Looking forward to reading "Zealot" by Reza Aslan
I am looking forward to reading Reza Aslan's newest book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth, a book exploring the life and teachings of the historical Jesus. Although I am not a Christian and do not believe that Jesus is or was the son of God, I am interested in world religions, Biblical history and Israel, which makes Jesus a very interesting person to learn about.
If time travel existed (and my time machine had a Tardis-like translation circuit...) I would love to head to the Galilee or (how awesome would that be: ) to the Jerusalem of Jesus' time to experience for myself what life was like back then and to find out in what kind of a world he lived. I would love to be just a face in the crowd, one of the many who congregated to hear Jesus speak or see for myself if what people were saying about him was true. How amazing would it be to actually meet the man behind the legend, to see the expression on his face as he talks, explains and teaches, to listen to words that will one day be known by countless millions spoken for the very first time. Sadly, unless and until science-fiction becomes reality, time travel is out of the question. Learning about the past through books it is then, which brings me back to Zealot.
I must admit that I hadn't heard about Reza Aslan until reading about and watching the sensational Fox News interview (which you can see here at Al Arabiya for instance) in which the author is interviewed about his latest book and almost (or so it seems) attacked by the news anchor for being a Muslim writing about the 'founder' of Christianity. I don't understand why anyone would question that someone interested in the history of religions and in religious development wants to write about the founder of the world's largest religion. It seems kind of self-explanatory, really.
It also seems to me as if the news anchor is not aware of the fact that Jesus is considered a prophet in the Islamic faith. This alone would be a completely understandable reason for any Muslim to want to learn more about and write about Jesus. Aslan does not need me to defend his interest in learning more about the historical Jesus as he does fine himself, stating he is a scholar with several degrees who also happens to be a Muslim. Perhaps that is what makes Aslan's book sound so interesting to me: Born a Muslim, the author converted to Christianity and lived as a Christian for a number of years before returning to Islam. Personally, I'd say that someone who's gotten to know Jesus as a Christian, a Muslim and a scholar sounds like the perfect person to write about who Jesus of Nazareth really was and what kind of a world he lived in.
If time travel existed (and my time machine had a Tardis-like translation circuit...) I would love to head to the Galilee or (how awesome would that be: ) to the Jerusalem of Jesus' time to experience for myself what life was like back then and to find out in what kind of a world he lived. I would love to be just a face in the crowd, one of the many who congregated to hear Jesus speak or see for myself if what people were saying about him was true. How amazing would it be to actually meet the man behind the legend, to see the expression on his face as he talks, explains and teaches, to listen to words that will one day be known by countless millions spoken for the very first time. Sadly, unless and until science-fiction becomes reality, time travel is out of the question. Learning about the past through books it is then, which brings me back to Zealot.
I must admit that I hadn't heard about Reza Aslan until reading about and watching the sensational Fox News interview (which you can see here at Al Arabiya for instance) in which the author is interviewed about his latest book and almost (or so it seems) attacked by the news anchor for being a Muslim writing about the 'founder' of Christianity. I don't understand why anyone would question that someone interested in the history of religions and in religious development wants to write about the founder of the world's largest religion. It seems kind of self-explanatory, really.
It also seems to me as if the news anchor is not aware of the fact that Jesus is considered a prophet in the Islamic faith. This alone would be a completely understandable reason for any Muslim to want to learn more about and write about Jesus. Aslan does not need me to defend his interest in learning more about the historical Jesus as he does fine himself, stating he is a scholar with several degrees who also happens to be a Muslim. Perhaps that is what makes Aslan's book sound so interesting to me: Born a Muslim, the author converted to Christianity and lived as a Christian for a number of years before returning to Islam. Personally, I'd say that someone who's gotten to know Jesus as a Christian, a Muslim and a scholar sounds like the perfect person to write about who Jesus of Nazareth really was and what kind of a world he lived in.
