I didn’t read but a few of the notes the ones I did read were helpful when Aslan wrote something that made me wonder, “Where did he get that?”īut that was a rare reaction, as the history conveyed in Zealot is on the mark (except, alas, when it comes to Jesus, but more about that later). That’s impressive, but perhaps overkill and maybe a sign that Alsan knew he was going to be challenged on the book.
After the 200 pages of prose, there are over 100 pages of notes. But I was lent an actual hard copy of the book recently, and just finished it.įor a book written by a scholar, Zealot is quick and fairly easy to read if you ignore the notes. I’ve been asked about the book by several folks in my congregation, but had plenty of books on my “to read” list (and downloaded on my Kindle) and wasn’t really that interested in reading another deconstruction of the historical Jesus by a Muslim or anyone else. This was good for Aslan and his book because the video went viral – like the ones where people hit themselves in the head with a hammer or something (in this case Aslan is the hammer and Green is the self-inflicted wounder) – and Zealot soared to the top of the Bestseller List. The interview continues for over nine minutes like this, with Aslan giving reasoned responses and Green basically sputtering, “But you’re a Muslim!” over and over. That’s like asking someone who studies American History – someone from another country, maybe – “Why would you be interested in George Washington?” To which Green replied, “Why would you be interested in the founder of Christianity?”
You may remember that the interviewer (“inquisitor” is probably a better word), Lauren Green, started off in attack mode: “You’re a Muslim, why did you write a book about Christianity?”Īslan then gave a lengthy reply in which he explained that he was a religious scholar with a PhD in Religious Studies who had spent two decades studying the origins of Christianity. Probably the best thing to happen to Reza Aslan, and his book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, was a train-wreck of an interview on Fox “News” back in July.
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