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)

Meet historical Jesus

I was amazed at the speed with which I listened to this book. Reza Aslan narrates his own work with understanding and a sense of urgency that kept me engaged to the end.

I suspect that experts in the time period may find this work introductory, but there was a lot here that was news to me: for example, the significance of Jesus being from Nazarene, of the Messianic fever sweeping the people under Roman occupation, and why the Romans hung a sign on the cross that read "King of the Jews." (hint: They labeled every cross with the crime committed. Standard operating procedure.)

While I'm interested in textual criticism generally, this gave me a much clearer sense of what it felt like to live in the time of Christ. Recommend.

Must for all christians

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

I have recently increased my study of the bible and this as lead me to crisis of faith. I know God is real, but if the bible is "literally true" why are there errors of omission and inter-book discrepancies? This book has helped to answers this very difficult questions that I, in truth, was afraid to ask in church.

An amazing piece of scholarship

I now understand so much of what was distorted by the influence of Paul from Tarsus. I must now read the Epistle of James the Just. The absolute mandate to serve the poor is something worth believing in - unlike the "faith is all you need" doctrine that took over many of those who claim to follow Jesus of Nazareth.

Thank you Reza Aslan for this amazing piece of work. Unfortunately, I fear for the safety of the author as some fundamentalists might issue an evangelical "fatwa" (in the commonly understood meaning of the word rather than the Arabic "opinion") because he is a Muslim. So sad that this brilliant work will be judged by some through this distorted lens.

Interesting but not convincing

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The content was interesting but the juvenile sound of the author's enthusiastic narration made it very hard to take the book seriously. A professional reader would have made a world of difference.

Would you be willing to try another book from Reza Aslan? Why or why not?

I'd only listen if someone else read it.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Reza Aslan?

I don't have any names at hand but would have liked a serious sounding narrator, NOT Asian.

If this book were a movie would you go see it?

Possibly.

Provocative, eye opening, informational!

I like this book, and it made me appreciate Jesus the man much more. I think most history buffs and those critical of religion will like this book too.

love narration, got lost in the events

Reza narration is the BEST. A time line summary of events would have been helpful. sometimes it hears like it's jumping from one event to the other, and it's a little bit hard to go back when listening to it compared to with a paper back.

Fantastic, whether you are a believer or a seeker!

This book will test your faith like few others can. But in the end, you'll come through more in LOVE than before.

Great book to listen to!!

Any additional comments?

I am a believer and I walked away from this book with new perspective and my faith strengthened. I did not agree with everything he said but that's not the point. It was a breath of fresh air to listen to someone who might offer a different opinion especially on a touchy subject like "God". Your spirituality should be a response to revelation and not meant to be told by others around you or mandated by a system you were born into. Check this book out!!

Fascinating Read

To understand Jesus the man you have to understand the time in which he lived. This book almost perfectly depicts the era.

Great Book, But "Grandiose" At Times

Great book, great performance. The author covers the life and times of Jesus, but moreover, the oppression he and his people experienced; the people who were for and against him; his brother James, Paul/Saul, etc. I gave the book 4 out of 5 because it really could have been cut in half--he uses a lot of superlatives and superlative phrasing to try and make a concept or scene more exciting. For example, "...such-and-such happened for one reason and one reason only:.." So many times, I was like "Just give me the dang reason.." No need to lead up to it with empty phrases. Also, he would spend a lot of times on one subject, essentially saying the same things over and over, and different ways. It's like, move on to the next thing already! Both of these reminded me of situations where a college student might use "filler" sentences in order to satisfy a word-count requirement for a writing assignment. I just don't think filler text or superlatives are necessary. Books should be concise and interesting on their own. Overall, good information on the historical Jesus and a good oral reading.