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A review by atomic_tourist
ZEALOT: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan, Reza Aslan
In Zealot, Reza Aslan aims to unearth the story of Jesus "the man", as opposed to the myth of Jesus "the deity". (He calls the former "Jesus of Nazareth" and the latter "Jesus the Christ".) To accomplish this goal, he paints a vivid picture of the context behind Jesus. Readers are treated to a history lesson about the politics of Roman-occupied Palestine during the first century C.E. Aslan logically lays out all the tensions and upheavals that enabled Christianity, and by extension- Jesus, to one day become the official religion of Rome, despite the fact that it was initially a fringe movement full of contradictions and infighting.
Before reading, I was skeptical of Zealot. I ordered it only because Aslan is coming to the Miami book fair next month, and I was scared I'd have to DNF. But I was pleasantly surprised. Aslan's writing about the lives of Temple-era Jews was fascinating. I learned so much about their values and rituals, despite having a working knowledge of the topic due to my Jewish upbringing. And he spends almost half of the book providing this context. I even considered shelving it as "Jewish"!
I also appreciated Aslan's focus on the direction of early Christianity. All my life, I'd never understood why Christianity split off from Judaism. Was that something Jesus wanted? When did early Christians stop practicing Jewish law? Now I know the answer!
I did see another review that pointed out how Aslan sometimes doesn't back his assertions. I agree with this point. Occasionally, Aslan makes a bold claim like "it's obvious that... XYZ" when his conclusion is far from obvious! I'd like to see more rationale or at least a "they say, I say"-type acknowledgment of what others are saying. In most cases, Aslan did include explanations, but when he omitted them it was quite frustrating.
Zealot was a nice surprise. I had the unexpected experience of reading a biography of Jesus, and in the process, becoming more knowledgeable and grounded in my Judaism. How often does that happen?
Before reading, I was skeptical of Zealot. I ordered it only because Aslan is coming to the Miami book fair next month, and I was scared I'd have to DNF. But I was pleasantly surprised. Aslan's writing about the lives of Temple-era Jews was fascinating. I learned so much about their values and rituals, despite having a working knowledge of the topic due to my Jewish upbringing. And he spends almost half of the book providing this context. I even considered shelving it as "Jewish"!
I also appreciated Aslan's focus on the direction of early Christianity. All my life, I'd never understood why Christianity split off from Judaism. Was that something Jesus wanted? When did early Christians stop practicing Jewish law? Now I know the answer!
I did see another review that pointed out how Aslan sometimes doesn't back his assertions. I agree with this point. Occasionally, Aslan makes a bold claim like "it's obvious that... XYZ" when his conclusion is far from obvious! I'd like to see more rationale or at least a "they say, I say"-type acknowledgment of what others are saying. In most cases, Aslan did include explanations, but when he omitted them it was quite frustrating.
Zealot was a nice surprise. I had the unexpected experience of reading a biography of Jesus, and in the process, becoming more knowledgeable and grounded in my Judaism. How often does that happen?