God: An Itinerary

by Régis Debray, Jeffrey Mehlman (Translator)

God, who has changed the lives – and deaths – of men and women, has in turn changed His face and His meaning several times over since His birth three thousand years ago. He may have kept the same name throughout, but God has been addressed in many different ways and cannot be said to have the same characteristics in the year 500 BC as in AD 400 or in the twenty-first century, nor is He the same entity in Jerusalem or Constantinople as in Rome or New York. The omnipotent and punitive God of the Hebrews is not the consoling and intimate God of the Christians, and is certainly not identical with the impersonal cosmic Energy of the New Agers.

Regis Debray’s purpose in this major new book is to trace the episodes of the genesis of God, His itinerary and the costs of His survival. Debray shifts the spotlight away from the theological foreground and moves it backstage to the machinery of divine production by going back, from the Law, to the Tablets themselves and by scrutinizing Heaven at its most down-to-earth. Throughout this beautifully illustrated book, he is able to focus his attention not just on what was written, but on how it was with what tools, on what surface, for what social purpose and in what physical environment.

Debray contends that, in order to discover how God’s fire was transferred from the desert to the prairie, we ought first to bracket the philosophical questions and focus on empirical information. However, he claims that this does not lessen its significance, but rather gives new life to spiritual issues. An Itinerary uses the histories of the Eternal and of the West to illuminate one another and to throw light on contemporary civilization itself.

Genres: Theology, Religion, Philosophy

400 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Intellectual, journalist, government official and professor. He is known for his theorization of mediology, a critical theory of the long-term transmission of cultural meaning in human society; and for having fought in 1967 with Marxist revolutionary Che Guevara in Bolivia.

Reviews

[Mohamedridha Alaskari محمد رضا العسكري · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and easy - Debary is a brilliant atheist mentality and the brave mind whom described the history of God/Yahweh/Allah, splitting his itinerary in a three stages explaining how god evolves.

I see this is very brave and straight study need to put in consideration for all religious researches.

five stars is the minimum review for this brilliant context.

[Emily]

So far this book is very interesting. For people who are not used to reading religious theory and history books may have a harder time getting into this book. It is translated from French so it is very scholarly in style. It is very well translated though, from what I've read so far. I also appreciate the author's expert use of religious terminology but in a way that people who have not studied religious theory can still connect to the work.

This book is obviously written by someone who has personal religious connections to Abrahamic religions but so far it is very objective. The title refers to the organization of the book into sections relating to the metaphorical "journey" of God through time. The book traces the scientific and methodical evolution of the Abrahamic religions, starting with the ancient roaming cattle herders.

As I said, I've only just started this book so I'll let you know how I like it when I'm done.

[Antonio Fanelli · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viaggio all'interno l'idea monoteista della divinità
Lucida poetica storica
bellissima

[Ted Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this book with its celebration of how human beings apprehend and use the concept of God and emotions related to the experience of God. The book has an unusual fluidity and resonance as it elides from topic to topic in the guise of journey. It is a work that encourages rereading and playfulness.

[Chedy R. · Rating 5 out of 5]

الله، مسار رحلة.

أهمية هذا العمل تكمن في سد فراغ في مجال العلوم الدينية، فراغ تركه عزوف المدرسة العلمانية اليعقوبية في فرنسا عن تدريس تاريخ الأديان أدى بدوره إلى إحتكار المؤسسات الدينية المسيحية واليهودية للإصدارات المهمة (المجلة الإنجيلية الصادرة عن مدرسة الإنجيل وعلم الآثار مثلا). بصفة أدق، نستطيع أن نقول أن علم الإجتماع المهتم بالدين منذ ماكس فيبر تغاضى عن اللاهوت، ولم يسائل مختلف التصورات للإله (وخاصة التصورات الإبراهيمية).

ينقسم هذا الكتاب إلى ثلاثة أجزاء كبرى: التتويج، والنشر ثم الفسخ. الجزء الأول يهتم بنشأة الإله في اللغة والمكان، مع التركيز على دور الصحراء في تطوير المعطى الديني، ويصل إلى مفهوم الإله "المحمول" وتفاعل سكان الهلال الخصيب مع التجديد اللاهوتي الممثل في يهوه. يتناول الجزء الثاني "إنجاب" الله للمسيح (وما مثلته هذه القطيعة في التصور الإنساني للإله) وتبلور العقيدة الكاثوليكية الرومانية عبر القرون الأولى والتفاعل المتبادل مع المحيط الذي نشأت فيه ثم خرجت منه (فلسطين للدعوة ثم آسيا الصغرى فقرطاج و أخيرا روما، قلب الإمبراطورية). الجزء الثالث يتناول تراجع التدين الغربي والفردانية وتغير الممارسة الدينية مع التطور العلمي والتقني.

يكتب رجيس دوبراي بلغة سهلة وسلسة، مما يجعل اطروحته في المتناول حتى لغير أهل الإختصاص. والكتاب ممتع جدا ومليء بالتساؤلات القيمة (هل الديني يحسن الإنساني؟ ما علاقة تصور الإله بتصرف الانسان؟ إلخ) والمعلومات (مما يدل على موسوعية الكاتب) ويدفع للتفكير عبر الاشكاليات (وأولها المفارقة التوحيدية).

أخيرا، محيط هذا العمل هو اليهودية والمسيحية وعرضا الإسلام. أرى أن هناك مجالا خصبا لبحث مماثل في التصور الإسلامي لله خاصة مع وجود طيف كامل من التجسيم (الله الشاب الأمرد لدى السلفية) إلى الإطلاق (الله الذي لا تطاله الرؤية ولا يحل في مكان لدى المعتزلة)، وأيضا مع الجدل الذي دام قرونا حول الصفات والأفعال الإلهية (والمواضيع المتعلقة بهذا الجانب من اللاهوت مثل خلق الأفعال أو نظريات الكسب والجبر).

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Debray is a staunch atheist so I really shouldn't be enjoying this. He has some wonderful observations but without the unifying paradigm of faith. He alternately makes me want to scream and sing. What a mind. He is James Jordan's evil twin.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ambitious and audacious history of God and His progressive embodiment through different cultures.

[César · Rating 5 out of 5]

Diablo.