ZEALOT: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

Zealot, the Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth was written by biblical scholar Dr. Reza Aslan over two years ago. The book, which chronicles the historical Jesus (the man) rather than the religious Jesus (the Christ), would have probably quickly landed in the remainder bins of some large book retailers if it had not been for the sudden boost in sales that it got through an awkward and very slanted interview on Fox News. Fox wheeled out one of its pretty blondes to interview Dr. Aslan, and it quickly became apparent that she likely had not read his book, and the focus of her interview was going to be on informing and reminding America that the author was a Muslim. It started off like this: Fox: "This is an interesting book. Now, I want to clarify: You are a Muslim, so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity?" Reza Aslan: "I am a scholar of religions with four degrees, including one in the New Testament, and fluency in biblical Greek, who has been studying the origins of Christianity for two decades, who just happens to be a Muslim. So it's not just that I'm some Muslim writing about Jesus. I am an expert with a Ph.D. in the history of religions." Fox: "But it still begs the question: Why would you be interested in the founder of Christianity?" And from there it just went downhill! Dr. Azlan sold truckloads of his historical tome as a result of what some journalists dubbed the "most embarrassing" and "dumbest" interview in television history. Suddenly everyone wanted to read for themselves the history of Jesus as seen through the eyes of a (highly educated) Muslim. I bought my copy back during the controversy and finally got around to reading it last week. I was impressed. First, through Zealot, I got a feel for the turbulent times in which Jesus lived. His hometown of Nazareth was a small, impoverished community, many of whose residents worked as day laborers for wealthy Jews and Romans in the larger cities. There was dissension and some revolutionary fervor among the struggling masses, many of whom lived with the expectation a messianic intervention and the creation of God's kingdom on earth - a kingdom that would reunite the twelve tribes of Israel, drive the Romans from the holy land, and rid the temple of the corrupt priests. To that end, there were several individuals who called themselves "messiah" and traipsed across the countryside trying to bring about revolution prior to the arrival of Jesus. Most of the historical record regarding Jesus was written in the decades following his death, and much of that seems to have been penned with the purpose of codifying and clarifying the emerging religion. Jesus, as a young man, probably did work as a carpenter with his father, and, as such, got to see life beyond the small town of Nazareth. His involvement with religion seems to have begun when he was baptized by John the Baptist. Jesus, initially a follower and disciple of John, eventually took over the role of itinerant preacher himself after the Baptist was executed. As Jesus walked the dusty paths between the small towns of Judea, the number of his disciples increased and his following grew as word spread of his powers as a healer. By the time his traveling band made it into Jerusalem, his reputation as a healer and a defender of the poor and downtrodden had earned him enemies among the city's Jewish elite and its Roman overlords. While Dr. Azlan questions the biblical accounts of Jesus's birth - and even the location where it was reported to have occurred - he does see his eventual crucifixion as having actually happened. Rome, at that time, used crucifixion for crimes against the state, and Rome as well as the Jewish elite would have seen the foray of Jesus into the temple in Jerusalem (where he put the money-changers into such disarray) as being seditious in nature. Dr. Aslan also spends time in this volume discussing the formation of the religion following the death of Jesus. Much of that focuses on the struggle for control between Paul, the self-appointed apostle, and James (the Just), the younger brother of Jesus. James won that struggle in the short term as he managed to force Paul t recant much of his theology and ostracized him to Rome. But, in the long term, Paul's view of Jesus as the Christ, completely free of Jewish law and trappings, won out as Rome eventually adopted and shaped the growing religion. I'm admittedly not much of an expert on religion, but I did feel that Dr. Aslan presented his account of the life of Jesus in a manner that was both thorough and interesting. His work contained over fifty pages of end notes and a bibliography of more than twenty pages, leaving the reader able to quickly zero in on the scholastic and historic fundamentals of any claim which might foster controversy. Zealot is definitely a work of praiseworthy scholarship. Thank you, Fox News, for causing me to read it!

I never had any intention of reading Zealot. I probably would never have heard of it were it not for the cringe-worthy interview of the author by Fox News correspondent, Lauren Green. She is single handedly responsible for publicizing the book to an extent that any author or public relations firm could only dream about. The only things you could be sure of at the conclusion of the interview were that Aslan is a well-educated scholar and a class act and Green is a religiously-biased idiot who clearly had not read the book. After seeing the interview, I went out on Amazon to read the reviews. The first thing I noticed was that the older reviews tended to be serious, well-written, and generally clustered in the four to five star range. The newer reviews were mostly one star, clearly written by people who had not read Zealot, and were noteworthy for rehashing Fox talking points. I posted comments challenging the "reviewers" where it was obvious that he or she had not read the book and I tracked the responses. I challenged one reviewer, who took offense at the book's imagined attack on his deeply-held religious beliefs, to actually read the book and post a real review, which I promised to read with an open mind. He agreed to do so, and then challenged me to do the same. Fair enough. I bought my hard copy from Amazon the same day. I procrastinated reading the book, looking forward to it with the same level of enthusiasm I would have for a root canal. I'm sorry I did. It is an engaging and well-written book that makes history come alive for those of us who are not religious scholars. This book will keep your attention because it is interesting. I was sucked in by the first sentence and was happily surprised to find that in addition to being meticulously researched, this book is an enjoyable read. Zealot is a story about Jesus of Nazareth - not Jesus the Christ - placed in historical context. It debunks some oft-repeated beliefs that may make devout Christians uncomfortable, but is in no way an attack on their faith. Jesus was a Jew who was almost certainly born in Nazareth, not Bethlehem; he was dirt poor and probably illiterate; he had brothers and sisters; and he was baptized by, and was a disciple of John the Baptist. While there is every reason to believe he was crucified, that in no way made him special; at the time, crucifixion was a common punishment meted out by the Roman occupiers in staggering numbers. For that reason, the probability that he appeared before Pontius Pilate to be judged is vanishingly small. Jesus of Nazareth was just one more in a long line of rebellious "messiahs" railing against the Roman occupation of Judea and the corrupt high priests who controlled the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus wanted the Romans to leave, the corrupt priests out of the Temple, and the land returned to God (an earthly kingdom as opposed to the heavenly kingdom that later Gospels proclaimed). Jesus was crucified for sedition - for taking this message on the road, fomenting insurrection. This book places Jesus of Nazareth and his life and death in historical context. Little to nothing was written about him in his lifetime; the Gospels were written long after he had died. It is what happened after Jesus' death that is noteworthy. His brother, James the Just along with the apostles continued Jesus' message of Torah-based Judaism. Jesus never claimed he was the Son of God, but rather the Son of Man. Taken to its logical conclusion, this version of Christianity would have been just another Jewish sect that almost certainly would have disappeared over time. Modern Christianity (or at least the seeds of it) was a product of the repackaging of Jesus' life by Paul (Saul of Tarsus). He never met Jesus, had no use for Jewish tradition, and reinterpreted the story of Jesus' life and death making him appear to be a man of peace and love and more otherworldly - the Son of God. Paul's Christianity was a new religion that was less reliant on the laws of Moses, more palatable to Rome, and more likely to attract better-educated, non-Jewish converts. Despite the concerted efforts of James the Just, Paul's largely-fabricated version of the life and death of Jesus gradually became the accepted version. Devout Christians reading this book will find that it is not an attack on or a threat to their faith. This is a book about a famous man placed in context historically. It fleshes out and complements the stories in the Bible. As an example, Aslan makes no attempt to debunk the Resurrection, but rather says that it is a matter of faith. He does note that many people who claimed to have seen the resurrected Jesus were later executed just for saying so. They could have been spared their fate had they recanted. None did. They had everything to gain and nothing to lose by denying what they said they had seen, but they would not because it was something they had actually experienced and not just heard about secondhand. There is still room for mystery and you can make of that what you will. This was an excellent, well-written, thought-provoking book. If you want to learn something, read it. (By way of background, I was raised Catholic, attended Catholic schools through high school, and all of the colleges I attended were secular by choice. By the time I graduated high school, I considered myself agnostic on a good day and leaning atheist the rest of the time. Still do.)

Me encantó el libro electrónico y también el contenido del libro. Es apenas el segundo libro electrónico que leo, y encuentro que ofrece muchas posibilidades. Leo en mi PC o tablet, ajusto las letras a mis necesidades, puedo subrayar, hago anotaciones, cuento con diccionario y traductor de palabras, etc. Busco títulos de libros que me interesan, puedo "hojearlos" y con un click los tengo al instante. ahora, específicamente referente al libro es un análisis del Cristo histórico para aquel que quiera entender un poco nuestra cultura occidental, creyentes o no, escrito por un autor de origen persa, que ha sido musulmán y fue educado en un medio cristiano. El punto de vista no es ni religioso ni ateo, sino histórico.

Good thought provoking reading. This study goes a long way towards understanding who Jesus really was and how he came to be perceived throughout history up to present times. I have always had curiosity about Jesus and the bible in general but with so many interpretations, all claiming to be the truth, I knew without a great deal of study I would never be at ease with Jesus and his legend. This book takes the reader from the old testament to the new. Along the way it explains why history has turned out the way it has. Incidentally, I became interested in this book because I watched the Youtube video of a Fox news anchor making a fool of herself trying to criticize this accomplished scholar and writer because he is Muslim and had the temerity to write about a Christian topic. Aslan has an impressive background in religious studies, he has written competently about many religions. Unlike Fox news Reza Aslan does research, he has done his homework.

REZA Aslan, has written one of the best books of this type that I have read on the topic of historical Jesus of Nazareth. It is comprehensive and comes at the topic from all angles. It is a good account and puts the events into a historical context. Whilst Aslan is hard hitting and pulls no punches, he does not set out to destroy faith. Unlike so many other commentaries of the type. I am not big on history, but this one kept me reading.

Nice book

Ich habe diese Bewertung gewählt, weil das Buch spannend und für Fremdsprachige verständlich geschrieben ist. Ein bisschen historischen Hintergrund über die Zeit Jesu zu erfahren, kann nicht schaden. Wen der spirituelle Jesus interessiert, sollte dieses Buch nicht lesen - er kommt nicht vor. Ich verstehe nicht, warum das Buch so ein Aufreger war, es ist seriös verfasst und die Fakten, dass Jesus politisch für sein Volk tätig war, sprechen doch für ihn. Ein bisschen oft wird das provokante Wort (zealous, zealot) bedient, womit man davon ausgehen kann, dass der Autor ein eckiges, nicht gewohnt sanftes Bild von Jesus und seinen frühen Anhängern und entwerfen wollte. Wenn Christus eine Art Robin Hood war, fühle ich mich gut Aufgehoben im katholischen Glauben. Hinweise, dass die in der Bibel geschilderten Wunder nicht echt passiert sind und empirisch nachvollziehbare Ersatz-Szenarien brauche ich hingegen nicht. Ich mag dieses Buch, weil es den Leser trotz wissenschaftlicher Redlichkeit nicht langweilt.