Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Unabridged) Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Unabridged)

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Unabridged‪)‬

    • 4.3 • 77 Ratings
    • $12.99

    • $12.99

Publisher Description

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A lucid, intelligent page-turner” (Los Angeles Times) that challenges long-held assumptions about Jesus, from the host of Believer
 
Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher 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 executed as a state criminal. Within decades after his death, his followers would call him God.
 
Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history’s most enigmatic figures by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived. Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction. He explores the reasons the early Christian church preferred to promulgate an image of Jesus as a peaceful spiritual teacher rather than a politically conscious revolutionary. And he grapples with the riddle of how Jesus understood himself, the mystery that is at the heart of all subsequent claims about his divinity.
 
Zealot yields a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of Jesus’ life and mission.
 
Praise for Zealot
 
“Riveting . . . Aslan synthesizes Scripture and scholarship to create an original account.”The New Yorker
 
“Fascinatingly and convincingly drawn . . . Aslan may come as close as one can to respecting those who revere Jesus as the peace-loving, turn-the-other-cheek, true son of God depicted in modern Christianity, even as he knocks down that image.”The Seattle Times
 
“[Aslan’s] literary talent is as essential to the effect of Zealot as are his scholarly and journalistic chops. . . . A vivid, persuasive portrait.”Salon
 
“This tough-minded, deeply political book does full justice to the real Jesus, and honors him in the process.”San Francisco Chronicle
 
“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
 
“Compulsively readable . . . This superb work is highly recommended.”Publishers Weekly (starred review)

GENRE
Religion & Spirituality
NARRATOR
RA
Reza Aslan
LANGUAGE
EN
English
LENGTH
08:08
hr min
RELEASED
2013
July 16
PUBLISHER
Random House Audio
SIZE
501
MB

Customer Reviews

-/:;()$&@"(& ,

The Jesus the man.

As a fervent historian, this book not only confirmed my lifelong suspicions about Christianity but has also shed light onto many insights pertaining to the dilemma of Christ vs Jesus. As of any book like this, it was necessary for me to cross reference. Needless to say, this book was quite accurate.

Christianity has stripped away the very essence of who Jesus actually was. A pious Jew from the back waters of Galilee. Over time he comes from nothing and rises up with a band of zealot followers to defy the corrupt priests and Herodian Elite that masquerade around the temple. A poor Carpenter from Nazareth, he stands up for his Jewish brethren as their Messiah who will fight the Pagan Roman Empire’s brutal claim over Jerusalem and return to God and its people.

In the end, Jesus paid for his defiance with his life. Yet he left an everlasting mark on the world, to his dismay, the church. Something so egregiously different from what Jesus actually died for, that it vandalizes his legacy.

Reza Aslan has returned a desperately deserving praise back to Jesus the man and away from the evangelists of Christianity. This book is an absolute masterpiece and the ending, I can honestly say, has left an everlasting impact on myself.

ElDiabloTaco ,

Decent web spinning, poor scholarship

While the author crafts a somewhat compelling narrative it fails to use the available resources regarding the tradition of the Church effectively thus resulting in a very poor historical argument. The authors hermeneutic of suspicion is pervasive and leads him to conclude exactly the opposite of what the Scripture and the Holy Fathers say time and again while presenting it as fact. I'd say it's perhaps worth reading/listening to if you wanted an example of poor scholarship and exactly how not to read and interpret the Bible.

JPoniez ,

Eye-opening & comprehensive

Reza does a phenomenal job at looking at Jesus through a scientific and historical perspective and explaining how his image and perception evolved over time. Reza really did his homework and answered a lot of my religious questions.

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