Halfway update

I felt the need to make a post since it has been some time and it is taking me longer to make it through the book than I anticipated. It is certainly something EVERY person should read. The author makes it accessible to all those who pursue it. I am not an active member of any of the Western religions due to the persecution between the identical philosophies. I do believe in God and the open interpretation to existence. I also believe in quantum mechanics, which has no space in the Western faith.

A History of God: The 4,000 Year Quest of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam

This intellectual expose on the "major" religions of the West is a must read for every one. As the hatreds rise, people need to truly understand where their roots are. They need to experience history from every angle. This book should not be the source of all information, but added as yet another perspective on where the religions of the West developed. This wonderfully depicts how the religions evolved with the times and the needs of the people. It clearly depicts periods of enlightenment and periods of religious oppression. This tome also clearly explains that all three religions are not different. Their spiritual views and interpretations may be different, but they all evolved from the need to explain the existence of man, the globe, and the purpose of life. Every faith should read their religious tome, the tomes of the other religions around the world (including the polytheists of the East), and this book. You cannot claim that your faith is superior than any other. The imposition of faith on another just creates hatred and strife. It also forces unwieldy intellectual discourse to cover what clearly is not founded or evidenced. 

I have made it through the early chapters of infancy of each religion and what drove them to be created. I found these chapters fascinating with the details of polytheism making way to monotheism, maps of emigration and immigration, diversifying through assimilation, and the extreme similarities between the big three. The following chapters of the philosophers held me up for a couple of days. The rationalism kept putting me to sleep (I'm not always the most rational person), yet it provided an interesting depiction of how religion always adapts to the needs and culture of the people. Faith is not a finite concept.

Here is to the Mystics, Reformers, and Enlightenment!