Zealot

The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

By: Reza Aslan

Narrated by: Reza Aslan

Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins

Publisher's summary

From the internationally best-selling author of No god but God comes a fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography that challenges long-held assumptions about the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth.

Two-thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher and miracle worker walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the "Kingdom of God". The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was captured, tortured, and executed as a state criminal.

Within decades after his shameful death, his followers would call him God.

Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history's most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived: first-century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervor. Scores of Jewish prophets, preachers, and would-be messiahs wandered through the Holy Land, bearing messages from God. This was the age of zealotry - a fervent nationalism that made resistance to the Roman occupation a sacred duty incumbent on all Jews. And few figures better exemplified this principle than the charismatic Galilean who defied both the imperial authorities and their allies in the Jewish religious hierarchy.

Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction; a man of peace who exhorted his followers to arm themselves with swords; an exorcist and faith healer who urged his disciples to keep his identity a secret; and ultimately the seditious "King of the Jews" whose promise of liberation from Rome went unfulfilled in his brief lifetime.

©2013 Reza Aslan (P)2013 Random House

Critic reviews

"In Zealot, Reza Aslan doesn't just synthesize research and reimagine a lost world, though he does those things very well. He does for religious history what Bertolt Brecht did for playwriting. Aslan rips Jesus out of all the contexts we thought he belonged in and holds him forth as someone entirely new. This is Jesus as a passionate Jew, a violent revolutionary, a fanatical ideologue, an odd and scary and extraordinarily interesting man." (Judith Shulevitz, author of The Sabbath World)

"A bold, powerfully argued revisioning of the most consequential life ever lived." (Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief)

"The story of Jesus of Nazareth is arguably the most influential narrative in human history. Here Reza Aslan writes vividly and insightfully about the life and meaning of the figure who has come to be seen by billions as the Christ of faith. This is a special and revealing work, one that believer and skeptic alike will find surprising, engaging, and original." (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power)

well researched and gripping story of Jesus

As other reviewers have noted, Aslan does a fine job of pulling together the material on Jesus of Nazareth from all available first and second century sources both religious and secular. His conclusion is that Jesus of Nazareth saw himself as a messiah through which God was going to bring about the Kingdom and see justice done. This puts him in opposition to Rome and its representatives, such as the Temple leadership. He also does a nice job of helping the listener to see how the Christ of the Gospels and Epistles took shape from the life of Jesus and subsequent events in Rome and Israel that created the context in which Christianity emerged.

Nothing in the book is radically new but it is well written and the story told by Aslan is not only well researched but gripping. Rarely have I enjoyed a book on theology or scripture studies as much as Aslan’s Zealot.

The author also serves as the narrator, which usually proves to be a major ingredient in a recipe for disaster. However, Aslan did an excellent job of reading his book. I didn’t realize it was the author who had been reading until I finished the book and checked to see who the narrator was. He read with an appropriate mix of excitement and seriousness, drawing the listener into his vision of the historical Jesus and the world in which he lived.

As an author and researcher Aslan is also honest. His forward discusses his religious history, including his Islamic roots, an involvement with Evangelical Christianity in his youth and an eventual return to Islam. This allows the listener to be sensitive to any influences on the book from his life history. The resulting vision of Jesus that emerges is probably closer to the Islamic perspective on Jesus, as human and prophet, than the traditional Christian perspective, which divinizes Jesus. Yet, if the historical record supports the Christian tradition, he accepts that position, as with the death of Jesus by crucifixion. The final result is a reasonable, etic perspective on the historical material and well argued conclusions.

Jesus, we hardly knew ye.

As a fan of ancient Roman history and having not had any religious upbringing, I enjoy the history of Jesus and the early Christians and their world. This book did not disappoint- Jesus and his followers as anti-Roman, anti-collaborators, and VERY pro-Jewish rabble-rousers was a take on this story I hadn't heard before. Reza Aslan paints a very clear portrait of the situation in that part of the world at the time of the Julio-Claudian Dynasty. Israel/Judea is under foreign occupation and Jesus of Nazereth is only one of several self-proclaimed 'messiahs of the Law of Moses' in a volatile 1st century Jerusalem. Rome and its client Judean partners don't particularly cotton to revolutionary Jewish nationalist- which is how Aslan portrays JC- and dispatch the full penalty of the state towards him.

After his crucifixion is the part I truly found fascinating- the way his group of illiterate farmers and fisherman carried on without him, how they found new adherents to Jesus' teachings and how post-crucifixion followers like Stephen and Paul (formerly 'Saul') helped his message spread outside of Judea and how that message dramatically changed...how a militant anti-Roman/pro-Jewish movement turned into one that proclaimed the man himself, Jesus of Nazereth, was, not the "Son of Man" or the "Son of God", but God Himself. I really found the political squabblings between Paul's Gentile Faction and James' (brother of JC) Hebrews of Jerusalem Faction quite interesting and entertaining.

My major (yet minor) complaint is Aslan voice doesn't have the stamina for a whole book, maybe a ringer should have been hired. Still a very good listen.

Revealing and controversial. Had to be written.

Fresh perspective on ancient mythology of Christ. Would also recommend "Saving the Savior" for a similar take in the historical Jesus.

Remarkable insight....

into the man called Jesus. You will never view him the same after this book.

I hope you don't like Paul

Because Paul is almost the villain in this, set against Jesus' brother James. Aslan makes a compelling case concerning how far afield modern Christianity is from the probable teaching of the historical Jesus. And the reason? Paul, who never met Jesus and got into a real tussle with James over the conversion of the gentiles. I, for one (having read a good bit of the New Testament) had apparently glossed over the passages Aslan uses to demonstrate this. Aslan, perhaps a bit shy, perhaps a bit sensitive because of his Muslim background, never actually comes out and states the thesis of his book: That Christianity, as a religion apart from Judaism, was sort of made-up after its prophet's death by a guy Jesus might not have approved of. So, forewarned is forewarned.

Interesting. Clear

I'm not religious. Agnostic I guess. This was enlightening regarding Jesus the man, the culture he lived in & the early evolution of Christianity.

Extraordinario

Gran narración del autor. Un acercamiento amigable al tema, combinado con una investigación profunda. Es como levantar un velo arraigado.

Deep and provocative

Well-read and thoroughly-researched. A valuable asset for historical religious studies. Enjoyed both the material and the reading.

Halla walla Rezaaaaa

What a great voice. 10/10 Narrate my life, bruh.
Will listen again. Can’t wait to read more of Rezas works.

Reza leaves a lot out

This book seems to have been written for the purpose of introducing Christians to the historical Jesus in the context of ancient Palestine. I suppose if one is going to get Christians to start asking logical questions, this is a good place to start. The book may be somewhat disappointing to those who already have a good grasp of the history surrounding the myth of Jesus. Reza uses quotes from the Bible to make historical and seemingly factual points without much contrast, if any, from other historical documents and works on the subject. While he does reference and site non-canonized gospels to provide more understanding and chronology, I would consider the book limited in scope. However, it serves it's purpose of introducing new readers to the subject.