Discussion of the Book Zealot by Reza Aslan

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Discussion of the Book Zealot by Reza Aslan

The life and times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan’s Zealot rejuvenates the theory that the death and ministry of Christ Jesus are better explained on the backdrop of the Jewish zealot uprisings at the turn of the era. Jewish zealotry is described by Reza Aslan in terms of their zeal for the Mosaic laws and the temple. Between the old and new testaments he makes efforts to survey Israel’s territories. By reviewing attempts by some dissatisfied elements who wanted to overthrow King Herod and make Israel free he places Christ Jesus squarely in the center of this social and historical setting. In this perspective he makes the reader understand that the proclamation by Christ Jesus of the coming of God’s kingdom was essentially a call for regime change to end the Roman monopoly over Israel which would in the end terminate the reign of an aristocratic and corrupt regime “The war with Rome begins not with a clang of swords but with the lick of a dagger from an assassin’s cloak” (Reza 3).

However his efforts are not effective since he keeps on coming up with wild allegations that questions his master of the subject he is writing. For instance on he poses that the spirit of God flowed from Palestine to the rest of the world when the scriptures state it originated from Israel “For what must not be forgotten when speaking of first century Palestine is that this land this hallowed land from which the spirit of God flowed to the rest of the world was occupied territory” (Reza 10).

The weakness of the book is the fact that Reza Aslan’s perceived regime change never took place instead Christ Jesus the supposed finisher of this struggle was arrested and killed alongside two rebels. He also introduces several of his own implausibility and oddity for instance his earliest references on Christ Jesus are from Paul. If he contends that the gospels were impacted by both the cult of Christ Jesus and Pauline theology then it is difficult for even his own understanding to authenticate that they are right. Apart from that the fact that he alleges that behind the gospels of Luke, Mathew and Mark lucks an unassailable factual document portrays how farfetched he is. He is not in touch with theology because if his assertions were true then the “wicked” Paul would not have left evidence indicating how he undermined a authentic document. Consequently the main narrators of the book Christ Jesus and Paul who are sympathetic and effective do not support the authors’ purpose. His lack of facts is seen in his misrepresentation of Jerusalem’s population during festive seasons.”On such days the city can swell to a million people” (Reza 3)

However, his strengths stems from the fact that not long after the death of Christ Jesus some of his followers realized that Christ was not dead but was in the real sense resurrected meaning his vision was not dead. The other strength that Reza Aslan gains in his characterization of Christ as the leader of a zealot movement is the fact that in comparison to other zealot movements that came to a halt upon the death of their leaders the one led by Christ Jesus never died rather it not only flourish in the face of brutal opposition but even attracted non Jews. “The cycle of life and death that the lord in his omnificence has decreed is wholly dependent upon your sacrifice” (Reza 5).

The main narrator of this story is Christ Jesus and he is believable. This is because he is a stark contrast of previous zealot movement leaders. He is not only patient but also the least violent of all the zealot leaders. In comparison to the Sicarii and the Maccabees he is the only one not willing to shed blood he for example stops Simon Peter from killing the people send to arrest him. Thus forms a very empathetic misunderstanding in the book. However the comparative strategy employed by Aslan overlooks critical inconsistencies while favoring wide ranging correlations. For instance he asserts “The money changers are happy to offer the credit you need to enhance your sacrifice” (Reza 4).

Having been born and brought up in Iran Reza Aslan who now lives in New York with his family has vast experience in writing since his days as a university student where he horned his creative writing skills. A holder of a PhD in Religion Sociology he has no training whatsoever or displayed expertise in Roman history, ancient Judaism, early Christianity or any other subject that is deemed relevant to the story he has written. Probably this is the reason why he drives in sensational assertions that Christ Jesus was in the real sense a political revolutionary that called for an uprising against the occupation by the Roman Empire of his country. “… and it is easy to see why so many Jews view the entire priestly nobility and the high priest in particular as nothing but a band of avaricious lovers of luxury to quote Josephus” (Reza 8)

Zealot has numerous gaps amongst these is the facts that it relies on discredited and an outdated thesis. Even though Aslan may have canvassed some of the authentic scholarship in the field he does not prudently choose his options. More often than not he opines for breathtaking assertions which bring to light extreme views that puts to question his master of the subject he is writing about. It is possible that his inclination to creative writing in the university may have a great influence in his farfetched allegations in Zealot. Consequently Zealot to an ordinary reader looks more of a novel than a historical evaluation work.

Works Cited

Reza Aslan, The life and times of Jesus of Nazareth. Random House Incorporated: New York (2013: 3-8.Print.