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  • Zealot

  • The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
  • Written by: Reza Aslan
  • Narrated by: Reza Aslan
  • Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (107 ratings)

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Zealot cover art

Zealot

Written by: Reza Aslan
Narrated by: Reza Aslan
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Publisher's Summary

From the internationally best-selling author of No god but God comes a fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography that challenges long-held assumptions about the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth.

Two-thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher and miracle worker walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the "Kingdom of God". The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was captured, tortured, and executed as a state criminal.

Within decades after his shameful death, his followers would call him God.

Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history's most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived: first-century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervor. Scores of Jewish prophets, preachers, and would-be messiahs wandered through the Holy Land, bearing messages from God. This was the age of zealotry - a fervent nationalism that made resistance to the Roman occupation a sacred duty incumbent on all Jews. And few figures better exemplified this principle than the charismatic Galilean who defied both the imperial authorities and their allies in the Jewish religious hierarchy.

Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction; a man of peace who exhorted his followers to arm themselves with swords; an exorcist and faith healer who urged his disciples to keep his identity a secret; and ultimately the seditious "King of the Jews" whose promise of liberation from Rome went unfulfilled in his brief lifetime.

©2013 Reza Aslan (P)2013 Random House

What the critics say

"In Zealot, Reza Aslan doesn't just synthesize research and reimagine a lost world, though he does those things very well. He does for religious history what Bertolt Brecht did for playwriting. Aslan rips Jesus out of all the contexts we thought he belonged in and holds him forth as someone entirely new. This is Jesus as a passionate Jew, a violent revolutionary, a fanatical ideologue, an odd and scary and extraordinarily interesting man." (Judith Shulevitz, author of The Sabbath World)
"A bold, powerfully argued revisioning of the most consequential life ever lived." (Lawrence Wright, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief)
"The story of Jesus of Nazareth is arguably the most influential narrative in human history. Here Reza Aslan writes vividly and insightfully about the life and meaning of the figure who has come to be seen by billions as the Christ of faith. This is a special and revealing work, one that believer and skeptic alike will find surprising, engaging, and original." (Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power)

What listeners say about Zealot

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Liked not getting sold a belief system

I liked Reza's goal of objectively looking at the historical information about Jesus. He tries to get a picture of what really happened and drives his theories from evidence. I like how he separates into events he is (reasonably more) sure of and those that are more a matter of faith or doctrine. Also how little we actually know about yet other things.

He doesn't tell you what to think or believe and I find his delivery respectful to the Christian faith.

After reading his work, in line with the scientific approach he takes to reading texts, I looked for criticism of the book. I was disappointed to find most criticism attacked him as a person, just not liking his work for not matching Christian catechism. I hoped criticism instead would focus on disputing his timeline of events or interpretations, or pointed out other historical documents that contradicted his ideas.

Sadly, his detractors don't seem to attack him over his source material or disagree with specific statements; more often they express personal attacks instead, which doesn't help me.

As a Christian, his work did spark more interest in me learning more about what the real truths are in the actual life of Jesus. From Reza's work we can be sure Jesus actually existed and that He did spectacular things. Resurrection is a matter of faith, that he suggests can neither be proved or disproved by the historical record. I find this a respectful attitude for a very complex, personal and emotional question at the heart of our own identity.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting if you don’t mind the attitude

Listen to this with a Bible handy, because there’s a lot that needs the original for context and tone.

Speaking of tone, I find Aslan’s to be petulant (see YouTube for his Fox News interview for more of the same).

Plenty of interesting content, but not as deep, enjoyable, or well thought out as anything by Ehrman.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Alas, this man has never met Jesus

I am surprised at the many assumptions made about the life of Jesus in this book. If you are trying to disprove a religion there's too many to overlook. To be fair, there is supposedly refuting arguments in the original book, but that's not available in the audiobook.
It's clear that the author does not know the real Jesus, nor has felt or admitted His presence. He also does not know God, because you cannot come to the Father without the Son. Other reviewers have praised this book mentioning a " worldwide religion that bears no semblance of the real Jesus Christ". Sadly, there is some truth in this, whether you believe this book or the Holy Bible version of Jesus. It is why I call myself a "follower of Jesus" and not a "Christian". Nevertheless, the truth is available to those willing to seek it out and follow it.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

A great listen for biblical history

This book does a thorough overview of the history of the early new testament and separates facts from faith in unpacking the narratives popularized by Christianity.

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Clear anti Christian agenda

The book is very clearly written with a clear agenda in the mind of the writer and it is to discount Christianity as much as possible. Opinions of the writer is stated as facts and he has contradictions within his own book. He disregards lots of facts that do not meet his goal of proving Christianity wrong and goes to great length to focus on whatever he thinks proves his point. He misinterprets Bible verses and takes others out of context to prove a point which only shows how much he is trying to prove this idea that Christianity is wrong. This book is not an attempt at a historical review of Jesus's life it is an attempt to discount Christianity. He is entitles to his own views but do not present this book as historical facts but as an opinion.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Every Christian needs to read this book!

This is a must read for every Christian. I will be recommending this book to my friends and family.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great Book, Eye opening, Love the Author's Passion

Honestly I kinda feel sad that the book is over. Even though it was history based, I was so absorbed into the author's narrative. Love it. Rarely got to the point that my mind was allowed to wonder around

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  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars

Dumb

Best thing about this book was the title. It was painfully boring. I kept hoping for something profound or unique, but nothing. Started out with his premise as he tried to connect his opinions all based on rumor, innuendo, and wishful thinking. I assumed this was a book that was researched intelligently, reasonable arguments and intellectually challenging. If you're wanting something that is scholarly peer reviewed then this is not that. If you like fiction stories based around few facts such as the DaVinci Code, then you might like this. Keep in mind this is nowhere near as fascinating as DaVinci Code.
One simple word for one simple book is a the first word that came to mind when I finished reading The Zealout was; "dumb"! That turned out to be a dumb book. Maybe if the reader has little to no knowledge about the said subjects and has a biased view of religion to start, then this may be an attractive story.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
  • A
  • 2021-10-20

historical Jesus

really interesting book. not sure what Christians wil think of the historical Jesus as opposed to the modern idea of the figure. lots of learn about the massive contributions of Saul and the antipathy towards him from Jesus's brother, James.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Unbiased look at history, not stories

Having grown up in the church and years of Sunday School lessons this book was an eye-opener to truth.

The author presents an unbiased review of what historians say the times were like and the lack of validation of the New Testament.

I highly recommend this book, even to believers who want to strengthen their faith.

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