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)

Zealot

Really liked this one and read it twice and will read it again. Filled with information and it made me want to go find out if some of the things were true, partly true or false. Found it very interesting and thought provoking. Not so sure people with fixed ideas are going to like this book. Have a friend who thought it was blasphemy and refused to read the whole book. This book didn't bruise my faith but did make me look at history during this time. Found out how much I didn't know and was amazed at the things learned with a little research outside this book.

Great story. All Christians should read

What did you love best about Zealot?

That the author read it.

What other book might you compare Zealot to and why?

No other book that I have read it quite like it.

What does Reza Aslan bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

That he wrote and read the book.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No extreme reaction. It was good to hear another perspective and other facts about Jesus.

Fair and Mostly Unbiased

Strictly a portrait of Jesus from an historical prospective. Facts are interspersed with probabilities and likelihoods, but this book held my attention from beginning to end. This is one man's perspective based upon extensive work and study. In my opinion, it should be combined with the studies and reflections of others in forming one's opinions and beliefs.

Insight into the historical Jesus

I loved this book and it gave me a lot of supporting resources to follow-up with. I'm excited to use this as a launching pad into my own journey into Jesus and who he was.

Awesome

Awesome narrator in not going to church anymore I'm done thanks Aslan for telling the truth

Compelling

A well put together history of the historical Jesus and the early church fathers. It shows an internal divide that is not often spoke of between the early Christian church leadership of the central sect in Jerusalem entrenched in Temple centric Judiasm still and that of Paul’s more universal approach towards Gentiles. Definitely a great read for anyone interested in biblical history, how the books in the bible were composed for their contemporary audience, and the political upheaval in 1st centuray Roman occupied Judea. Passionately narrated by the author, he brings various key events to life with his words. Highly recommended.

seemed very politically charged at many times

much of the things he claimed as facts were really just theories and he seemed to cherry pick alot and assumed very much about the first Christian churches and what they talked about but a good book none the less I suppose. lots of good info in there as well about Roman ruled judea

great writing fantastic history lesso

If you are at all interested in Christology this book is an important writing with regards to the humanity and development of the Is gospel of Jesus the Christ. The writer does an excellent job in the phodeveloping and telling the historical historical story of Jesus of Nazareth. If this book explains so much about the family, the followers, and the faith that is Christianity.

Jesus is the man.

Jesus is a hero of mine. It is nice to learn what we know of him as an individual, free of all the dogma.

dramatic performance of opinion posted as fact

The author states the only facts we really know about jesus is that he was a Jew and that he was crucified. He then lays out a mostly fictitious, dramatic new testament as described by his own dramatic, fictitious opinion.