God

This book is written with the kind of thoroughness that one had grown to expect from Reza Aslan. It's a historical take on the mythological folklore around the enigmatic entity of God, charting the origin and various evolutions that it underwent. While the book primarily focuses on Abrahamic religions, it draws support and references from all religions of the world. Having said all that, I didn't particularly enjoy this book so much as I feel like my expectations from this book were very different to what it had to offer.
It is still a very solid read for anyone who wishes to know more about the origin of the modern religions as we know it.

A fairly quick and insightful read. The first few chapters examine our innate tendency to anthropomorphize God from a psychological and biological perspective, which I found compelling. The middle chapters explore how various religions (and their respective concept/image of God) emerged over time, beginning with prehistoric people, moving through the Greeks, Jews, Christians, and Muslims. The history was interesting as well, but a bit denser and harder for me to follow. Then within a few pages at the end, Aslan comes to his own spiritual conclusion, which is similar to the conclusion I myself have circuitously/arduously arrived at; reading through it definitely helped me flesh out some of my own thoughts and gave me further points to consider.

Ultimately, though, Aslan's conclusion is his own. Just because I (mostly) agree with it doesn't mean it's right. But there are arguments he presents that are provocative, no matter your belief system. And this isn't a book trying to prove any belief, or non-belief, nor claim any as more plausible than any other. But what it does is ask us is to truly consider, in light of what we know historically, and scientifically, what WE as individuals choose to believe: “the unalterable fact [is] that everything exists today and has always existed and will always exist as long as the universe itself exists... All is One, and One is All. It is simply up to the individual to decide what the “One” is: how it should be defined, and how it should be experienced.”

Very cool read. Tons of information laid out in a meaningful and straightforward way.

While [Aslan's conclusion] is interesting and perhaps useful to any readers who are still trying to understand their relationship (or lack thereof) with the divine, Aslan presents it as a simple, straightforward truth, without exploring the idea further from any other perspective. And while I understand that perhaps simplicity is the way to go, especially since Aslan is trying to encourage a more open, more accepting kind of faith in his readers, I think that this conclusion lacks the kind of nuance and depth that is otherwise present in the rest of the book. I was not expecting such a pat conclusion from Aslan, and I will admit that I find it rather disappointing, given how the rest of the book is far from simplistic.

Full review here: https://wp.me/p21txV-Fg