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3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
Random thoughts.*
This was a very eye-opening and interesting look at the historical Jesus of Nazareth. Overall, I enjoyed Reza Aslan's writing style. However, it seemed at time you could feel the writing pull towards his biases.
I think I most enjoyed the contextual setting around Jesus and the book does a decent job of describing it. The political context, the cultural context, etc.
The book is more an exploration of the context in and around the time of Jesus than actual life of Jesus. That could be because Aslan is mainly pulling from the historical records of Jesus.
This was a very eye-opening and interesting look at the historical Jesus of Nazareth. Overall, I enjoyed Reza Aslan's writing style. However, it seemed at time you could feel the writing pull towards his biases.
I think I most enjoyed the contextual setting around Jesus and the book does a decent job of describing it. The political context, the cultural context, etc.
The book is more an exploration of the context in and around the time of Jesus than actual life of Jesus. That could be because Aslan is mainly pulling from the historical records of Jesus.
Interesting look at the life and times of the historical Jesus. Amazed I had not yet read up on the history outside the Bible. I think this would be good reading for both the devout and the doubtful.
This is an extremely, readable book even for theology losers like myself.
It left me with a new understanding of how the New Testament was written.
It left me with a new understanding of how the New Testament was written.
To be honest, I bought this book because Reza Aslan was treated so horribly by Fox News. I wanted to spite Fox and show some small level of support for Mr. Aslan. I never would have bought this book otherwise as I don't typically read books about religion.
Since I bought the book, I decided to go ahead and give it a try. Zealot is a fascinating and comprehensive analysis of the life and times of the historical figure, Jesus of Nazareth, using a broad set of available historical evidence. I found myself most interested in the descriptions of the broader social, economic and political context within which Jesus of Nazareth and his followers operated. Earlier this year I read a book on Cleopatra and another book on the Roman Empire, so Zealot fit in nicely with what I have been learning about the ancient Mediterranean region over the past six months or so.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone with a historical interest in the ancient Mediterranean region, anti-occupation movements, religious movements, or Christianity & Judaism.
Fair warning: this book will be a troubling read for anyone who interprets the Bible literally. Mr. Aslan parses out the various sources for New Testament books of the Bible to assess which characterizations of Jesus may relate to the historical figure and which characterizations of Jesus may stem from the early Church's evolving understandings of Jesus Christ, the religious figure.
Since I bought the book, I decided to go ahead and give it a try. Zealot is a fascinating and comprehensive analysis of the life and times of the historical figure, Jesus of Nazareth, using a broad set of available historical evidence. I found myself most interested in the descriptions of the broader social, economic and political context within which Jesus of Nazareth and his followers operated. Earlier this year I read a book on Cleopatra and another book on the Roman Empire, so Zealot fit in nicely with what I have been learning about the ancient Mediterranean region over the past six months or so.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone with a historical interest in the ancient Mediterranean region, anti-occupation movements, religious movements, or Christianity & Judaism.
Fair warning: this book will be a troubling read for anyone who interprets the Bible literally. Mr. Aslan parses out the various sources for New Testament books of the Bible to assess which characterizations of Jesus may relate to the historical figure and which characterizations of Jesus may stem from the early Church's evolving understandings of Jesus Christ, the religious figure.
I enjoyed reading this book mostly for the early history of first century Palestine, Jerusalem, and Rome. I know there are many criticisms of this book by other scholars of religious history so I’m taking this presentation of the historical Jesus with a grain of salt. But still an interesting read.
Fascinating. I'm not a Christian and never has Jesus seemed more real--more a man--than he did in these pages. I love how Aslan draws the distinction between faith and history.
I didn’t care about this subject as much as I thought I did. I was hoping for a biography of Jesus the historical figure, less all the supernatural claims, but this book was set up more as an argument against the Jesus that the Christian church/Bible claims to represent. Honestly I don’t need any convincing and I don’t care that much.
From a historical perspective, this book is really interesting to anyone interested in religion. From a theological perspective, Aslan says nothing disrespectful or inflammatory, but it definitely challenges the status quo. Worth reading, for anyone with an open mind.