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mary_brawley 's review for:
Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
by Reza Aslan
Reza Aslan finds more than enough in the historical Jesus, the man, to admire, respect, love, revere, and follow before mystical and universalist qualities were ascribed to him and given precedence starting decades after he lived. Aslan is criticized for his credentials and there is controversy about the conclusions he draws from his research. However, from my non-historian perspective, I found the case plausible. Aslan's account of the volatile interaction of Roman and Jewish law and culture in Palestine at the time of Jesus seems to be based on actual historical sources. Aslan uses that as background against which he analyzes biblical tracts to extrapolate Jesus' beliefs, activities, and role as a devout conservative Jew and nationalist activist. I did have difficulty listening to Aslan read his own work on this CD version of the book, as he uses his pedagogic style too much to convince the listener, rather than relying on the [one would hope] credibility of the written word.