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gadicohen93's review against another edition
5.0
I've already been interested in the period and place — the Jewish revolts, the internal divisions during the Second Temple, the political tumult and rebellious zeal of the time. The premise of the book is convincing: Jesus as political, a precursor to the Zealots, striving to bring a revolution against Rome and against the Jews who act as Roman proxies at the Second Temple. Aslan throws light on the conspiracy of the New Testament, those four gospels that seemed intended as propaganda to convince denizens of the Roman empire that Jesus wasn't purely a political radical but a Godly being, God's son, performer of miracles, betrayed by Jews and resurrected. A conspiracy theory for the ages.
I had very little conception of the structure of the New Testament or their historical provenance before this book. The tale of Paul the Apostle — neé Saul — was fascinating: How he began as an anti-Jesus Jew, approved the killing of Stephen, then through his travels became a Christ evangelist. Aslan excelled most in setting the milieu — the atmosphere of the end of days, the political and social climate of the era of Jesus and after, beginning the story en media res with the Sicariis who carried their sicas to stab colluders with Rome, and weaving in the stories of John the Baptist — a Jew with his own cultish following whose baptizing rituals have been adopted by Christians — and Masada. Many myths were discarded: Jesus's place of birth — a fabrication to tie him to King David from Bethlehem; his travels around Sipphoris, a city I'd never heard about but had a chance to visit after reading this book (highly encourage!) Of course, the book came off as pop religion, pop history — but as someone with a non-shallow understanding of Jewish religion and history I couldn't find any glaring errors.
I had very little conception of the structure of the New Testament or their historical provenance before this book. The tale of Paul the Apostle — neé Saul — was fascinating: How he began as an anti-Jesus Jew, approved the killing of Stephen, then through his travels became a Christ evangelist. Aslan excelled most in setting the milieu — the atmosphere of the end of days, the political and social climate of the era of Jesus and after, beginning the story en media res with the Sicariis who carried their sicas to stab colluders with Rome, and weaving in the stories of John the Baptist — a Jew with his own cultish following whose baptizing rituals have been adopted by Christians — and Masada. Many myths were discarded: Jesus's place of birth — a fabrication to tie him to King David from Bethlehem; his travels around Sipphoris, a city I'd never heard about but had a chance to visit after reading this book (highly encourage!) Of course, the book came off as pop religion, pop history — but as someone with a non-shallow understanding of Jewish religion and history I couldn't find any glaring errors.
kmcquage's review against another edition
3.0
Fascinating but idiosyncratic and somewhat dubious scholarship in places. Still very thought provoking.
savaging's review against another edition
5.0
This is not a perfect book. But it gave me something invaluable. I've read the womanist theologians and the queer radical anti-racist reclamations of Jesus, and all of that feels powerful ... but it doesn't feel completely real. This book gave me a Jesus who feels real -- and who is also beautifully irreconcilable with the religious tradition that took on his name.
It also made me a huge fan of James, I guess?
It also made me a huge fan of James, I guess?
mandyfish's review against another edition
4.0
Fascinating. Difficult to put down. This book blew open the historical time of Jesus for me and made it relevant, alive and electric. Makes me want to read more historiography about the life and times of Jesus the man. And I'm not even Christian. A compelling read.
muhavipi's review against another edition
4.0
An intriguing look not only into the development of early Christology but also into the development of his earliest followers.
bibliobrandie's review against another edition
I chose this book because my mom is suddenly religious and I was looking for some talking points. I listened to the audio version, I think I would have understood more if I had read it. Also since I have little knowledge of the Bible or names in the Bible I just think a lot was lost on me. It was an interesting history lesson though.