abisko 's review for:

Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan

5.0

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This book is more a study, that takes the known historical facts and scholarly assumptions about who Jesus of Nazareth was, and compares them to the Jesus Christ figure of the New Testament. In very short order, this becomes a comparison of apples and oranges. The story is fascinating from start to finish, but rarely do the stories of this new bible written so many years after the crucifixion actually represent what truly happened during the times of Jesus. The final selection of testaments and stories (specifically Paul) that were finally conglomerated by Constantine and his crew of Romans 300 years later, really explain the entire story of how a quintessential Jewish story became the Romanized start of Christianity. Great, enlightening book that was surprisingly fascinating. 5 stars