Book Preview: 'Zealot' Tells The Story Of Jesus The Man, Not The Messiah

NPR | BOOKS
By Rachel Marten

PUBLISHING---When religious scholar Reza Aslan was 15, he went to an evangelical Christian camp. For the first time, he heard the gospel story — the story of Jesus. It was a profound experience for him, and he immediately converted. But later, when Aslan went to college and began working toward a degree in the New Testament, he found he had doubts. Religious scholar Reza Aslan found that he was much more interested in studying Jesus as a human being than as the figure he learned about in church. His new book, "Zealot," chronicles Jesus' life and times and explains how the historical context shaped Jesus and the perception of him. [Listen]