Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

Wow. What a quick read. I sat down and just plowed through this book in a couple of hours. The main text comes in and right around 215 pages, but there are tons of notes.

I enjoyed the connections between the historical Jesus and the religious Jesus the Christ. I have been, amateur-ly, making and effort at breaking this down myself. For me, it was helpful to have the perspective of another person, an expert, who is looking back as a Christian religious scholar. The contrast between Paul and James was something that I hadn't really understood in other texts. Also, the author's understanding of the Aramaic and the Greek language is helpful for untangling translations.

I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in the historical Jesus. I think that all of those potential readers will have explored other related historical readings already, such as a focus on what the Torah says about the messiah, what the Roman empire looked like around 100 BCE to 100 CE, and what the new testament says about Jesus. Having that foundation, this book connects the dots. The dearth of actual historic text may frustrate some folks, but I don't know what we do about this problem.

Fascinating throughout. Most interesting might be the last chapters that discuss Paul and James in the early days of the church. Reminded me somewhat of Under the Banner of Heaven and struggles for the soul of a new religion.

I suspect that if one is a Christian believer, this book would not be well received. It would, nonetheless, be worth reading, because it suggests an alternative view of Jesus–the historical Jesus–that is both rooted in research and logic. It's also very informative. For example, I knew nothing about the early Church and certainly nothing about the conflict between James (about whom I was only vaguely aware anyway) and Paul. Fascinating stuff.

I am not sure what Reza Aslan set out to do when he wrote Zealot, but whatever it may have been, he sure succeeded in getting exposure. This is what sits with me the entire time as I read the book: that this was a tome not meant to elucidate, but provoke. And that, inherently, is its biggest failing. It is a fascinating read because of the way Aslan weaves a story, but it is a vacuous one because it does not have a convincing argument. Nonetheless, it entertains—and I never thought I'd say that about a book about a religious figure.

(originally published on inthemargins.ca)

I've found a few 2-star ratings that I would agree with. Much of the information Aslan provides about Jesus is old hat. I was interested in the bits of information about the time period itself, and this is a decent introduction. Even with my poor background in NT history, though, I was quirking eyebrows at some of the things he wrote, some of the things he just assumed (and there seemed to be a lot of assumption going on), and his very melodramatic writing style. Very melodramatic. So, in the end, interesting, quick to read, provides some useful background info, but not great. The search continues. I actually HAVE Crossan. I should probably read him now.