The Future of God [Audiobook, Unabridged] [Audio Cassette]

Karen Armstrong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 1995

Karen Armstrong The Future of God

Learn how the mystical God of our past reflects the God of our future – a vibrant, living presence available to all of us – on The Future of God. Karen Armstrong’s international bestseller, A History of God, has given us a window to the riches of monotheism as practiced through the ages by Jews, Christians, and Muslims. But what does tomorrow hold for the way we worship God? On this lucid audio session, Armstrong guides us through a bewildering landscape, over many centuries and civilizations, to show how our concept of God has evolved with the passage of time – from a mystical, accessible presence capable of miracles to a dark and wrathful father image contrived by church patriarchs. On The Future of God, Armstrong suggests ways that prayer, imagination, and silence can help everyone on the spiritual path today enter the mystery within our depths and recognize God in ourselves and others. The Future of God is an inspiring event that takes us to the past, present, and future! of our deepest spiritual yearnings.

Editorial Reviews

Book Description

On this audio session, Armstrong guides us through the bewildering landscape to show how our concept of God has evolved with the passage of time.

About the Author

Karen Armstrong is one of the foremost commentators on religious affairs in both Britain & the United States. She spent seven years as a Roman Catholic nun & received a degree at Oxford University.

Product Details

• Audio Cassette
• Publisher: Sounds True, Incorporated (March 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1564553078
• ISBN-13: 978-1564553072
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,612,234 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Speculation by an eminent historian of monotheistic religion, July 13, 2003

By 

James Arvo (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Future of God (Audio Cassette)

This audio tape is an exploration of monotheistic religions, written and read by Karen Armstrong, the author of numerous scholarly and well-received books on monotheism ("A History of God", "The Battle for God", "Islam: A Short History"). Unlike Armstrong's previous works, "The Future of God" does not focus exclusively on the historical development of monotheistic religions, but it also contains intriguing speculation as to what may lay ahead, extrapolating from their rich past. I can think of no better qualified person to engage in such speculation than Karen Armstrong; to have any credibility in predicting the future, one must have a clear grasp of the past.

As always, Armstrong counterbalances the ethnocentric Western view of religion with contrasting views from Islam, Judaism, and even Buddhism. She reminds her Western listeners that idea of a god who is objective and exists outside ourselves is somewhat peculiar to the West, and is even "eccentric" when compared to Judaism, Islam, and Greek and Russian orthodoxy.

An important theme that runs throughout the tape is that of change; while most adherents of a religion view their creed as essentially fixed, having been revealed in effectively its final and current form, Armstrong continually reminds us that this is a complete fiction. Each of the major religions has undergone enormous transformations over time, and are indeed still in the process of change. For example, Armstrong points out that many of the early prophets were actually polytheists; while they chose to worship a single god, they fully acknowledged the existence of others. Also, the notion of a personal god, with human traits, is a relatively late addition.

Armstrong argues that the idea of a personal god has been useful in the early stages of a religion, but that it ultimately proves to be problematic and limiting; that it must eventually be abandoned for more abstract and mystical notions. This leads to Armstrong's most unexpected--even startling--proposal; that modern atheism is potentially a prelude to a new religious outlook with an even deeper appreciation for god. She likens atheism to a sorbet that cleanses the palette in preparation for more delicious things to come. Armstrong notes that "If we look back at history, we'll see that when people were called atheists this usually marked a religious transition, one of those quantum leaps to an entirely new era of religiosity and spirituality. Thus, in the early stages of their history, Jews, Christians, and Muslims were all called atheists by their pagan contemporaries, not because they didn't believe in god (obviously they did), but because they denied current conceptions of the sacred that were dear to the pagan world."

As the initiators of all religious movements, throughout history, were castigated as atheists, might we not reason that the atheists of today are in fact at the vanguard of a new epoch of religious views? A fascinating idea, to be sure. Indeed, on might view Secular Humanism as such a movement, although Armstrong does not make that connection explicitly.

Perhaps my only complaint about the tape is that it lacks the traditional references that allow a reader to explore the background material to a greater depth. Admittedly, this is rather hard to do on an audio tape, yet there were times when a brief pointer to the relevant literature would have been extremely helpful. As one example, Armstrong states categorically that the book of Genesis is a myth, and that it was quite deliberately written as such. As this is a topic of heated debate (at least in the US), it would have been appropriate for Armstrong to mention the evidence or body of work that, in her view, establishes this fact.

I found Armstrong's ideas to be quite thought provoking, so I feel the tape is well worth the cost. I believe that anyone who has read and enjoyed Armstrong's books would also enjoy this tape (even though it contains but a small fraction of what is contained in her larger volumes). I recommend it.

6 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Another good book of Karen Armstrong, May 1, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Future of God (Audio Cassette)

A good one, if you like the clear definition style of Karen Armstrong. This book looks at faith and believes system outside of the common day practices of the different religions. I enjoyed it.