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)

Fascinating and educational

Incredibly fascinating book. I said to my wife halfway through that I feel like I'm relearning a lot of history. Strips the mysticism around Jesus away without insulting him or trying to damage who he was.

Interesting

I learned many things about Christianity from this book though I disagree with some of its. It's speculative to say the least and I don't know many scholars who would agree Jesus was a zealot who challenged Jewish and Roman authority. But it's thought provoking and fun to listen to.

Wonderful book

like all Aslan's books, amazing, concise and mind blowing book. I loved it. very good narration and argument

A great history lesson for all...

As Christian for over sixty years I found this book very informative & interesting.., it is not faith shaking or a shock just the known facts mam, as Joe Friday would say...

Jesus of Nazareth

Great audible about Jesus of Nazareth. It’s a shame that Christian forsaken the truth about Jesus. If you want to know about the teaching of Jesus. Learn about his teaching in Nazareth.

amazing review of the history

an amazing review of the history and explains a lot about the modern interpretation of Jesus.

entertaining! (sinners beware)

if you can rid yourself from the fairy tales we've all been told about jesus, you will be incredibly entertained. Reza's reading this book is simply superb and unbeatable. if you can't, however, and you think you will sin for listening to what it is likely a much more realistic story abs (yet equally admirable) of jesus and not the christ of the Bible then be warned, for this is exactly just that book. So sin-prone readers beware.

Loved it.

I often find it difficult to read accounts of ancient history because there are always alternative sources and translations. A scholar may want to look a bit deeper into the evidence but for someone who has a general interest in the subject, the book was written and delivered without fault, The introduction justifies the style. For me, it was enlightening, fascinating and a pure pleasure to listen to.

Amazing!

What a wonderful story of the historical Jesus. Captivating and a really well told story.

Gripping retelling of how historical Christianity became contemporary Christianity

Aslan decodes centuries of complicated historical and mythological accounts of Christianity to provide a compelling explanation of how Historical Jesus became Jesus Christ, which he argues are not the same being. I personally have always struggled with the modern church’s attachment to Paul and have long thought Paul and Jesus often incompatible, but lacked the historical insight to explain my position. Aslan gets straight to the heart of the matter. Very satisfying book that will definitely make you think and still leaves room for your own faith connections. Definitely for thinkers.