Opinion of Reza Aslan

[The world will shine with light in our nightmare]

Given the recent controversy, I thought this thread was necessary.

http://sojo.net/blogs/2013/08/02/reza-aslan-defends-controversial-new-book-jesus

I vote Neutral (Theist).  I started reading his new book last week, but there has been so much scholarly dispute over the claims he makes that I, someone who has layman's knowledge on this subject, cannot determine who is right and who is wrong.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

I went for Neutral (Theist) as well, tho I might change that once I've had a chance to read the book.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I thought he came off as smug and pretentious in the Fox interview at times; while it was wrong (but expected) to be questioned in such a way by Lauren Green, he seemed to overrate himself as an academic figure. I have no opinion of his book, as I have not read it.

[bedstuy]

I thought he came off as smug and pretentious in the Fox interview at times; while it was wrong (but expected) to be questioned in such a way by Lauren Green, he seemed to overrate himself as an academic figure. I have no opinion of his book, as I have not read it.

Have you ever had to deal with racist epithets?  It doesn't sit well.  If someone took that tone with me, I would probably slap them upside the head.

[Marokai Backbeat]

I've never really cared for much of what I've seen from him, and like Sanchez, I think he seems desperate to inflate his knowledge of the subject far beyond what it actually is. Just looking at his picture in the included link makes me think "Wow, you're trying too hard."

[DC Al Fine]

Latest in a long line of "Real Jesus" types. Meh.

[anvi]

I haven't looked at his book yet, so neutral.  I have read a few reviews.  There is one line of "historical Jesus" scholarship that does hypothesize that Jesus was primarily a self-proclaimed messiah preaching  an immanent apocalyptic end, which is what got him crucified.  Aslan then is placing himself in this particular line of scholarship, which is one among many standard schools.  But he has the literary talents to make this view more accessible to the general public, and this controversy has certainly helped him.  But there were so many narrative traditions about Jesus within the disparate Christian community in the first century, each with its own representation of who he was and what his message was, that, with practically no external corroborating evidence, piecing together one singular historical picture of him just doesn't seem possible.  For Christians, Jesus is the object of faith, not a product of archival research, and that is as it should be.

[FEMA Camp Administrator]

Interesting stuff. I heard a radio interview with him where-in he made claims about the historical Jesus that directly contradicted what I'd heard elsewhere as well what I'd heard of in the Bible.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

'Historical Jesus' stuff is usually--not always, but usually--pretty uninteresting to me, and I still find it a little surprising that there are so many people by whose lights these types of questions are the most fruitful ones to ask about the figure of Jesus in the first place, but I've liked what little (so far) I've read of Aslan's work in the past (so this might be one of the exceptions to my lack of interest) and he has every right to complain of the way he was treated in that Fox interview, so neutral-to-somewhat-positive and not voting.

[afleitch]

I'm familiar with the arguments so I'm not inclined to want to read the book other than perhaps see from the perspective of a practicing Muslim. As for those who can only say he's 'smug and pretentious'; if that's all you can say to try and and vainly detract from Aslan's professional expertise, or of anyone who casts a critical eye over theology from any angle then poor you.

[Blue3]

This is an interview of him actually getting to talk about his book, about a month BEFORE the FOX interview:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/29/reza-aslan-fox-news-vs-hu_n_3673765.html

[The Mikado]

No God but God is a pretty good read.  Haven't tackled Zealot yet and it's not really on my list of things to read.