{"id":884,"date":"2014-02-15T08:14:00","date_gmt":"2014-02-15T08:14:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html"},"modified":"2014-02-15T08:14:00","modified_gmt":"2014-02-15T08:14:00","slug":"how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html","title":{"rendered":"How the Life of Jesus Became Embellished Into a New Religion Based on Fables"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Reza Aslan is a religious scholar, a professor of creative writing and a journalist. In another age, he would have been called a renaissance man.<\/span><\/p>\n

In fact Aslan\u2019s range of knowledge and his self-confidence have been used by some of his detractors to challenge his account of the historical Jesus in Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. However, his critics generally target Aslan\u2019s credentials on the basis of his background (he is an interdisciplinary academic with multiple degrees and a Muslim) rather than taking issue with the contents of Zealot.<\/p>\n

Zealot infuses Jerusalem and Palestine at the time of Christ\u2019s life with a vividness and detail that reveals a historical cauldron in which radical Jews challenged both the authority of the Roman Empire and established Jewish leaders who cooperated with Rome. Aslan\u2019s account of the historical Jesus moves back and forth between what was his likely life versus how he is portrayed in the New Testament.<\/p>\n

Religion is a question of belief in a divine force, as Aslan affirms, so facts don\u2019t necessarily undercut faith. But they can cause some believers to feel threatened and indignant.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve seen Aslan on television, he\u2019s not one to back down. Truthout<\/a> recently interviewed Aslan about his contextual recounting of the man who became the basis of a religion years after his death.<\/p>\n

Read the rest here<\/a><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reza Aslan is a religious scholar, a professor of creative writing and a journalist. In another age, he would have been called a renaissance man. In fact Aslan\u2019s range of knowledge and his self-confidence have been used by some of his detractors to challenge his account of the historical Jesus in Zealot: The Life and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-884","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nHow the Life of Jesus Became Embellished Into a New Religion Based on Fables<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Reza Aslan is a religious scholar, a professor of creative writing and a journalist. In another age, he would have been called a renaissance man.In fact\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How the Life of Jesus Became Embellished Into a New Religion Based on Fables\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Reza Aslan is a religious scholar, a professor of creative writing and a journalist. In another age, he would have been called a renaissance man.In fact\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rhetoric Race and Religion\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-02-15T08:14:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Guest Contributor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Guest Contributor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html\",\"name\":\"How the Life of Jesus Became Embellished Into a New Religion Based on Fables\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-02-15T08:14:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2014-02-15T08:14:00+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/2869b699bf0e57982cb1f212243705f2\"},\"description\":\"Reza Aslan is a religious scholar, a professor of creative writing and a journalist. In another age, he would have been called a renaissance man.In fact\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How the Life of Jesus Became Embellished Into a New Religion Based on Fables\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/\",\"name\":\"Rhetoric Race and Religion\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/2869b699bf0e57982cb1f212243705f2\",\"name\":\"Guest Contributor\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5010a3cc274cdb37811bf24de46dc280?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5010a3cc274cdb37811bf24de46dc280?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Guest Contributor\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/author\/admin\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How the Life of Jesus Became Embellished Into a New Religion Based on Fables","description":"Reza Aslan is a religious scholar, a professor of creative writing and a journalist. In another age, he would have been called a renaissance man.In fact","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How the Life of Jesus Became Embellished Into a New Religion Based on Fables","og_description":"Reza Aslan is a religious scholar, a professor of creative writing and a journalist. In another age, he would have been called a renaissance man.In fact","og_url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html","og_site_name":"Rhetoric Race and Religion","article_published_time":"2014-02-15T08:14:00+00:00","author":"Guest Contributor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Guest Contributor","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html","name":"How the Life of Jesus Became Embellished Into a New Religion Based on Fables","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-02-15T08:14:00+00:00","dateModified":"2014-02-15T08:14:00+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/2869b699bf0e57982cb1f212243705f2"},"description":"Reza Aslan is a religious scholar, a professor of creative writing and a journalist. In another age, he would have been called a renaissance man.In fact","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/2014\/02\/how-the-life-of-jesus-became-embellished-into-a-new-religion-based-on-fables.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How the Life of Jesus Became Embellished Into a New Religion Based on Fables"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/","name":"Rhetoric Race and Religion","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/2869b699bf0e57982cb1f212243705f2","name":"Guest Contributor","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5010a3cc274cdb37811bf24de46dc280?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5010a3cc274cdb37811bf24de46dc280?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Guest Contributor"},"url":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/author\/admin"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=884"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/884\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=884"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=884"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/rhetoricraceandreligion\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=884"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}