Zócalo Public Square

Is God good or bad? In both the Bible and the Koran, God’s mood seems to swing randomly between belligerence and benevolence. But the scriptures, read carefully, reveal a subtle pattern in these moods, a pattern that is key to understanding the evolution of the great monotheistic faiths. In an era when the perceived divisions between Judaism, Christianity, and Islam spark violent conflict, understanding the deep parallels between the faiths--and the forces that can move them to a higher moral plane--is crucial to building a peaceful world. Robert Wright, a Senior Fellow at the New America Foundation and the author of The Moral Animal, Nonzero, and the just-published The Evolution of God, visits Zócalo to discuss the birth and growth of the Abrahamic God.