In 2005 the guardian called him a shia by persuasion. The book has become controversial, as it calls into question. Finally, if you have any interest in biblical studies at all, consider becoming a member of ehrmans site, as his commentary is always interesting. Believer is a spiritual adventure that explores religions around the world.
The life and times of jesus of nazareth by reza aslan. His main point is that some people get caught up in a cause and view themselves as representing the good of the world or of the universe. A human history, is aimed at the analytically minded spiritual seeker, the type who hopes to answer deep questions on the divine with study data and tidbits. Much attention as would be expected is given to the axial age. Religion scholar reza aslan ate cooked human brain tissue with a group of cannibals in india during sundays premiere of the new cnn show believer, a documentary series about spirituality. The life and times of jesus of nazareth, reza aslan zealot. Reza aslan, host of the cnn original series believer, explains hindus concept of god. Confronting religious extremism in the age of globalization, zealot.
Jessica jackley, the virtuoso cofounder of the revolutionary microlending platform kiva, shares uplifting stories and compelling lessons on entrepreneurship, resilience, and character. Reza aslan suffers no fools books portland mercury. Larry hurtado described the thesis circulating in lay circles, that jesus was a military revolutionary, as a zombie idea from what i gather, a key conclusion of aslans 20 book which had been debunked over and over again by scholarship in the past century. Any major title which claims to reveal or shed light on the real or historical jesus is immediately of interest, and can be quite polarizing. Reza aslan was a christian but converted back to the faith of his forefathers, islam. Reza aslan is an american professor, born in iran, a muslim, a scholar of religion, an astute observer of society, and a firstclass writer. Book passage, a bookstore with two outlets in the bay area, hosted mr. Confronting religious extremism in the age of globalization, no god but god. Aslan argues that jesus was a political, rebellious and eschatological end times jew whose proclamation. Reza aslan converted to christianity when he was a teenager, but became more interested in jesus than as a messiah. This is less a history of god, and more a history of the particular way of thinking about goda way of thinking about god that arose deep in our evolution as a. Anyone looking for a case study in how not to interview an author can look no further than this painful encounter between reza aslan, the writer of a.
The life and times of jesus of nazareth is a book by iranianamerican writer and scholar reza aslan. The new york times bestseller timely, riveting, enlightening and necessary. Reza aslan, the scholar and tv presenter, has been pressured to eat human brains while filming with a fringe, cannibalistic hindu sect for a new series on the worlds religions but that might. Reza aslan is the founder of aslan media, a social media network for news and entertainment about the middle east and the world. Its about how the idea of god arose deep in human evolution and how it evolved and developed throughout human history to the point where it. Aslan, who is writing for nonexperts, describes jewish zealotry largely in terms of zeal for the temple and for israels law of moses and surveys some of israels history between the testaments. Reza aslan outrages hindus by eating human brains in cnn. While there have been a number of successful books on the topic of islamic history from karen armstrongs islam. The origins, evolution, and future of islam, has been translated into thirteen languages and named by blackwell as one of the hundred most important books of the last decade. You cant read the full post unless you are a subscriber, but i with a few bullet points below. Defending the official scapegoat religion of america. Ten years on from 911, much of the muslim faith remains largely unknown and misunderstood in the west. Religious expert and college professor reza aslan is in the news again for doing the unthinkable.
Reza aslan explores rarefied worlds molded by faith and tradition. The contradictions of reza aslans believer the new yorker. Aslans book is directed toward a relatively educated audience who wants to examine a very complex topic to expand a knowledge base for understand. In aslans book, when we first meet jesus, in the fullness of his mission, is in the prologue to part ii, many chapters into the book, when he comes into the city of jerusalem riding on a donkey and then his conflict with the merchants and money changers in the temple during their passover preparations. The life and times of jesus of nazareth hardcover july 16, 20. The life and times of jesus of nazareth by robert alan king is a rebuttal from a christian perspective that exposes the fallacy of aslans position that jesus was a mere jewish peasant and political revolutionary who was suffering from delusions of grandeur and thus failed in his mission. All the while, aslan maintains a pageturning narrative that shows how we have made sense of god throughout history by assigning human attributes to our divine beliefs. Reza aslans biography of jesus is an anachronistic book it is more about our own era, and the authors journey within, than it is about the time and place in which jesus lived. As such, it is a compendium of sweeping statements and unsubstantiated. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Adam grant, new york times bestselling author, give and take inspiring and insightful, clay water brick is a book that you simply wont be able to put. After getting several email inquiries about reza aslans new book zealot, biblical scholar bart ehrman has commented on the subject via his blog.
Writer reza aslan, no god but god his new book is no god but god. Odd fox news interview lifts reza aslans biography on. This mix of humanism and pantheism guides aslans narrative choices. Aslan is not the yrst author to consider the case of the historical jesus, but his. When i heard that muslim scholar reza aslan was caught on camera eating human brains with a hindu cult, as author of a book refuting his bestselling but absurd notions about jesus, i was tempted. Reza aslan islams reformation the on being project. Reza aslan is an iranianamerican scholar of religious studies, writer, and television host. He converted to evangelical christianity at the age of 15,and converted back to islam the summer before attending harvard. In zealot, reza aslan replaced the staid, wellworn portrayal of jesus of nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his contradictions. A scholar of religions, he is currently professor of creative writing at the university of california, riverside. Reza aslan book is a readable defense of the schweitzerian theory of jesus so called because it was popularized by albert schweitzer in his quest for the historical jesus. In zealot, aslan aligns himself with the scholarschristian and otherwisewho argue for a clear distinction between jesus christ, leading man of the four christian gospels, and jesus of nazareth. Zealot, to be as kind as possible, trudges down some very well.
This is where author, scholar, and multimedia force reza aslan begins his slim, yet ambitious book god. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Reza aslan was sacked by cnn for insulting the president. I want to be the interpreter of religion for people in his new cnn series, aslan embarks on a spiritual walkabout, seeking to understand lesserknown religions from around the world. You write in the book that you became an evangelical christian in high school, but that after a few years, you abandoned christianity and returned to the faith of. The origins, evolution, and future of islam, beyond fundamentalism.
The origins, evolution, and future of islam was shortlisted for the guardian first book award and was named by blackwells as one of the hundred most important books of the last decade. The life and times of jesus of nazareth, has been pronounced and strong. It is an empowering study that relies on impeccable scholarship and yet reads with the lyricism and emotion of great literature. Eating brains shows reza aslan doesnt have any, or a chest. Reza aslans latest book shows how religious extremism can be tamed if seen for what it really is.
This book makes some radical claims about jesus christ which are. Confronting religious extremism in the age of globalization. Religious scholar and zealot author reza aslan describes how religion is malleable and can be interpreted in both violent and peaceful ways. A human history describe the human preoccupation with god across time. When i was 16 years old, i read the book that has probably had the greatest influence on methe brothers karamazov by fyodor dostoevsky.
Hinduism the worlds oldest living religion can seem complicated to outsiders. Reza aslan responded to viewer questions and comments on topics such as islamic fundamentalism, the war on terror, and instability in the middle east. He structures the book as a linear progression of faith, moving from. Reza aslan tells an old story about jesus christianity today. Reza aslans slim, yet ambitious book is the story of how humans have created god with a capital g, and its thoroughly mindblowing. It is a historical account of the life of jesus and analyzes the various religious perspectives on jesus as well as the creation of christianity. Reza aslan is an internationally acclaimed writer and scholar of religions. Fox news must apologize to reza aslan the washington post. Karen west, the director of events, said more than 250 people attended it. Praise for reza aslans zealot meticulously researched this book challenges many longheld assumptions about the man whose life and teachings form the foundations of christianity. Do you consider reza aslan to be a recognised scholar of early christianity. The origins, evolution, and future of islam reprint paperback 25jan2006 by reza aslan paperback. But aslans book is not simply a historical study, but one with a trajectory in mind the human history of god leads him to embrace pantheism as a spiritual option. Huffington postin god, reza aslan sheds new light on mankinds relationship with the divine and challenges our perspective on faith and the birth of religion from the origins of spiritual thought to the concept of an active, engaged, divine presence that underlies all creation, aslan examines how the.
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