The Zealot , very highly recommended. I took "New Testament" and "Church History"  academic subjects during my (ill fated) journey to become an ordained minister in the United Church of Canada. Those who have never approached the Bible as a work of literature or never thought of the Church as having a history may be quite shocked by this work. All I can say is that it's totally conventional in it's methods and conclusions. What is different is the entertaining style. It's a page turner. Aslan makes his case in a straightforward narrative, free of footnotes or side-discussions. For those who want to follow up and find out why  he says what he says (such as, for example, his characterization of Jesus as an illiterate peasant), there are ample notes pushed off into a separate section in the book. There, he defends his conclusions and gives the reader ample information to pursue the issue, pro and con.  If this book isn't required reading in any Universi

What is a Christian? If somebody presents me with this question on a survey, I'm reluctant to answer in the affirmative. Why is that? Because I think that my beliefs would generally be regarded as so far outside of what is generally regarded as "Christian" that they would not fit the general definition. I'm also reluctant to identify myself with the current crop of child molesters or the criminal "priests" who conducted the genocide against the First Nations of Canada within living memory. These were real "Christians" too and to accept the title is to share in the shameful history attached to it. Yet, privately, though I'm not fond of the name, I consider myself to be a Christian. If somebody comes up to me on the street and asks, Are you a Christian? I'm likely to get a little offended, since people who ask this question tend to regard their own tiny sect of Christianity as the "real" one to the exclusion of all others. In partic