The Battle for God: A History of Fundamentalism (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

I love Karen as she speaks much like a Seminarian. I like to learn from both sides of the fence. As a non-believer I find it very credible as a source when a believer has a liberal realistic view of the Bible and Abrahamic Religions. There is so much naive Fundamentalism. Absolutely Certain they are inerrant. Absolute Certainty is like a drug. People do the most terrible things imaginable and...more

I love Karen as she speaks much like a Seminarian. I like to learn from both sides of the fence. As a non-believer I find it very credible as a source when a believer has a liberal realistic view of the Bible and Abrahamic Religions. There is so much naive Fundamentalism. Absolutely Certain they are inerrant. Absolute Certainty is like a drug. People do the most terrible things imaginable and feel they are not culpable but rather faithful. And everyone of a faith cannot be right and have everyone of any other faiths also be wrong - without a lot of blood, hate, and and one day a Righteous nuclear detonation.   hide

An excellent introduction to the history of religious radicalism.

Incredible book.

I couldn't get my hands of this book, it's loaded with information. Armstrong's way of analyzing events is amazing, it's detailed yet precise, one of the best books i have read, though i may not agree with everything in it. it touches the roots of fundementalism and why religion turns into violence

it's an eye opener that fundamentalism is here to stay, and to fight it militarily is beyond stupid!

Okay, I've been reading this book for like four years. It is really good, but just thick. It is a history of fundamentalism, specifically protestant, jewish and islamic.

This is the first book I've read of hers, and I was impressed. She is obviously very well versed in the history of religion and seems to have a nice, balanced perspective. Though the history of the four fundamentalist movements she recounts is compelling, I found the book a bit lacking in the synthesis department. This is a great book if you want to learn some religious history and draw your...more

This is the first book I've read of hers, and I was impressed. She is obviously very well versed in the history of religion and seems to have a nice, balanced perspective. Though the history of the four fundamentalist movements she recounts is compelling, I found the book a bit lacking in the synthesis department. This is a great book if you want to learn some religious history and draw your own conclusions, but I wouldn't read this looking for any fantastic insights from the author. She makes a few good points, to be fair, but nothing earth-shattering.   hide

I have read many books of karen armstrong.infact ,Like Dr.tahir ul qadri ,she is my best author.In this legendry book"The battle for God" ,she decribes the concept of fundamentilimes in three major religions of world,islam,judisim and christenalty.

A challenging read (for me at least--due to the unfamiliar foreign history), excellent info and insight, although it could stand to have more section breaks--as it is it has long unbroken sections of plodding details. Could have been edited for easier readability. But I still highly recommend it.