For example, the author focuses on the nature of the Romans, their intentions in regards to the Jews, and their possibilities of gaining control over various religious and political relations. In his book, Aslan describes the period before the actual life of Jesus to explain the conditions and the mood of people during that epoch. In this paper, the life and nature of Jesus will be evaluated and analyzed to explain the development of related historical events, the causes of the conflict with Rome, and the reasons that people were eager to protect their rights with both words and swords. Instead, the author defines Jesus as “a man of profound contradictions, one day preaching a message of racial exclusion…the next, of benevolent universalism…sometimes calling for unconditional peace…sometimes promoting violence and conflict” (Aslan, 2013, p. At the same time, Aslan rejects the idea that Jesus and other Jews were revolutionaries who wanted to use power and violence to achieve their goals. Jesus is introduced as a zealot of God with a burning desire to use the power of God to fight against the occupation of the Romans and to eventually reach the Promised Land. Aslan describes this time as a period in which people promoted nationalist ideas in the most unpredictable ways using their passion, desire, and enthusiasm.
In this book, he introduces a new perspective on human history by focusing on different religious stories connected with Jesus and the era of Christianity’s birth. Simon was known for his savagery, cutting off prisoners hands.Reza Aslan is an Iranian-American writer made famous by his book Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. Simon had recruited Idumeans into his army who were considered thugs by the provisional government in Jerusalem. According to Josephus, he spent more time attacking and looting villages to feed his troops. Simon bar Giora had his own faction of Zealots and his own army. Josephus infamously later changed sides and became an ally of Rome.
In that capacity, he often had more clashes with the Zealots than with the legions of the Roman army. Josephus was put in charge as the general of Galilee at the outbreak of the revolt. The blame for the destruction of Jerusalem and the Second Temple by Rome was placed solely on the Zealots and their misguided influence on the rest of the people. Nowhere is the negative polemic against the Zealots more dramatic than in Josephus' account of the Jewish Revolt. The Sicarii, again copying the methods of the Maccabees, utilized their guerilla warfare tactics and raids on Roman convoys and anyone who attempted to collect taxes, many of whom were Jews. The Zealots were noted for a subgroup of Sicarii or "dagger-men." The sicar was a small, short-bladed dagger, which was easily concealed.
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