The Zealot

By Wayne Brown
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 University level course on Church History, it should be. If you really want to know who the historical Jesus was, you should read this. You may not agree with Aslan, but you really need to take him into account.

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