Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth

Might be relevant:

http://bbs.clutchfans.net/showthread.php?t=242427&highlight=reza+aslan

 

The title seems to me unnecessarily provocative. I'm sure there's a reason he chose it, but a lot of people will see the title, and see the Muslim-sounding name of the author, and be instantly turned off. The goal should be to draw people in, not turn them away.

 

I would simply note that "Zealot" rhymes with "sell it".

 

Reza Aslan reading durvasa's post "aw man, I messed up!"

 

I'm looking forward to reading it!

 

Same here. Much of the attention has been spurred by the author's background, but after reading the online excerpts I don't necessarily see him revealing much that has not already been covered by other scholars. He just brings another perspective.

 

not Sell Lot?

Rocket River

 

Sadly, no. Second syllable of "zealot" is pronounced uht.

 

Yeah, the LAST thing a book needs to sell is controversy...



The very fact that there is a thread here about this book, one of about 200,000 books that will be published THIS YEAR ALONE, proves that the title is effective.

Controversy sells sells sells.

 

It depends on what audience he is looking for.

 

The audience he is looking for is a lot easier to find when people are talking about his book.

 

The concept of Jesus as a zealot is not necessarily new or controversial.

 

Yeah, but what grounds does a mooslem have to write about Jesus?

 

I was completely turned off by the book when he started to reject the same documents he is citing.

He cites the gospels and uses them as evidence for his thesis in some chapters, and then in others, he says the gospels are inaccurate and shouldn't be considered in his thesis. The problem is, why even cite the gospels in earlier chapters in the first place if you're later gonna ignore it. He loses all credibility of earlier chapters by throwing out the gospels in later chapters. Seemed like picking and choosing.

I agreed with some of his points, but in others, it just seemed like he was really stretching it out.

Those are just some rants. If you're into historical Jesus, or Rome or the Jews for that matter, the book is an interesting read. Just be sure to go in with an open mind, that goes for both believers of Jesus and non-believers.