God against the gods : the history of the war between monotheism and polytheism

In this ... book, [the author] explores the final struggle between monotheism and polytheism in the ancient world, a war that was fought by a series of charismatic, visionary but also violent monarchs in the name of the One True God - an Egyptian pharaoh, a Jewish king, and two Roman emperors. Contrary to the conventional wisdom of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, the world of classical paganism was not steeped in sin. In fact, [according to the author], religious liberty and diversity were core values of classical paganism, and it was monotheism that introduced the terrors of true belief, including holy war, martyrdom, inquisitions, and crusades.-Dust jacket.

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LibraryThing member Qshio

Kirsch writes on a terribly important subject, if only he would keep his focus upon it. The first half or so of God against the Gods is an eye-opening exploration of the differences and conflicts between monotheistic and polytheistic religions, and certainly concludes that the polytheists, while

not perfect, were on the whole *far* more tolerant and far less murderous than the Abrahamic religions that sought to eradicate them. Almost equally valuable is the history lesson Kirsch provides, weaving threads of connection between the monotheism we understand today and its probable birth in ancient Egypt. We learn particularly about the somewhat final showdown in Rome between Christians (Constantine and descendants) and pagans (Julian).If only it were so. Though a fascinating read in and of itself, the book becomes a kind of historical narrative about Constantine-era political intrigue. Yes, the religious aspect is central, but the book careens from an overview of the conflict between two theologies to a truncated history book on the bloody chess game played between Roman Augusti and Caesars. I would love to read that book, but not here. Certainly there was more to explore beyond Julian concerning mono-vs.-polytheism, even into the modern world. Why stop so short?In all, a worthwhile read, though expect to go somewhat off track halfway through.

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LibraryThing member MarkBeronte

The story of the suppression of polytheistic religions in the ancient world by the ever more powerful monotheistic religions is well known. Kirsch (The Harlot by the Side of the Road) offers his own version of this oft-told tale in a lively and engaging chronicle. Although many scholars point to

Israel as the fount of monotheism, Kirsch shows that the earliest impulses toward monotheism can be found in Egypt with pharaoh Akhenaton's attempt to move the nation to the worship of one god. This Egyptian likely influenced Moses, according to Kirsch, and much of the history of early Israel is the history of the worship of one god emerging out of the worship of many gods. Monotheism gained momentum with the development of Christianity and was codified under Constantine. His son Julian strove to return polytheism to the scene by issuing edicts of toleration concerning polytheistic religious customs, but Julian's successor Theodosius I restored monotheism as the official practice of the Empire. Kirsch helpfully points out that the conflict between the worship of many gods and the worship of one true god never disappeared from the lives of Israelites, Jews, or Christians, in spite of many historians' claims to the contrary. In addition, Kirsch observes that monotheistic religions have too often used the worship of one god as a way to persecute those who do not share similar beliefs. While Kirsch breaks no new ground, he demonstrates clearly the ways in which this conflict gave rise to the tensions that exist even within monotheistic religions today.

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LibraryThing member the_awesome_opossum

Even though God Against the Gods bills itself as covering vast swaths of the history of religion, most of the book is dedicated to exploring the transition of the Roman empire from paganism to Christianity under Constantine and his heirs. And surprisingly, it was neither a smooth nor complete

transition, and Rome certainly could've swung back the other way.

Kirsch's writing is probably the roughest part of this book - he's a journalist, not a scholar, and sometimes he does the snappy, too-clever-by-half journalist writing. And I wish that he would've put forth a stronger thesis at the beginning of the book that would've guided his argument better; too often it read as a straightforward history book that didn't intend to come to a point (although he does tie things together at the end). Nevertheless, it was an interesting book that synthesized a lot of different materials about religion in the Roman empire.

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LibraryThing member Atomicmutant

This is an accessibly written, entertaining history of the struggle between monotheism and polytheism. Kirsch goes a long way to remove misconceptions about paganism that centuries of Christian rhetoric have obscured. The book covers the development of early monotheistic ideas (Including an

interesting thought that the monotheistic worship of Aten, the sun god, as initiated by the Egyptian pharaoh Ahkenaten, may have been the origins of Jewish monotheism, as certain people fled the kingdom when Ahkenaten died and the area reverted to polytheism. As it’s explained, Ahkenaten’s monotheism is the first recorded instance of such a thing, so it isn’t unlikely.) and in the second half, concentrates on Constantine, who of course established monotheistic Christianity as a state religion, and one of his successors, Julian, who attempted a last ditch effort to restore paganism after him.

His conclusion is perfect, and striking, Though this is part of the last sentence of the book, it also serves as a great teaser to those who haven't read it regarding the promise of the content within:

"...we might pause and ponder how the world would have turned out if the war of God against the gods had ended with an armistice rather than the victory of the Only True God."

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LibraryThing member thcson

A superficial and boring account of monotheism and polytheism in antiquity. It doesn't even come close to living up to its fancy title. These are miscellaneous historical anecdotes but not serious historical research. The author presents a number of narrow perspectives and stories but fails to put

any of it into a broader perspective.

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LibraryThing member mmyoung

Although a serviceable account of the struggle between polytheism and monotheism in the Mediterranean region, principally from the time of Josiah to the death of Julian, the books cover promises more than the text delivers. This reader was disappointed that Kirsch did not address directly the

question as to why Christianity, a minority religion, triumphed over paganism so quickly after the death of Julian. The author mentions, almost in passing, that Roman emperors had totalitarian powers as if that was an obvious and inarguable explanation for the phenomenon without demonstrating that it was true or why it inevitably led to the effective end of monotheism.

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LibraryThing member jorgearanda

An insightful account of the rise of monotheism and the dogmatic intolerance that came with the package.

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