Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus by Reza Aslan

Has anyone read this book?

This is a very interesting discussion with the author: http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/reza-aslan-introduces-jesus-the-zealot/51db050f78c90a2d590000b5

No I have not, been meaning to. I think I might pick that up after watching the interview. Thanks for sharing!

I've heard it's pretty good, enlightening stuff. I hope to read it eventually.

funny thing, after I posted this, I went to Costco to pick up some stuff for dinner. As I was headed for the checkout, my wife called to say "don't forget salsa", so I had to turn around and head back to the back of the store. I just happen to turn around in the book aisle, and guess what was sitting right there, staring at me? Yep, I picked it up and am going to read some of it this weekend.

Kaverael wrote: Has anyone read this book?

I read it, THOROUGHLY enjoyed reading it, and wrote a review of the book here:

http://theautarkist.wordpress.com/2014/05/17/zealot-how-a-muslim-found-jesus-and-what-he-did-to-him-when-he-found-him/

Kaverael wrote: Has anyone read this book?

This is a very interesting discussion with the author: http://live.huffingtonpost.com/r/segment/reza-aslan-introduces-jesus-the-zealot/51db050f78c90a2d590000b5

Was literally talking about this book earlier today. I still haven't finished it, but what I've read is amazing. It's an interesting, academically informative, eye-opener, in my opinion.

I know this thread is over a year old, but I was wondering if anyone else has read it since then, and remember your thoughts on it? Haha I just got it yesterday, then saw this thread so I figured I would ask.

I liked the interview - thanks for bumping the thread For a really good (in my opinion), in-depth primer on the life and times of Jesus I can strongly recommend this Open course from Yale University: http://oyc.yale.edu/religious-studies/rlst-152#sessions
It's also available as a Podcast on iTunes (other podcast providers are available ) and it's free!

Albert Schweitzer stated that we cannot ever know the historical Jesus. I agree. From internal evidence, the letters of Paul were written in the generation after the death of Jesus while the Gospels two to three generations following. Aslan is correct in stating that none of them ever met Jesus. All of the writings of the New Testament have a theological purpose and cannot be used as an historical source. Their theological/ethical perspectives can be compared to other documents of the time but then we are comparing the theologies and ethical theories of writers and not those of Jesus. The most unique written format, one that doesn't appear in other first century documents, are the Parables. Perhaps the Parables are closer to the thoughts of Jesus, as rendered by the Gospel writers included in the Christian canon. There is a stronger case for Jesus the Jewish Ethical Reformer as the words attributed to him echo Rabbi Hillel more than those of either the Essenes or Zealots.

Alan wrote: Albert Schweitzer stated that we cannot ever know the historical Jesus. I agree. From internal evidence, the letters of Paul were written in the generation after the death of Jesus while the Gospels two to three generations following. Aslan is correct in stating that none of them ever met Jesus. All of the writings of the New Testament have a theological purpose and cannot be used as an historical source. Their theological/ethical perspectives can be compared to other documents of the time but then we are comparing the theologies and ethical theories of writers and not those of Jesus. The most unique written format, one that doesn't appear in other first century documents, are the Parables. Perhaps the Parables are closer to the thoughts of Jesus, as rendered by the Gospel writers included in the Christian canon. There is a stronger case for Jesus the Jewish Ethical Reformer as the words attributed to him echo Rabbi Hillel more than those of either the Essenes or Zealots.

thank you, ive never heard of Rabbi Hilel, im interested and am going to see what google has to say

i know this does not lend me much credibility in the larger scheme of things, but i just finished an "Intro to Religion" last semester, and my prof. made sure that the class understood that Jesus was likely a bit of a disappointment to the zealots

i drew the conclusion that the reason he lived and taught for as long as he did - which i was told was around three years - was because he never advocated any kind of overt opposition to rome

he did generate a lot of controversy and get a lot of attention

because of how many people were interested in what he had to say, had he offered even a hint of being a zealot, he would immediately have been taken and executed

i was taught that his ministry was especially challenging to the sadducee's, and that it was primarily they who eventually accused jesus of treason against rome

not so much because he was in any way treasonous

but because that was a charge that the roman empire would not want to hear had been treated lightly

and that was why pontius pilate relented, and ordered jesus to be crucified - he was essentially "maneuvered" by the nature of the sadducees accusations

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EDIT
wow the source of the "golden rule", thats awesome

i thought the quote ""What is hateful to you, do not do to your fellow: this is the whole Torah; the rest is the explanation; go and learn" was familiar and i wondered if i hadnt embarrassed myself by admiting how much i DIDNT learn in my class, so i just checked my textbook (religions of the world, hopfe) and his name was not in the index

maybe thats a later course