thoroughly enjoyed listening to this conversation with Aslan. I realize this interview is a couple years ago, but I was so impacted by his knowledge and his perspectives that I just kept listening and therefore learning. My life has changed a lot already over the past 30 years as a result of the influence of religion in my life and after this conversation, it has expanded my thinking even more. Profound interview.
Reza's a smart cookie and obviously a deep thinker. I would definitely take a course on comparative religion taught by him(if he does teach one as an online course). Even though I'm an atheist I find religion, it's role in history and the modern world fascinating. And whether religion is good or bad for humanity is more nuanced than what both fundamentalists and new atheists would like us to believe.
As an agnostic, he killed it on that last question! I have always had a thought of 'God' to be literally everything. He just took that view and made it sound simple and reasonable. I had no Idea that Islam shared that same notion, will have to research further.
I just got a copy of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Random House, 2013) and look forward to reading it this week. I'm also taking a New Testament course offered online by Yale and taught by Prof. Dale B. Martin, so this interview is a treat and mimics some of what I'm discovering - to state that it's eye-opening is an understatement. And I'm so glad HDS made this interview available.Thanks. ( Reza's an 'alumnus' of Harvard Divinity School for he is male. Alumni / male graduates, plural --- and all graduates in general, plural; Alumnae / female graduates, plural / alumna, female, singular; alumnus, male, singular)
I was raised having stepped in a church once, at age 6 when we moved to a new community. We never went back. I am finding the true Jesus, and his story and context is giving me strength. A human man who went against all odds to save his people, his family. To shine light on corruption. That is who I strive to be.
Reza has a very new and fresh view of what can only be surmized his insights and the definitions and guesses and his obveous grasp and intellectual compass that he follows not historical accuracy on the grand view but the essence of the times and truer concepts being displayed to new eyes.
The claim seems to be: "we americans/whites/christians can talk about everything we want (Latin America, Africa, East, etc.). But if you are not one of us do not dare to talk about us, you are only authorized to deal with your own issues"
I do admire him for doing something for Islamophobia, criticize him because its easy thing to do, but he is a scholar & well informed young man, and doing the best to make a difference, more power to him.
Reza's an interesting fellow. I enjoyed "Zealot". It's a good "starters" book on the historical Jesus. I'm not completely convinced that Jesus was a insurrectionist however. I lean more towards the Schweitzer/Sanders/Ehrman view that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet. As an atheist-agnostic, I also disagree about his views on this so-called "new Atheism". His "faith" seems rather unnecessary.
Here is an provocative thought: While I do have my issues with Dr.Aslan's book,he possesses the freedom to express his beliefs without acquiring a consequence(in a Christian nation);however,if a Christian scholar were to demonstrate or express a certain remonstrance of the prophet Mohammed in his latest book,there would be a price on his head in Islamic nations,especially if he or she were an American. That is a difference which should be discussed...remember Salman Rushdie? (I don't recall any Christians threatening Dr.Aslan's life because he expressed polemic views on Jesus.)
Except that you're picking an arbitrary moment in history to compare "christian nations" and islamic nations as well as those nations which are secular but socially orthodox. One could talk about the freedom of expression in different cultures in a completely different era, and the comparison might lead to very different conclusions than it would do now. Societies are way too complex - compare the islam of the middle east/central Asia with that of South Asia, especially India which has the second-highest number of muslims in the world. One cannot talk about the middle east without bringing up WWI. The point isn't which religion symbolizes any nation's identity. Being the easiest way to rally a crowd, religion is hijacked by politics, which is where the trouble and the division starts.
Dear Mark I would try to address your point here which is a good one by the way. I am not an expert but here is by best attempt. 1. There exist several Christian(American too) authors who have been critical of the prophet (and Islam) and nothing has come of that. The reason is they have been critical in a civil way not try to use the gimmick of out-right insult to sell books or market their product. I am very open minded in criticism of Islam but with a real question behind the criticism. 2. I have not read Reza Aslan's book but I do not believe that he has insulted Jesus or hurt the feelings of any Christians. 3. Salman Rushdie has been very vulgar in his language that he used in this book and also he was raised as a Muslim which makes Muslims more sensitive towards his views. I also believe that a fatwa to kill him is going over-board. Salman Rushdie used a gimmick to achieve fame. His writing style or his thoughts are nothing out of the ordinary if you take away his attack on Islam you would have never heard of him. I hope my comment helps in some way for you to understand.
I would take the historical Jesus and I would choose to mimic Jesus any day as compared to mimicking Mohammad. I would like Reza to write a historical Mohammad and see if he could be as "intellectually honest" as he is with the Christian religion that he is mortally opposed to.
there are already a lot of books on historical Muhammad mostly by Christians why don't you just go read them... For muslims historical Muhammad is not different from Religious Muhammad as his entire life was being recorded as it took place... Just go read a good, well known biography on his life...
I Like Reza and Ive read his book but there are some points in his book that doesnt make sense to me. One that comes to my mind is that he argues that Jesus started his movement with the purpose of going against the Jews that were serving the Roman empire. Then he says that after Jesus die , James continue the movement and he tries to get along with the Jews in Power. The obvious question is, why the apostles would continue a movement that doesn't follow the teachings of his founder.
For arguments sake, here are Reza Aslan's crudentials to put the nay-sayers to bed - Aslan's degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Santa Clara University (Major focus: New Testament; Minor: Greek) , a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University (Major focus: History of Religions), a PhD in the Sociology of Religions from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa. Nighty night!
Sorry, but as much as Reza adds to our understanding of Jesus, the man, he makes little mention of Jesus the mystic, or his real mission. What Yeshua was teaching his disciples is called "nonduality." They did not understand, and there are several passages in the New Testament where Yeshua showed exasperation at their denseness. But it wasn't denseness. What was so simple and straightforward for Yeshua, is difficult for nearly everyone else. But it's what he taught, and what, in the deepest sense, is his legacy.
I wish the speaker read a little more about Christian mysticism before he made his conclusion about the difference between the Christian God and the Muslim God. How he talked or described the Muslims View God is actually exactly the same way how mystic Christian viewed God. I would like to referred him to Thomas Merton writing and Richard Rohr’s books.
Wood was so scarce that a 'cross' was never used, they used and reused single posts to torture criminals! Anyway, whoever heard of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in Sumarian Judea! Such English names for Jewish rebels!
So the real meaning of "Son of God" means "King" within that time period. But Mary was considered to have a "Virgin Birth", who was the "Son of God". If you put those truths together, would that mean Jesus was the true heir to the throne? That he could have been the first born son of the king, so the true heir to the throne?
***** No one turns gay because you can't choose who you're attracted to and who you're compatible with. There is no choice in personal interest, it's just a part of who you actually are. You may be able to choose your actions, but you can't choose your interests. But there is a big difference when a personal interest causes actual harm to others. Since being gay isn't actually harming anyone then it shouldn't really matter. So stop harassing me with baseless claims, when i'm not actually hurting anyone. The fact that you put so much emphasis and meaning into sexuality shows how uncivilized and perverted you are. Trying to use slut shame is very hypocritical because straight people are just as guilty. --- Don't talk to me like you have any real life experience. You say you are still in highschool which can be the most awful place, because everyone is still ignorant and full of themselves. The problem is everyone thinks they know everyone, but really we only have our own perception on reality. It's not that complicated, but you just put too much emphasis on other people's personal interests. Just because someone is not interested in the same thing as you, doesn't mean you go around bashing other peoples interests. Homosexuals are harassed constantly by religious fanatics, so religion has always been a big part of my life. Because these religious fanatics can't seem to understand that preaching baseless sin all the time is actually harassment. --- Do not take the Bible at face value, because not everything in the bible can be supported by evidence. In the time period in which the bible was written, people used storytelling to impart wisdom to the next generation. So not everything in the bible can be considered true or historically accurate. The only thing you can do is look at the historical evidence and compare it to what's actually in the bible. You can't actually believe in everything in the bible as well, as it was written by other people. Many people are full of biased views so the bible could actually hold biased views because it was written by people. --- PS: Stop harassing me!!
This sounds familiar. There is a German-Iranian called Navid Kermani who constantly writes critical pamphlets about various Christian topics, supposedly objective. At the same time he is an outspoken Muslim with all the victimhood mentality which applies to Aslan here as well. Nothing against objective criticism of religion, but these are obvious Muslim bigots whose aim is to attack the foundations of despised European civilization. This is not merely about belief but identity, it´s an ethno-cultural war and therefore political.
Paul Carrola Yes, and therefore Aslan´s supposedly "objective" views of Christianity have a hostile background. It is "the Christians" (Westerners) who he as a Muslim secretly despises. Middle Easterners think more in religious terms to define themselves and "the other", whereas Westerners think more in national terms. I´m not fooled by him like these other Western sheep who applaud him, as I have some experience with Middle Eastern view of the world. Btw I´m not a believing Christian, it is about identity like I said.
So you are saying that Judaism is not a religion? If I am not mistaken Judaism was the first major monotheistic religion that both Christianity and Islam came from. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Kamrouz Ranjbar It´s not so difficult: the Israelites were a semitic tribe amongst many others and they were normal henotheists in the beginning, which means they had many gods and one main god: Yahwe. That Yahwe later became the only God and the main source of their displaced identity. Monotheism was also so new, because God was not bound to some landscape. Wherever Jews came together, God was present.
Kamrouz Ranjbar Well, you did not say that it was "both" in your previous post; you just said it was "not a political religion in any way". My point being that we agree: Judaism is a religion, ethnicity and also has political influences (e.g. the Israeli country itself and political lobbyist groups that are both secular and religious). Thanks for the caps anyway : )
Why muslim countries are violent. what is the common denominators in all these countries? Simple answer is Islam. and why this common denominator causing all this problem. Did Reza sit back and think before he answer? If you started to see problems again and again on certain area, then any logical person will look back and think where is the problem. Instead of this self analysis, Reza is giving the same answer as other muslims or so called morally advanced westerners ie; IT IS THE COUNTRY'S PROBLEM OR PEOPLES PROBLEM NOT THE PROBLEM OF RELIGION ITSELF. The real question to be asked why all these countries with the same denominator causing problem? Is there a problem with the teachings in this countries? Is the Holy Quran itself is promoting violence ie; by saying killing is sin in one place and kill non believers in another 100 places.
Not all muslim countries are violent, that is actually false. Just because a few countries are bad apples, doesn't make the whole race or religion bad. Even christianity has horrible things in it, but not everyone follows those things. Only the religious fanatics seem to take things to the extreme. You got to understand that people don't have the capacity to really think outside of the box. If you were born blind you couldn't conceive of what a color actually looked like. It's because the human brain doesn't have the capacity to think outside of it's own experiences. Now understand that these awful countries limit the freedom of their people and brainwash their children at young ages. That the teaching passed down keep the whole country ignorant. So they don't actually know any better then what they are taught.
By the way I do disagree with Mr Aslan on one thing, Islam acknowledges Jisus Christ as a messanger of God not God, He need to be more careful about statement like that. Quran revealed that God send as many as 5,000 messangers on this earth to teach us & guide us time after time.
I think Reza Aslan is more a Christian than a muslim. To him Jesus is much more important than Mohammed. This is the other way around among muslims, to muslims Mohammed is more important than Jesus. Maybe Reza Aslan is introducing a new religion and he doesn't know it.
we love all the prophets of allah not only muhammed. for me I like moses and joseph and, muhammed of course ^^ there's no such thing as one prophet more important to another they all came delivering the same message, they all equal including moses who spoke directly to god.
smart guy but wrong, even under his own understanding Jesus would not exist, the only way for him to exist would to be "unique" If you read his teachings he is not a product of his environment and how did he learn the scriptures????? Even Muslims know him as a profit, sounds like the minimizing of Jesus.....
+Knowledgelist he is a scumback, the Islamic regime's lobbyist and very well known among the Iranian circle as a traitor. What type of an idiot converts to Christianity and many years later reverts back to islam?
All religions are based on trinity, not the orthodox but a trinity where we have two constant and one variable: 1.The 1st constant - God 2.The: 2nd constant - Man 3.The Variable - The relationship between God & Man. Each religious group believes that its their founder/supreme leader that represents this perfect relation between God & man, For the Christians he's Jesus For the Muslims he's Mohammad For the Jews he's Abraham/Moses till their Messiah comes. For the Hindus, they worship thousand Idols, knowing well that the man made has no power in itself but only a means to get to the creator of the Universe -God As such One God but many religions. "The soul cannot worship that which the mind cannot conceive". Since our limited mind cannot conceive God Almighty, we end-up worshiping - the one we consider to be the closest to God, with the intend of worshiping God Almighty. To understand scripture one needs to understand God's purpose of making man. Genesis 1:2 "The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters". We see God getting into the process of creation right after this verse and on the seventh days HE rests - not that He was tired - but the hovering Spirit of God now had a body to rest in and that was the body of a Perfect Adam. Man's was created for the Spirit of God as is also expressed in the New Testament : Now Jesus as per the Christian & Muslim faith was born pure - not a product of human sperm but by God's Word & Spirit and in him (Jesus) we have the perfect body for God's Spirit to reside in - who by staying faithful to God in all circumstances fulfills the purpose of man's creation. Now Jesus is not God - but he represents the perfect relation between God and man. - The Quran also clearly states that all those who follow Jesus will be superior in this world and the hereafter - this leaves no room for a Christian or a Muslim to project another besides Jesus and anyone to who does so is going against Allah's (God) word.
well, Buddha is not God for them...i guess there are lots of different Buddhism in the world..where I am from (S Korea), Buddhists do not necessarily believe in God...
most buddhists in korea believe in deliverance of one's soul, or it's called liberation, salvation...i think it's called mukti or something...they don't put much emphasis on buddha...they actually don't care about whether there is God or not...
Interesting to note that this charlatan will go on countless debates/conferences slating the biblical perspectives of Yeshua. There are hundreds of TH-cam videos that attest to this. Yet there is not one single video on TH-cam where he promotes the Truth" of the prophet Mohammed and the Quran. NOT ONE WHY? Why can he not show us how Mohammed is greater than YESHUA?
"Law in the absence of enforcement has no power" Jesus's basic teachings were to follow the Laws not because of police power but out of love for God. The dwindling Romans got hold of this message and adopted it as a state religion, as consistent policing was very draining and repulsive and Christ message of following the Laws out of love for God and Caesar(as he accepted Christ) would be good for the empire. Its not all that difficult to sort out who Jesus was - all one need to do is to look at his disciples. As per Aslan Jesus had over 72 followers who were following him on a regular basis/ number of women being among his followers - Now where the followers young strong fighters looking to establish a kingdom or weak & oppressed - looking for some solace in Jesus's teaching. According to the Bible, most of Jesus's disciples were fishermen and the marginalized - why would a Zealot chose fishermen - one could say because they are good at using sharp tools - skilled in chopping of the roman heads when the opportunity strikes or it is that fishermen have other qualities. What about the women who were following Jesus. were they trained in the art of fighting or were they going to be used to seduce roman guards or were they Just following Jesus for his teachings of forgiveness, love & sharing. If Aslan could prove that the people following Jesus were skilled fighters, willing to die he might have a case of a Zealous political agenda - if not - he has a agenda of his own.
A review in ABC Online by Australian historian John Dickson questioned Aslan's expertise in the subject, claiming "Aslan has not contributed a single peer reviewed article", and further said "Aslan's grandiose claims and his limited credentials in history is glaring on almost every page."[10] During a Q&A session following a 2014 lecture at Dickinson College on "Jesus and the Historian", Bart D. Ehrman, James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, similarly criticized Reza Aslan for his lack of expertise,[11] commenting that Aslan does not have any advanced degrees in the New Testament or the history of Christianity and that his only advanced degree is in sociology of religion.[11][12] Ehrman remarked, "He's as qualified to write about the New Testament as I am qualified to write about the sociology of religion-I can assure you; you do not want me to write a book on the sociology of religion. His book is filled with mistakes and inaccuracies... about Roman history, about the New Testament, about the history of early Christianity."[11] Ehrman also states that, although Aslan does not acknowledge it and may not be aware of it, his basic argument actually dates back to the 1770s[11][12] and was first presented in a book written by Hermann Samuel Reimarus, one of the earliest modern Biblical scholars.[11] Noting Aslan's position as a professor of creative writing, Ehrman comments that the book is well-written,[11] but "I don't think it's trustworthy as a historical account."[11]
Islam doesn't contradict history. As it say that some one at that point( the Crucifixion) was crucified, as it says, that they killed him not, but it was made to seem so. i.e G-D's work. He could have made some one else have Jesus's appearance or however G-D did it. Because a similar belief is found in the Gospel of Basilides, and this guy (Reza) says what all christians or western non Muslims who write about Islam or prophet Muhammad say. its vary biased and non-respectable. why wont he say that Christianity is a error of Judaism , he keeps walking a thin line with them. But Islam & Quran is wrong and Muhammad copied the previous faith. Have you even taken the time to consider that G-D sends messengers to revive his worship. religions do not have inertia going for them . even the Jews of Makka arrogantly said to him that we expected a prophet from Arabia but we were expecting him to be a Jew, not an Arab. this of course was not true for all Jews because some accepted the final messenger. This guy has a faith issue . and he is not an expert on Islam, i would love to see him debate Dr.Shabir Ally on is quran the real unchanged word of G-D.
I admire this man, but I am just curious as to how he equates between being a Muslim and writing a book about a Jew and acknowledging that he's God's son when Muslims clearly do not believe so. I hope I did not sound like that Fox news anchor.
This commentary on the pseudo-intellectual, liar, Reza Aslan, was originally written for The YoungTurks and Lauren Green interview..... Reza misrepresents his credentials which is so typical of the Muslim mentality...somewhere in their literature it says its OK to be deceitful....I just can't remember specificlly...maybe the Hadith. I'm sure all have seen the interview by Lauren Green on Spirited Debate when she interviewed Reza Aslan, author of a new book on Jesus titled Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth . Green started the interview with a question: why a Muslim would want to write a book about Jesus. The response could have been, why not. But Aslan responded not by elaborating on why not write a book on Jesus, but by misrepresenting his credentials. I am a scholar of religions with four degrees including one in the New Testament . . . I am an expert with a Ph.D. in the history of religions . . . I am a professor of religions, including the New Testament-that’s what I do for a living, actually . . . To be clear, I want to emphasize one more time, I am a historian, I am a Ph.D. in the history of religions. Aslan does not have a PhD in history of religions he has a PhD in sociology. He doesn't even teach theology or history but rather creative writing. Probably why he is creative on his credentials. He even thinks, “I’m actually quite a prominent Muslim thinker in the United States.” I hardly think so. Aslan does have four degrees, a 1995 B.A. in religion from Santa Clara University, where he wrote his senior thesis on “The Messianic Secret in the Gospel of Mark”; a 1999 Master of Theological Studies from Harvard; a 2002 Master of Fine Arts in Fiction from the University of Iowa; and a 2009 Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara. None of these degrees is in history, so Aslan’s repeated claims that he has “a Ph.D. in the history of religions” and that he is “a historian” are false. Nor is he professor of religions rather he is an associate professor in the Creative Writing program at the University of California, Riverside, where his terminal MFA in fiction from Iowa is his relevant academic credential. It appears he has taught some courses on Islam in the past, and perhaps present, moonlighting from his creative writing duties at Riverside. Aslan is more of a popular writer and more focused on promoting himself rather that delving into the thick of scholarly work. He mentions that Flavius Josephus the first century Jewish historian mentions Jesus in his Jewish Antiquities seemingly to sugget that Josephus is the only historian to have ever mentioned Jesus. There are other historians such as Tacitus and Seutonius, and the Babylonian Talmud. Even his dating of the gospels is incorrect. And when he talks about the development of the gospels he omits one of the most important aspects in that development namely, oral tradition. I'll let you readers put the pieces together, but if you want a good start read the Pontifical Biblical Commission's: On the Historicity of the Gospels. What about that Ph.D.? As already noted, it was in sociology. His dissertationis a 140-page work titled “Global Jihadism as a Transnational Social Movement: A Theoretical Framework.” Global Jihadism as a Transnation Social Movement, what's so social about Jihadism? Beats me....I admit I didn't read the dissertation. Even the interviewer, Green. didn't have a clue on the right type of questions in to ask evidence of a lack of any background in biblical scholarship. She has a BA in Music from the University of Minnesota. The entire interview was a fiasco. In the YoungTurks interview. Aslan's entire take on the "ipsisimi verbi christi" belies his scholarship and demonstrates his scholarly background is wanting. I think it is interesting how Aslan deconstructs Jesus, something that doesn't surprise with a Muslim...there is an agenda. Reza Aslan should read Robert Spencer's books on Islam and Mohammed. Aslan says that Jesus was illiterate nevertheless, Jesus entered the synagogue, picked up the scroll and began to read from Isiah....this hardly demonstrates illiteracy on the part of Jesus. While I am typing this response I am simultaneously listening to the Young Turks interview I just can't continue listening to these intellectual rectums...I have to stop my critique here. My advice to the readers and listeners, some great whorthwhile books to read: The Gospets along with an excellent commentary. All of Father Raymond Brown's books.... All of Joachim Yeramias books (Lutheran Scripture scholar) lived his entire life in the Holy land. Jerome Murphy-O'Connor Jospeh Fitzmyer, SJ Donald Senior To obtain more scholarly books read the bibliographies of the above mentioned books... Do I think Aslan's book, Zealot, is worth reading? No, I do not since he is so untrustworthy about his credentials. PAX et BONUM Show less Reply ·
+Jit Kr He is a jerk and very well known in Iranian community as a Lobbyist for the regime and what type of an idoit would convert to christianity and then revert back to Islam many years later?
This charlatan Reza is right about the myth about Jesus. The divine image of the Christ was borrowed from previous religious characters such as Ra, Mithras, Krishna. etc. There was nothing special about messiahs popping up throughout Judea in those days. Jesus (if he actually existed) was just one of hundreds and Paul the apostle is most likely responsible for the spread of this new mythology (Christianity)in the Roman empire. I can't wait for his new book on the prophet Mohammed and his magical winged horse .I hope he can also explain why so many people think Mohammed was a rapist and pedophile. I'm sure his expert historical research will be greatly appreciated in the Muslim world.
'simplifie, simplifie, simplifie' - god is simple, human history isn't. i prefer more thorough, longtime-interest.. work when reading sociology & the unborn infinite sensing in which the universe, of this one inclusivity/safety/eutonicity/welcome/home/within/love/all/etcetera-texture, is 'born' 13.8 billion years ago, inborn the earth inborn you and me, all of us, is what i would call god f.i.. (the body of nothing, the unborn wombness) what is, 'the flesh of the world' etceter etcetera, praise the great oneness, think, to start with, about the equality-ethics in for-image (voorbeeld) :)
Bruce Berry i'm speechless as to how shallow you are to profile all individuals of a specific religion. if we have 10 christian murderers does that mean all christians are murderers, or that christianity is fundamentally evil? i swear i'm appalled by your stupidity
LlamaBlu"i'm speechless as to how shallow you are to profile all individuals of a specific religion. Did I? If you read my post properly you would see I profiled an ideology and not individuals. But supposing I did profile people , then that is exactly what this money grabbing charlatan does with renowned scholars of the Book! He saw how easily Bart Ehrman made millions and has decided to do the same for himself. They're both like peas in a pod. He's that clever, so good for him! Fortunately, as a non Christian I have a simple mind. So the saying goes "Bull dust baffles brains". I don't have brains so he can't bull dust me!! I wouldn't waste a penny on this bogus Phd man. U say "if we have 10 christian murderers does that mean all christians are murderers" No. But if these 10 Christians did, then they did so breaking the 10 commandments and not in the name of YESHUA or the Almighty. The opposite is true of Islam where Mohammed murdered hundreds in the name of Islam and Allah. That legacy continues to this day where sunnis and shias are killing each other. Yet this charlatan continues to write books slating Yeshua as a Zealot!! His and your religion being the same, have nothing to show humanity! U say " i swear i'm appalled by your stupidity" Equally, I'm appalled by your defence of the Quran where it clearly discriminates on religious grounds. Which case I'd rather be labelled as being "stupid". This charlatan cannot defend the indefensible knowing there's no fame and money to be made and therefore concentrates his efforts in denigrating the Messiah
thoroughly enjoyed listening to this conversation with Aslan. I realize this interview is a couple years ago, but I was so impacted by his knowledge and his perspectives that I just kept listening and therefore learning. My life has changed a lot already over the past 30 years as a result of the influence of religion in my life and after this conversation, it has expanded my thinking even more. Profound interview.
Such a Great Interview! Thanks
Reza's a smart cookie and obviously a deep thinker. I would definitely take a course on comparative religion taught by him(if he does teach one as an online course). Even though I'm an atheist I find religion, it's role in history and the modern world fascinating. And whether religion is good or bad for humanity is more nuanced than what both fundamentalists and new atheists would like us to believe.
Reza is so classy
Enjoyed the talk as much as I have been enjoying reading the book minutely. Thanks HDS,
As an agnostic, he killed it on that last question! I have always had a thought of 'God' to be literally everything. He just took that view and made it sound simple and reasonable. I had no Idea that Islam shared that same notion, will have to research further.
Wow, that interview and Q&A were so well done! I learned a lot. Thank you for that...
I just got a copy of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (Random House, 2013) and look forward to reading it this week. I'm also taking a New Testament course offered online by Yale and taught by Prof. Dale B. Martin, so this interview is a treat and mimics some of what I'm discovering - to state that it's eye-opening is an understatement. And I'm so glad HDS made this interview available.Thanks. ( Reza's an 'alumnus' of Harvard Divinity School for he is male. Alumni / male graduates, plural --- and all graduates in general, plural; Alumnae / female graduates, plural / alumna, female, singular; alumnus, male, singular)
I was raised having stepped in a church once, at age 6 when we moved to a new community. We never went back. I am finding the true Jesus, and his story and context is giving me strength. A human man who went against all odds to save his people, his family. To shine light on corruption. That is who I strive to be.
Reza has a very new and fresh view of what can only be surmized his insights and the definitions and guesses and his obveous grasp and intellectual compass that he follows not historical accuracy on the grand view but the essence of the times and truer concepts being displayed to new eyes.
The claim seems to be: "we americans/whites/christians can talk about everything we want (Latin America, Africa, East, etc.). But if you are not one of us do not dare to talk about us, you are only authorized to deal with your own issues"
Interesting his comments about methodology (around 31:00). I'm highly interested in methodology.
Reza should write a book entitled " Muhammad: Victorious by Terror".
Scholarly indeed.
I do admire him for doing something for Islamophobia, criticize him because its easy thing to do, but he is a scholar & well informed young man, and doing the best to make a difference, more power to him.
Reza is brilliant
21:40 how is that different than Dawkins saying "Atheist for Jesus" ?
39:50 and then i googled his Joe Scarborogh interview. Hahhaa... Morning Joe!
Reza's an interesting fellow. I enjoyed "Zealot". It's a good "starters" book on the historical Jesus. I'm not completely convinced that Jesus was a insurrectionist however. I lean more towards the Schweitzer/Sanders/Ehrman view that Jesus was an apocalyptic prophet. As an atheist-agnostic, I also disagree about his views on this so-called "new Atheism". His "faith" seems rather unnecessary.
Here is an provocative thought: While I do have my issues with Dr.Aslan's book,he possesses the freedom to express his beliefs without acquiring a consequence(in a Christian nation);however,if a Christian scholar were to demonstrate or express a certain remonstrance of the prophet Mohammed in his latest book,there would be a price on his head in Islamic nations,especially if he or she were an American. That is a difference which should be discussed...remember Salman Rushdie? (I don't recall any Christians threatening Dr.Aslan's life because he expressed polemic views on Jesus.)
Except that you're picking an arbitrary moment in history to compare "christian nations" and islamic nations as well as those nations which are secular but socially orthodox. One could talk about the freedom of expression in different cultures in a completely different era, and the comparison might lead to very different conclusions than it would do now.
Societies are way too complex - compare the islam of the middle east/central Asia with that of South Asia, especially India which has the second-highest number of muslims in the world. One cannot talk about the middle east without bringing up WWI.
The point isn't which religion symbolizes any nation's identity. Being the easiest way to rally a crowd, religion is hijacked by politics, which is where the trouble and the division starts.
waltzjiveandviennese well said ! :)
Pamit Anand Why, thank you. :)
Dear Mark I would try to address your point here which is a good one by the way. I am not an expert but here is by best attempt.
1. There exist several Christian(American too) authors who have been critical of the prophet (and Islam) and nothing has come of that. The reason is they have been critical in a civil way not try to use the gimmick of out-right insult to sell books or market their product. I am very open minded in criticism of Islam but with a real question behind the criticism.
2. I have not read Reza Aslan's book but I do not believe that he has insulted Jesus or hurt the feelings of any Christians.
3. Salman Rushdie has been very vulgar in his language that he used in this book and also he was raised as a Muslim which makes Muslims more sensitive towards his views. I also believe that a fatwa to kill him is going over-board. Salman Rushdie used a gimmick to achieve fame. His writing style or his thoughts are nothing out of the ordinary if you take away his attack on Islam you would have never heard of him.
I hope my comment helps in some way for you to understand.
Hahahaha, you really think he doesn't get death threats?… just because the media doesn't cover it doesn't mean it's not happening...
I would take the historical Jesus and I would choose to mimic Jesus any day as compared to mimicking Mohammad.
I would like Reza to write a historical Mohammad and see if he could be as "intellectually honest" as he is with the Christian religion that he is mortally opposed to.
there are already a lot of books on historical Muhammad mostly by Christians why don't you just go read them... For muslims historical Muhammad is not different from Religious Muhammad as his entire life was being recorded as it took place... Just go read a good, well known biography on his life...
why does he laugh at 54:00 ?
I Like Reza and Ive read his book but there are some points in his book that doesnt make sense to me. One that comes to my mind is that he argues that Jesus started his movement with the purpose of going against the Jews that were serving the Roman empire. Then he says that after Jesus die , James continue the movement and he tries to get along with the Jews in Power. The obvious question is, why the apostles would continue a movement that doesn't follow the teachings of his founder.
For arguments sake, here are Reza Aslan's crudentials to put the nay-sayers to bed -
Aslan's degrees include a Bachelor of Arts in Religious Studies from Santa Clara University (Major focus: New Testament; Minor: Greek) , a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University (Major focus: History of Religions), a PhD in the Sociology of Religions from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of Iowa.
Nighty night!
Sorry, but as much as Reza adds to our understanding of Jesus, the man, he makes little mention of Jesus the mystic, or his real mission. What Yeshua was teaching his disciples is called "nonduality." They did not understand, and there are several passages in the New Testament where Yeshua showed exasperation at their denseness.
But it wasn't denseness. What was so simple and straightforward for Yeshua, is difficult for nearly everyone else. But it's what he taught, and what, in the deepest sense, is his legacy.
Why would the apostles get along with the people who killed the founder of his movement ???
I wish the speaker read a little more about Christian mysticism before he made his conclusion about the difference between the Christian God and the Muslim God. How he talked or described the Muslims View God is actually exactly the same way how mystic Christian viewed God. I would like to referred him to Thomas Merton writing and Richard Rohr’s books.
Wood was so scarce that a 'cross' was never used, they used and reused single posts to torture criminals! Anyway, whoever heard of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in Sumarian Judea! Such English names for Jewish rebels!
So the real meaning of "Son of God" means "King" within that time period. But Mary was considered to have a "Virgin Birth", who was the "Son of God". If you put those truths together, would that mean Jesus was the true heir to the throne? That he could have been the first born son of the king, so the true heir to the throne?
***** No one turns gay because you can't choose who you're attracted to and who you're compatible with. There is no choice in personal interest, it's just a part of who you actually are. You may be able to choose your actions, but you can't choose your interests.
But there is a big difference when a personal interest causes actual harm to others. Since being gay isn't actually harming anyone then it shouldn't really matter. So stop harassing me with baseless claims, when i'm not actually hurting anyone.
The fact that you put so much emphasis and meaning into sexuality shows how uncivilized and perverted you are. Trying to use slut shame is very hypocritical because straight people are just as guilty.
---
Don't talk to me like you have any real life experience. You say you are still in highschool which can be the most awful place, because everyone is still ignorant and full of themselves. The problem is everyone thinks they know everyone, but really we only have our own perception on reality.
It's not that complicated, but you just put too much emphasis on other people's personal interests. Just because someone is not interested in the same thing as you, doesn't mean you go around bashing other peoples interests.
Homosexuals are harassed constantly by religious fanatics, so religion has always been a big part of my life. Because these religious fanatics can't seem to understand that preaching baseless sin all the time is actually harassment.
---
Do not take the Bible at face value, because not everything in the bible can be supported by evidence. In the time period in which the bible was written, people used storytelling to impart wisdom to the next generation. So not everything in the bible can be considered true or historically accurate.
The only thing you can do is look at the historical evidence and compare it to what's actually in the bible. You can't actually believe in everything in the bible as well, as it was written by other people. Many people are full of biased views so the bible could actually hold biased views because it was written by people.
---
PS: Stop harassing me!!
***** Seek help and stop trolling me.
This sounds familiar. There is a German-Iranian called Navid Kermani who constantly writes critical pamphlets about various Christian topics, supposedly objective. At the same time he is an outspoken Muslim with all the victimhood mentality which applies to Aslan here as well.
Nothing against objective criticism of religion, but these are obvious Muslim bigots whose aim is to attack the foundations of despised European civilization. This is not merely about belief but identity, it´s an ethno-cultural war and therefore political.
Religion is almost always political. Christianity, Islam and Judaism are especially political and all have long histories in being the cause of wars.
Paul Carrola
Yes, and therefore Aslan´s supposedly "objective" views of Christianity have a hostile background. It is "the Christians" (Westerners) who he as a Muslim secretly despises. Middle Easterners think more in religious terms to define themselves and "the other", whereas Westerners think more in national terms.
I´m not fooled by him like these other Western sheep who applaud him, as I have some experience with Middle Eastern view of the world.
Btw I´m not a believing Christian, it is about identity like I said.
So you are saying that Judaism is not a religion? If I am not mistaken Judaism was the first major monotheistic religion that both Christianity and Islam came from. Please correct me if I am wrong.
Kamrouz Ranjbar
It´s not so difficult: the Israelites were a semitic tribe amongst many others and they were normal henotheists in the beginning, which means they had many gods and one main god: Yahwe. That Yahwe later became the only God and the main source of their displaced identity.
Monotheism was also so new, because God was not bound to some landscape. Wherever Jews came together, God was present.
Kamrouz Ranjbar Well, you did not say that it was "both" in your previous post; you just said it was "not a political religion in any way". My point being that we agree: Judaism is a religion, ethnicity and also has political influences (e.g. the Israeli country itself and political lobbyist groups that are both secular and religious). Thanks for the caps anyway : )
Why muslim countries are violent. what is the common denominators in all these countries? Simple answer is Islam. and why this common denominator causing all this problem. Did Reza sit back and think before he answer? If you started to see problems again and again on certain area, then any logical person will look back and think where is the problem. Instead of this self analysis, Reza is giving the same answer as other muslims or so called morally advanced westerners ie; IT IS THE COUNTRY'S PROBLEM OR PEOPLES PROBLEM NOT THE PROBLEM OF RELIGION ITSELF. The real question to be asked why all these countries with the same denominator causing problem? Is there a problem with the teachings in this countries? Is the Holy Quran itself is promoting violence ie; by saying killing is sin in one place and kill non believers in another 100 places.
Not all muslim countries are violent, that is actually false. Just because a few countries are bad apples, doesn't make the whole race or religion bad. Even christianity has horrible things in it, but not everyone follows those things. Only the religious fanatics seem to take things to the extreme.
You got to understand that people don't have the capacity to really think outside of the box. If you were born blind you couldn't conceive of what a color actually looked like. It's because the human brain doesn't have the capacity to think outside of it's own experiences. Now understand that these awful countries limit the freedom of their people and brainwash their children at young ages. That the teaching passed down keep the whole country ignorant. So they don't actually know any better then what they are taught.
Reza Aslan is a Boss !
By the way I do disagree with Mr Aslan on one thing, Islam acknowledges Jisus Christ as a messanger of God not God, He need to be more careful about statement like that. Quran revealed that God send as many as 5,000 messangers on this earth to teach us & guide us time after time.
+mohnish2009 / so I understand u studied Quran? U do sound like a v knowledgeable person.
I think Reza Aslan is more a Christian than a muslim.
To him Jesus is much more important than Mohammed. This is the other way around among muslims, to muslims Mohammed is more important than Jesus.
Maybe Reza Aslan is introducing a new religion and he doesn't know it.
we love all the prophets of allah not only muhammed. for me I like moses and joseph and, muhammed of course ^^
there's no such thing as one prophet more important to another they all came delivering the same message, they all equal including moses who spoke directly to god.
His book would not have sold if his finding was that Jesus is the son of god himself we know where this is going and who is behind him
that conclusion is a religious one, not an historical or scientific one. keep faith as faith if you want it. dont expect others to share it
He yes Jesus have never been preachig about trinity , why ?
This interview contains 5 minutes of information and the rest is self-promotion and very poor moderation by interviewer.
smart guy but wrong, even under his own understanding Jesus would not exist, the only way for him to exist would to be "unique" If you read his teachings he is not a product of his environment and how did he learn the scriptures????? Even Muslims know him as a profit, sounds like the minimizing of Jesus.....
Knowledgelist
No, he's not minimizing Jesus. His explanation made sense how Jesus ended up with Blonde hair and Blue eyes.
+Knowledgelist he is a scumback, the Islamic regime's lobbyist and very well known among the Iranian circle as a traitor. What type of an idiot converts to Christianity and many years later reverts back to islam?
All religions are based on trinity, not the orthodox but a trinity where we have two constant and one variable:
1.The 1st constant - God
2.The: 2nd constant - Man
3.The Variable - The relationship between God & Man.
Each religious group believes that its their founder/supreme leader that represents this perfect relation between God & man,
For the Christians he's Jesus
For the Muslims he's Mohammad
For the Jews he's Abraham/Moses till their Messiah comes.
For the Hindus, they worship thousand Idols, knowing well that the man made has no power in itself but only a means to get to the creator of the Universe -God
As such One God but many religions.
"The soul cannot worship that which the mind cannot conceive".
Since our limited mind cannot conceive God Almighty, we end-up worshiping - the one we consider to be the closest to God, with the intend of worshiping God Almighty.
To understand scripture one needs to understand God's purpose of making man.
Genesis 1:2 "The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. and the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters".
We see God getting into the process of creation right after this verse and on the seventh days HE rests - not that He was tired - but the hovering Spirit of God now had a body to rest in and that was the body of a Perfect Adam. Man's was created for the Spirit of God as is also expressed in the New Testament :
Now Jesus as per the Christian & Muslim faith was born pure - not a product of human sperm but by God's Word & Spirit and in him (Jesus) we have the perfect body for God's Spirit to reside in - who by staying faithful to God in all circumstances fulfills the purpose of man's creation.
Now Jesus is not God - but he represents the perfect relation between God and man. - The Quran also clearly states that all those who follow Jesus will be superior in this world and the hereafter - this leaves no room for a Christian or a Muslim to project another besides Jesus and anyone to who does so is going against Allah's (God) word.
Senior Muslim not all religions have god...they don't necessarily believe in God in Buddhism
iloveyouzion1 But they do believe in Lord Buddha and a supernatural power - correct me if I am wrong.
well, Buddha is not God for them...i guess there are lots of different Buddhism in the world..where I am from (S Korea), Buddhists do not necessarily believe in God...
most buddhists in korea believe in deliverance of one's soul, or it's called liberation, salvation...i think it's called mukti or something...they don't put much emphasis on buddha...they actually don't care about whether there is God or not...
what about Sikhs?
Interesting to note that this charlatan will go on countless debates/conferences slating the biblical perspectives of Yeshua. There are hundreds of TH-cam
videos that attest to this.
Yet there is not one single video on TH-cam where he promotes the Truth" of the prophet Mohammed and the Quran.
NOT ONE
WHY?
Why can he not show us how Mohammed is greater than YESHUA?
"Law in the absence of enforcement has no power"
Jesus's basic teachings were to follow the Laws not because of police power but out of love for God.
The dwindling Romans got hold of this message and adopted it as a state religion, as consistent policing was very draining and repulsive and Christ message of following the Laws out of love for God and Caesar(as he accepted Christ) would be good for the empire.
Its not all that difficult to sort out who Jesus was - all one need to do is to look at his disciples. As per Aslan Jesus had over 72 followers who were following him on a regular basis/ number of women being among his followers - Now where the followers young strong fighters looking to establish a kingdom or weak & oppressed - looking for some solace in Jesus's teaching.
According to the Bible, most of Jesus's disciples were fishermen and the marginalized - why would a Zealot chose fishermen - one could say because they are good at using sharp tools - skilled in chopping of the roman heads when the opportunity strikes or it is that fishermen have other qualities. What about the women who were following Jesus. were they trained in the art of fighting or were they going to be used to seduce roman guards or were they Just following Jesus for his teachings of forgiveness, love & sharing.
If Aslan could prove that the people following Jesus were skilled fighters, willing to die he might have a case of a Zealous political agenda - if not - he has a agenda of his own.
A review in ABC Online by Australian historian John Dickson questioned Aslan's expertise in the subject, claiming "Aslan has not contributed a single peer reviewed article", and further said "Aslan's grandiose claims and his limited credentials in history is glaring on almost every page."[10] During a Q&A session following a 2014 lecture at Dickinson College on "Jesus and the Historian", Bart D. Ehrman, James A. Gray Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, similarly criticized Reza Aslan for his lack of expertise,[11] commenting that Aslan does not have any advanced degrees in the New Testament or the history of Christianity and that his only advanced degree is in sociology of religion.[11][12] Ehrman remarked, "He's as qualified to write about the New Testament as I am qualified to write about the sociology of religion-I can assure you; you do not want me to write a book on the sociology of religion. His book is filled with mistakes and inaccuracies... about Roman history, about the New Testament, about the history of early Christianity."[11] Ehrman also states that, although Aslan does not acknowledge it and may not be aware of it, his basic argument actually dates back to the 1770s[11][12] and was first presented in a book written by Hermann Samuel Reimarus, one of the earliest modern Biblical scholars.[11] Noting Aslan's position as a professor of creative writing, Ehrman comments that the book is well-written,[11] but "I don't think it's trustworthy as a historical account."[11]
Islam doesn't contradict history. As it say that some one at that point( the Crucifixion) was crucified, as it says, that they killed him not, but it was made to seem so. i.e G-D's work. He could have made some one else have Jesus's appearance or however G-D did it. Because a similar belief is found in the Gospel of Basilides, and this guy (Reza) says what all christians or western non Muslims who write about Islam or prophet Muhammad say. its vary biased and non-respectable. why wont he say that Christianity is a error of Judaism , he keeps walking a thin line with them. But Islam & Quran is wrong and Muhammad copied the previous faith. Have you even taken the time to consider that G-D sends messengers to revive his worship. religions do not have inertia going for them . even the Jews of Makka arrogantly said to him that we expected a prophet from Arabia but we were expecting him to be a Jew, not an Arab. this of course was not true for all Jews because some accepted the final messenger. This guy has a faith issue . and he is not an expert on Islam, i would love to see him debate Dr.Shabir Ally on is quran the real unchanged word of G-D.
I admire this man, but I am just curious as to how he equates between being a Muslim and writing a book about a Jew and acknowledging that he's God's son when Muslims clearly do not believe so. I hope I did not sound like that Fox news anchor.
alumna? did he undergo gender transformation Harvard?
This commentary on the pseudo-intellectual, liar, Reza Aslan, was originally written for The YoungTurks and Lauren Green interview.....
Reza misrepresents his credentials which is so typical of the Muslim mentality...somewhere in their literature it says its OK to be deceitful....I just can't remember specificlly...maybe the Hadith.
I'm sure all have seen the interview by Lauren Green on Spirited Debate when she interviewed Reza Aslan, author of a new book on Jesus titled Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth . Green started the interview with a question: why a Muslim would want to write a book about Jesus. The response could have been, why not. But Aslan responded not by elaborating on why not write a book on Jesus, but by misrepresenting his credentials. I am a scholar of religions with four degrees including one in the New Testament . . . I am an expert with a Ph.D. in the history of religions . . . I am a professor of religions, including the New Testament-that’s what I do for a living, actually . . . To be clear, I want to emphasize one more time, I am a historian, I am a Ph.D. in the history of religions. Aslan does not have a PhD in history of religions he has a PhD in sociology. He doesn't even teach theology or history but rather creative writing. Probably why he is creative on his credentials. He even thinks, “I’m actually quite a prominent Muslim thinker in the United States.” I hardly think so.
Aslan does have four degrees, a 1995 B.A. in religion from Santa Clara University, where he wrote his senior thesis on “The Messianic Secret in the Gospel of Mark”; a 1999 Master of Theological Studies from Harvard; a 2002 Master of Fine Arts in Fiction from the University of Iowa; and a 2009 Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
None of these degrees is in history, so Aslan’s repeated claims that he has “a Ph.D. in the history of religions” and that he is “a historian” are false. Nor is he professor of religions rather he is an associate professor in the Creative Writing program at the University of California, Riverside, where his terminal MFA in fiction from Iowa is his relevant academic credential. It appears he has taught some courses on Islam in the past, and perhaps present, moonlighting from his creative writing duties at Riverside. Aslan is more of a popular writer and more focused on promoting himself rather that delving into the thick of scholarly work. He mentions that Flavius Josephus the first century Jewish historian mentions Jesus in his Jewish Antiquities seemingly to sugget that Josephus is the only historian to have ever mentioned Jesus. There are other historians such as Tacitus and Seutonius, and the Babylonian Talmud.
Even his dating of the gospels is incorrect. And when he talks about the development of the gospels he omits one of the most important aspects in that development namely, oral tradition. I'll let you readers put the pieces together, but if you want a good start read the Pontifical Biblical Commission's: On the Historicity of the Gospels.
What about that Ph.D.? As already noted, it was in sociology. His dissertationis a 140-page work titled “Global Jihadism as a Transnational Social Movement: A Theoretical Framework.” Global Jihadism as a Transnation Social Movement, what's so social about Jihadism? Beats me....I admit I didn't read the dissertation.
Even the interviewer, Green. didn't have a clue on the right type of questions in to ask evidence of a lack of any background in biblical scholarship. She has a BA in Music from the University of Minnesota. The entire interview was a fiasco.
In the YoungTurks interview. Aslan's entire take on the "ipsisimi verbi christi" belies his scholarship and demonstrates his scholarly background is wanting.
I think it is interesting how Aslan deconstructs Jesus, something that doesn't surprise with a Muslim...there is an agenda. Reza Aslan should read Robert Spencer's books on Islam and Mohammed. Aslan says that Jesus was illiterate nevertheless, Jesus entered the synagogue, picked up the scroll and began to read from Isiah....this hardly demonstrates illiteracy on the part of Jesus.
While I am typing this response I am simultaneously listening to the Young Turks interview I just can't continue listening to these intellectual rectums...I have to stop my critique here.
My advice to the readers and listeners, some great whorthwhile books to read:
The Gospets along with an excellent commentary.
All of Father Raymond Brown's books....
All of Joachim Yeramias books (Lutheran Scripture scholar) lived his entire life in the Holy land.
Jerome Murphy-O'Connor
Jospeh Fitzmyer, SJ
Donald Senior
To obtain more scholarly books read the bibliographies of the above mentioned books...
Do I think Aslan's book, Zealot, is worth reading? No, I do not since he is so untrustworthy about his credentials.
PAX et BONUM
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bull.. the guy is very arrogant!!!
+Jit Kr You mistake arrogance for insecurity.
+Jit Kr He is a jerk and very well known in Iranian community as a Lobbyist for the regime and what type of an idoit would convert to christianity and then revert back to Islam many years later?
+Colin Walsh www.patheos.com/blogs/accordingtomatthew/2015/08/stop-calling-reza-aslan-a-fraud-and-learn-how-academia-works/
thank me later
***** I said that before , he is a stoooge for the regime in Iran and all these media exposures are paid for the regime's elements in USA and EU.
***** he didn't lie about his education or profession. did you read the article i linked which completely destroys your argument?
This charlatan Reza is right about the myth about Jesus. The divine image of the Christ was borrowed from previous religious characters such as Ra, Mithras, Krishna. etc.
There was nothing special about messiahs popping up throughout Judea in those days.
Jesus (if he actually existed) was just one of hundreds and Paul the apostle is most likely responsible for the spread of this new mythology (Christianity)in the Roman empire.
I can't wait for his new book on the prophet Mohammed and his magical winged horse .I hope he can also explain why so many people think Mohammed was a rapist and pedophile. I'm sure his expert historical research will be greatly appreciated in the Muslim world.
'simplifie, simplifie, simplifie' - god is simple, human history isn't. i prefer more thorough, longtime-interest.. work when reading sociology & the unborn infinite sensing in which the universe, of this one inclusivity/safety/eutonicity/welcome/home/within/love/all/etcetera-texture, is 'born' 13.8 billion years ago, inborn the earth inborn you and me, all of us, is what i would call god f.i.. (the body of nothing, the unborn wombness) what is, 'the flesh of the world' etceter etcetera, praise the great oneness, think, to start with, about the equality-ethics in for-image (voorbeeld) :)
alsan a scholar, funny. aslan an apologist for islam, yeah.
Reza is a liar.
Don't make a claim without substantiating.
LlamaBlu"Don't make a claim without substantiating"
The violence of the Quran and his idol Mohammed are sufficient to substantiate his lies!
***** "reza is a genius man."
Wrong!
He deliberately ignores the evils of Islam.
Bruce Berry i'm speechless as to how shallow you are to profile all individuals of a specific religion. if we have 10 christian murderers does that mean all christians are murderers, or that christianity is fundamentally evil? i swear i'm appalled by your stupidity
LlamaBlu"i'm speechless as to how shallow you are to profile all individuals of a specific religion.
Did I? If you read my post properly you would see I profiled an ideology and not individuals.
But supposing I did profile people , then that is exactly what this money grabbing charlatan does with renowned scholars of the Book! He saw how easily Bart Ehrman made millions and has decided to do the same for himself. They're both like peas in a pod. He's that clever, so good for him! Fortunately, as a non Christian I have a simple mind. So the saying goes "Bull dust baffles brains". I don't have brains so he can't bull dust me!! I wouldn't waste a penny on this bogus Phd man.
U say "if we have 10 christian murderers does that mean all christians are murderers"
No. But if these 10 Christians did, then they did so breaking the 10 commandments and not in the name of YESHUA or the Almighty.
The opposite is true of Islam where Mohammed murdered hundreds in the name of Islam and Allah. That legacy continues to this day where sunnis and shias are killing each other. Yet this charlatan continues to write books slating Yeshua as a Zealot!!
His and your religion being the same, have nothing to show humanity!
U say " i swear i'm appalled by your stupidity"
Equally, I'm appalled by your defence of the Quran where it clearly discriminates on religious grounds. Which case I'd rather be labelled as being "stupid".
This charlatan cannot defend the indefensible knowing there's no fame and money to be made and therefore concentrates his efforts in denigrating the Messiah