradition, as aslan writes, conceives of god as a divine version of ourselves. In layered prose and with accessible scholarship, aslan cohesively roots out this humanizing impulse in order to develop a more. The life and times of jesus of nazareth, have been translated into dozens of languages around the world. Regardless of our actions or beliefs, aslan says the majority of us consider god to be a divine version of ourselves. God a human history takes on a topic of massive scope and brings information together from many different disciplines and puts it. A human history with a riff on the sorcerer, a portrait of a hybrid manstagbear, discovered in frances cave of the troisfreres and dating to about,000 b. We bestow upon god not just all that is good in human nature but also our. But instead of arming readers with interpretive tools and good questions, aslan tells a highly selective, generalized tale with the goal of proving his own beliefs. Kindle edition published in 2017, 055339472x hardcover published in 2017, kindle edition published in 2017, 0552. Dont trust any history of god that has only 171 pages of text.

An american academic born in iran, brought up as a muslim. A human history, written in aslan s clear, accessible style. As societies developed from small groups of hunter. In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, aslan narrates the history of religion as a remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it. Reza aslan explored how believers have conceptualized the idea of god from the early origins of religion through present day. Reza aslan is an internationally renowned writer, commentator, professor, producer, and scholar of religions. Nov 20, 2017 the religions scholar reza aslan opens his cleareyed if uneven god. Aslan s book is directed toward a relatively educated audience who wants to examine a very. The origins, evolution, and future of islam, beyond fundamentalism. To reza aslan, it seems that we focus more and more on the differences.

Nothing really new, except for aslan s obvious narrative skill there are a certain bandlevel of nonfiction writer that always seems like the nonfiction version of a ted talk, aslan. He is also a recipient of the prestigious james joyce award. New york times bestseller the bestselling author of zealot and host of believer explores humanitys quest to make sense of the divine in this concise and fascinating history of our understanding of god. Dec 29, 2017 aslan is not trying to prove the existence or nonexistence of god. A human history reza aslan explored how believers have conceptualized the idea of god from the early origins of religion through present day. A human history random house large print reza aslan on. Nothing really new, except for aslan s obvious narrative skill there are a certain bandlevel of nonfiction writer that always seems like the nonfiction version of a ted talk, aslan fits into this band. According to aslan, this innate desire to humanize god is hardwired in our brains, making it a central feature of nearly every religious tradition. And i understand that the only way i can truly know god is by relying on the only thing i can truly know.

Aslan is not trying to prove the existence or nonexistence of god. His working thesis is that humans have a near universal impulse to conceptualize the divine world in human terms that are linked with the social, economic, and political status of their societies. Reza aslans intriguing book explores questions about. His contribution to this welltrodden path is to see god as a. A human history, reza aslan has been a seeker nearly all of his life, looking for ways to connect with the divine. User created clips from this video november 20, 2017. Dec 19, 2017 god a human history by reza aslan illustrated. Transcript at aslan our phone interview with reza aslan on his latest book, god. Much attention as would be expected is given to the axial age. Aslan, a renowned scholar of religious history, delves into this in his book god. Nov 07, 2017 seeing the concept of god as an expression of the self. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders.

A human history describe the human preoccupation with god across time. The origins, evolution, and future of islam, was an international bestseller and has been translated into thirteen languages and named by blackwell as one of the hundred most important books of the last decade. A human history a basic overview of the development of monotheism written for popular consumption. In zealot, reza aslan replaced the staid, wellworn portrayal of jesus of nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his contradictions. A human history, reza aslan looks at how a number of human civilizations, past and present, have perceived their god or gods. A human history, he thoughtfully explores the history of religion as an attempt to understand the divine by giving god human traits and emotions. A human history random house, 2017 provides a history of conceptions about the divine world.

I recognize the divinity of the world and every being in it and respond to everyone and everything as though they were god because they are. He will personalize after the event for those wanting a name in their book. In addition to his role as a consulting producer on the. Reza aslan is back on the podcast with the release of god. Simultaneously reflecting on his own lifelong, winding spiritual journey, he concludes, it is we who have fashioned god in our image, not the other way around. That is not a criticism but a credit to reza s immense scholarship.

Aug 20, 2018 aslans slim, yet ambitious book is the story of how humans have created god with a capital g, and its thoroughly mindblowing. A human history, author reza aslan gives us an interesting and multidisciplinary look at how the belief in gods and eventually god developed from pre history to the present. A h uman history a basic overview of the development of monotheism written for popular consumption. Reza aslan is an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions. If you read reza aslan s book zealot, do not expect this book to be the same or even the same style. A human history, is aimed at the analytically minded spiritual seeker, the type who hopes to answer deep questions on the divine with study data and tidbits about evolution. A human history, author reza aslan gives us an interesting and multidisciplinary look at how the belief in gods and eventually god developed from prehistory to the present. Why we made god in our own image the washington post. From the origins of spiritual thought to the concept of an active, engaged, divine presence that underlies all creation, aslan examines how the idea of god arose in human evolution, was gradually. The new york times bestseller in god, reza aslan sheds new light on mankinds relationship with the divine and challenges our perspective on the history of faith and the birth of religion. Religion has always been something that both unites and divides us humans. Nov 08, 2017 when i was a child, i thought god was a large, powerful old man who lived in the sky a bigger, stronger version of my father, but with magical powers.