No doubt like many other people, I first heard about Reza
Aslan and his book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (2013) on
NPR in reference to an interview he had had on Fox News. For a week or so, a
ridiculous controversy arose about if a Moslem could write about what
Christians call the Old and New Testaments. My feeling is that anyone who can
find a publisher can write and publish a book about whatever he wants. The
question should be is it a book worth reading.
In Zealot, Aslan sets out to separate the historical Jesus
of Nazareth from Jesus Christ the Son of God around whom modern Christianity is
formed. It’s a reasonable inquiry. After I returned from a pilgrimage in Spain
in 2000, I started rereading the Christian Bible and became interested in the
historical Jesus, too. And like Aslan, I read John Dominic Crossan’s works The
Historical Jesus: The Life of a Mediterranean Jewish Peasant and Jesus: A
Revolutionary Biography as well as other books and articles by Crossan and other
writers. To me, it has been and still is a rewarding exercise that has helped
my meditations each time I read the New Testament.
The search for the historical Jesus of Nazareth is an
incredible challenge. After all, the books the New Testament itself were
written after the crucifixion. Nevertheless, Aslan has done an excellent job of
extracting the Galilean from what was written about him after his death and
placing him within his own social, economic, political and religious times.
Aslan then makes some interesting conclusions about the rise of Jesus Christ the
Son of God after the death of Jesus of Nazareth also by looking at the
historical times when the letters of Paul, the four gospels and the rest of the
New Testament were written (with the exception of Revelations).
Besides the narrative itself, Aslan includes a meaty
“Author’s Notes” section where he discusses his sources and some of his
reasoning and conclusions. He also has a lengthy bibliography of the books and
articles that he has read for those readers who are also interested in taking
up the modern quest for the historical Jesus of Nazareth.
Since coming back from Spain in 2000, I have tried to read
the Christian Bible every year and I try to read the New Testament an
additional time during the Lenten season. Before starting that exercise (but
sometimes during or after), I enjoy reading some other book which will
stimulate my own meditations about what I’m reading. Aslan’s Zealot would be
a worthwhile read before reading the New Testament, and I heartily recommend
it.
When I finish reading any book, there are three questions
that I ask myself: Is this book worth buying? Is this book worth rereading?
Would it be worthwhile to read something else by the same writer? My answers
for Zealot: The Life and Times Jesus of Nazareth are yes, yes and yes.
