Zealot: Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan 296 Pages

Want an eye opener? Pick up this book. Biblical scholar, Aslan, has done a deep dig about in the past in an effort to separate the Jesus of Nazareth from the Christ of Christian teaching. He takes us back to Judea around 100 BCE to a Jerusalem occupied by the Romans and ruled by corrupt Jewish high priests - talk about conditions ripe for a messiah! And there were many messiahs around at the time,  all zealots trying to get their land back from occupation and their priests out of the emporer's back pocket.

According to Aslan, Jesus was one of these. Aslan, who speaks Greek, says he translated the gospels (which were written in Greek) himself so he could see what had actually been written. At this point, he makes it clear that the gospels were not written by anyone who had actually witnessed any of Jesus' teaching - the first gospel according to Mark was written at least 20 years after the death of Jesus and not by Mark the disciple. He also consults other historians of the time, Josephus, a Jewish/Roman historian writing at about 50- 75 BCE is an important one.
If you are interested in early Christianity, ancient history,  messianic mystery, and a clear-eyed view of who Jesus of Nazareth very probably was, this book is for you. Great read.