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Sifting through centuries of mythmaking - Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of historys most influential and enigmatic figures by examining Jesus within the context of the times in which he lived: the age of zealotry - an era awash in apocalyptic fervour. Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against historical sources - Aslan describes a complex figure: a man of peace who exhorted his followers to arm themselves; an exorcist and faith healer who urged his disciples to keep his identity secret; and the seditious King of the Jews - whose promise of liberation from Rome went unfulfilled in his lifetime. Aslan explores why the early Church preferred to promulgate an image of Jesus as a peaceful spiritual teacher rather than a politically conscious revolutionary - and grapples with the riddle of how Jesus understood himself. Zealot provides a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told. The result is a thought-provoking - elegantly written biography with the pulse of a fast-paced novel - and a singularly brilliant portrait of a man - a time and the birth of a religion....