An Evening with Reza Aslan at Indian Summer Festival

An evening with the internationally bestselling author of No god but God and Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. Reza Aslan offers us a fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography that calls into question everything we thought we knew about Jesus of Nazareth.

Sifting through centuries of myth-making, Aslan sheds new light on one of history’s most influential and enigmatic characters by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived: first century Palestine, an age awash in apocalyptic fervour.

Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against historical sources, Aslan explores this diverse and turbulent age and, in doing so, challenges the conventional portraits of Jesus of Nazareth. Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction: a man of peace who exhorted his followers to arm themselves with swords; an exorcist and faith healer who urged his disciples to keep his identity a secret; and ultimately, the seditious “King of the Jews” whose promise of liberation from Rome went unfulfilled in his brief lifetime.

Aslan’s work questions what we thought we knew about Jesus of Nazareth—even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of his life and mission. The result is a thought-provoking and singularly brilliant portrait of a man, a time, and the birth of a religion.

This session was made possible with the support of SFU Institute for the Humanities and The Centre for the Comparative Studies of Muslim Societies and Cultures at SFU. Thanks to SFU Woodwards for their partnership and for recording the session.

Indian Summer Festival. Where Worlds Meet. A festival of arts & ideas in Vancouver every July.

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