a book i read
ZEALOT: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth
https://www.amazon.ca/ZEALOT-Life-Times-Jesus-Nazareth/dp/140006922X/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3Q6EGEY68HJ19&keywords=zealot+by+reza+aslan&qid=1575944238&sprefix=zealot+%2Caps%2C393&sr=8-1
Just read the above book about the Jesus of Nazareth. This is about the historical Jesus not Jesus Christ the savior. There was controversy around the book when it came out and I can see why. Some points:
Jesus was born in Nazareth not in Bethlehem. Bethlehem was at least a 3 day ride away and there is no way a pregnant woman could make that trip on a donkey.
Mary was most likely a unwed mother. Joseph is rarely mentioned in Jesus' life and Jesus is referred to as Mary's son throughout his life and not Joseph's son which was the norm for the time.
Jesus was illiterate like most people from Galilee were in the first century AD. He spoke Aramaic and probably Greek which was the universal language at the time.
He was not a carpenter but most likely a day laborer who worked in the city of Sepphoris at a number of manual labor jobs. Jesus and his family were dirt poor like most of the population of Galilee.
Jesus was never taken to Egypt as a baby. This is a fable. King Herod did not order the killing of all baby boys. Not much if anything is known about Jesus until he is about 30 years of age when he is baptized by John the Baptist and more or less pushes John aside and takes over his ministry.
Jesus never claimed to be the Son of God but the Son of Man. His goal was to bring down the Jewish cult which was controlled by the priests in Jerusalem and to establish a more equitable form of government on earth. He was more of a revolutionary than a religious figure while on earth. The savior stuff came after his death and was more the work of St. Paul. Jesus wanted to change the Jewish cult not bring it down. He was naive when it came to the Romans and the bigger picture.
Pontius Pilate never met with Jesus. This is another gospel fable. There were numerous people mostly from Galilee who claimed to be the messiah. They were all executed rather quickly and none had a trial before the Roman governor. Jesus was largely irrelevant while on earth.
Did Jesus ever marry? There is just no evidence of it although it was unusual for a healthy male to be single until the age of 33.
The book also goes into detail about Jesus' brother James and his fights with Paul of Taurus and how James wanted to work with the Jewish cult while Paul wanted a complete break. You can make the argument that Paul is more the founder of Christianity than Jesus.
So Jesus was a small time preacher who wanted changes at the local level. He was killed and then the writers of the gospels (we don't know who they are) took over and made him into something much bigger than he could ever have imagined.
It is too bad that there was no one around Jesus who could write and describe him and his actions/personality in more detail while he walked on this earth. He was a poor but charismatic and caring man who wanted to help the destitute people he saw around him.
I enjoyed this book and I am not religious at all. 8/10