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)

Exceeded expectations - hence 5 stars.

Pop-biblical studies book. Read by the author in an enjoyable performance. Exceeded my moderate expectations since I found the narrative and content surprisingly educational and engaging.

The elevator pitch would be something like: How conditions in Palestine created the anti-roman zealot Jesus of Nazareth, what happened to the typical cults of that time, a few stories of the local politics that surrounded his death, and a deep dive how the early church arrived at Pauline Christianity centered in Rome/non-Jews - instead of a Jerusalem/Jewish Nazarene thing.

I think he treated the big faith points, like resurrection, respectfully. Certain readers will be triggered as he does point out a lot of internal contradictions in the New Testament. His main thesis is there's a real Jesus of Nazareth who died and then there's the Christ Jesus of legend the church has immortalized. Much like Mr George Washington a slave owner who murdered Jumonville, started the Seven Years War, and spent his final months attempting to kidnap escaped slave Ona Judge and than there's Founding Father George Washington who - in his spare time between treating all men and women equally - never lied and writes infallible documents. That doesn't sit well with closed minds.

I would suggest a medium level of knowledge of Christianity prior to listening. The names/rituals/beliefs in the book are often presented briefly without much detail in order not to distract from the narrative.

lack of scholarship

Thought provoking objects are raised, but little to no support is given. more like just posing different alternative explanations and then jumping to a different subject. Also rejects some things, and then sites them in favor of a different point later. overall just feels very defensive or attacky. I wish he had presented his arguments more systematically and logically with some support.

Game changer

This book was an eye opener for me. I found the most interesting part to be around the feud between Paul and James the just. Oddly enough, that's one of the last chapters.

Gripping, fascinating history

If you are Christian, you should listen to this book. If you are not a Christian but you are curious as to why Christianity has such a hold on religious beliefs, you should listen to this book. If you are at all interested in history and want to hear a monumental work by a great historian and a gifted writer, you will surely enjoy this book.

Historical Jesus

I read this book with a great deal of interest because I am a devoted member of the Jewish faith. On the other hand, gathering historical information about such an important individual as the Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth seems worthwhile to me and yet I was surprised to find the considerable difference between the historical man and the purported leading figure of a new faith, which he became in the hands of his following successors. The book may have a different meaning for each of us, but it is a worthwhile read for all of us.

startling to a believer

Very compelling read contradicting the image of Jesus Christ produced by Paul.
4 stars because I'm confused as to why the gospels were discredited as fact and then quoted to support ideas throughout the book.

pure quality, elegance and unbiased

this has opened my eyes to a world lived by normal men and women 2000 years ago

Reza Aslan

I am a believer in Christ, history, and science. This book had opened my eyes more than I thought possible. I was hesitant at first, thinking it would shake my belief. Quite on the contrary, I am feeling quite fervent for my faith... one may even say, zealous.

Gripping listening

Any additional comments?

Like Reza Aslan I spent plenty of time in Evangelical circles in my youth, so this kind of material always piques my interest. What you learn is that Jesus of Nazareth probably had much more in common with the Taliban than the air-brushed white guy on the cover of my Children's Bible. The Jesus Christ of much of the new testament, Aslan says, was a creation of Paul, who never met Jesus and whose views were significantly at odds with those who did. He highlights passages in different New Testament letters that indicate a feud between Paul and Jesus' brother James over who controlled the truth about Jesus. That was news to me.

I couldn't wait to get back to listening to this book. It goes by quickly and author Aslan paints a vivid picture of the era. At times he appears to take poetic license with the history, given that almost no historical writing about Jesus exists outside of the New Testament. His assertion that Jesus would have been surrounded by MANY other bandits while on the cross, for example, feels like conjecture presented too suredly as fact.

One question the book left me with is, if the traditionally Jewish followers of Jesus who supposedly knew the man himself were so opposed to Paul's teaching that Jesus was God, what were they still following all those years after his death? If they understood Jesus' true mission to be the overthrow of the Romans and their Jewish collaborators, what was the enduring appeal after his "shameful failure" on the cross?

I've been thinking of finally listening to the audiobook of the whole Bible, and "Zealot" provides a very thought-provoking back-story to the New Testament.

Good portrait of 1st century Judaism

What did you love best about Zealot?

Having taken a degree in Religious Studies and Theology, I appreciate the way Aslan constructs a picture of what Jesus' culture would be. I disagree with some points regarding Paul and early Christian movment.....but this is a fun read with a great performance by the author.