Jesus as a Jew of his time, rebelling against the Roman occupation

Review of Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth by Reza Aslan

As an atheist with a passionate interest in the birth of Christianity as a historical phenomenon, Aslan's book was exactly what I was looking for: a look at the life of Jesus placed solidly in political context. It is beautifully written and dense. Best of all, I could trust the author's grasp of history completely, even if his interpretation is rather …