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)

If you're seeking the truth listen to this

Great book will read and listen to again the information given has reference to the scripture with an historic truth.

Excellent and Entertaining

If you could sum up Zealot in three words, what would they be?

Provocative, Insightful, Vivid

What did you like best about this story?

With excellent writing, in-depth scholarship and wonderful organization of material, Aslan brings the first century CE to life. While none of these ideas or theories are particularly new to me, the deftness and skill with which Aslan presents the material are exceptional. This is a wonderful book for anyone wanting to understand the state of the art scholarship regarding this subject.

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

Aslan's reading is clear and passionate. It never is boring.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There are many. Most fascinating were the activities around the temple, the futile revolt against the Romans, and the chaotic struggles of all the various factions, messiahs, despots and "holy men."

Any additional comments?

No matter what conclusions you want to draw, this is greatly informative and fascinating recreation of the 1 CE conditions of Judea and the Roman empire. Reads like an exceptionally good novel.

Incredibly Interesting

I would recommend this title to anyone seeking historical information versus the biblical story of Jesus.

excellent!

As a Jew, this is a revealing narrative about Yeshua whom I admire very much.

The missing context!

I grew up with a great deal of instruction about christianity, but very little about Jesus himself. Reza Aslan crafts a story which breathes life into what I had perceived to be an archaic time. His style is approachable and not pretentious.

Reza's description of the life and times of Jesus made me realise that almost every New Testament verse I had heard, read or memorised was out of context. It is that context which makes the book so compelling.

As a Christian I enjoyed his perspective.

I enjoyed his perspective. The book caused me to continue questioning truth. That, to me, is important.

A book of facts. Make your conclusion on your own.

What made the experience of listening to Zealot the most enjoyable?

The way the story was build. It takes you from the history of how Jesus came into picture and what was his motive.

Full of insight into the life of Jesus Nazareth

Reza Aslan is an amazing writer and historian. I found this book intriguing and an easy listen. There is so much more to the story of Jesus than the Bible describes. it is fascinating to learn how the books of the Bible came to be and who Jesus was as a Jewish man in the world during the first few decades CE.

Not for the faithful .

A nice job discovering the historical Jesus
But this volume should be avoided by the faithful.

Excellent story telling and narration

For anyone who has studied early Christian history, there won't be many surprises here. However, Aslan has a delightful way of spinning a story based on historical context. His audio books are the next best thing to good historical fiction. In fact, I think he should try his hand at some Dale Brown type writing - he would be very good at it.