Though it is the fastest growing religion in the world, Islam remains shrouded by ignorance and fear. What is the essence of this ancient faith? Is it a religion of peace or war? How does Allah differ from the God of Jews and Christians? Can an Islamic state be founded on democratic values such as pluralism and human rights? A writer and scholar of comparative religions, Reza Aslan has earned international acclaim for the passion and clarity he has brought to these questions. In
, challenging the “clash of civilizations” mentality that has distorted our view of Islam, Aslan explains this critical faith in all its complexity, beauty, and compassion.
Contrary to popular perception in the West, Islam is a religion firmly rooted in the prophetic traditions of the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Aslan begins with a vivid account of the social and religious milieu in which the Prophet Muhammad lilved. The revelations that Muhammad received in Mecca and Medina, which were recorded in the Quran, became the foundation for a radically more egalitarian community, the likes of which had never been seen before.
Soon after his death, the Prophet’s successors set about the overwhelming task of defining and interpreting Muhammad’s message for future generations. Their efforts led to the development of a comprehensive code of conduct that was expected to regulate every aspect of the believer’s life. But this attempt only widened the chasm between orthodox Islam and its two major sects, Shiism and Sufism, both of which Aslan discusses in rich detail.
Finally,
examines how, in the shadow of European colonialism, Muslims developed conflicting strategies to reconcile traditional Islamic values with the social and political realities of the modern world. With the emergence of the Islamic state in the twentieth century, this contest over the future of Islam has become a passionate, sometimes violent battle between those who seek to enforce a rigid and archaic legal code and those who struggle to harmonize the teachings of the Prophet with contemporary ideals of democracy and human rights. According to Reza Aslan, we are now living in the era of “the Islamic Reformation.”
is a persuasive and elegantly written account of the roots of this reformation and the future of Islamic faith.

From the internationally bestselling author of No god but God comes a fascinating, provocative, and meticulously researched biography that challenges long-held assumptions about the man we know as Jesus of Nazareth.
Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher and miracle worker walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the “Kingdom of God.” The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was captured, tortured, and executed as a state criminal.
Within decades after his shameful death, his followers would call him God.
Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza 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 fervor. Scores of Jewish prophets, preachers, and would-be messiahs wandered through the Holy Land, bearing messages from God. This was the age of zealotry—a fervent nationalism that made resistance to the Roman occupation a sacred duty incumbent on all Jews. And few figures better exemplified this principle than the charismatic Galilean who defied both the imperial authorities and their allies in the Jewish religious hierarchy.
Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, 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 explores the reasons why the early Christian church preferred to promulgate an image of Jesus as a peaceful spiritual teacher rather than a politically conscious revolutionary. And he grapples with the riddle of how Jesus understood himself, the mystery that is at the heart of all subsequent claims about his divinity.
Zealot yields a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of Jesus of Nazareth’s life and mission. The result is a thought-provoking, elegantly written biography with the pulse of a fast-paced novel: a singularly brilliant portrait of a man, a time, and the birth of a religion.

Though it is the fastest growing religion in the world, Islam remains shrouded in ignorance and fear. To many in the west, Islam means jihad, veiled women and suicide bombers. Yet these represent only fringe elements of the world's fastest growing religion. While there have been a number of successful books on the topic of Islamic history - from Karen Armstrong's Islam: A Brief History to Bernard Lewis's The Crisis of Islam , there is surprisingly no book for a popular audience about Islam as a religion, let alone one by an author from an Islamic background. No God But God fills that gap. What is the essence of this ancient faith? Is it a religion of peace or of war? How does Allah differ from the God of Jews and Christians? Can an Islamic state be founded on democratic values such as pluralism and human rights? In No god but God , challenging the ‘clash of civilisations’ mentality that has distorted out view of Islam, Aslan explains the faith in all its complexity, beauty and compassion. (20040315)

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The bestselling author of Zealot and host of Believer explores humanity’s quest to make sense of the divine in this concise and fascinating history of our understanding of God.
In Zealot, Reza Aslan replaced the staid, well-worn portrayal of Jesus of Nazareth with a startling new image of the man in all his contradictions. In his new book, Aslan takes on a subject even more immense: God, writ large.
In layered prose and with thoughtful, accessible scholarship, Aslan narrates the history of religion as a remarkably cohesive attempt to understand the divine by giving it human traits and emotions. According to Aslan, this innate desire to humanize God is hardwired in our brains, making it a central feature of nearly every religious tradition. As Aslan writes, “Whether we are aware of it or not, and regardless of whether we’re believers or not, what the vast majority of us think about when we think about God is a divine version of ourselves.”
But this projection is not without consequences. We bestow upon God not just all that is good in human nature—our compassion, our thirst for justice—but all that is bad in it: our greed, our bigotry, our penchant for violence. All these qualities inform our religions, cultures, and governments.
More than just a history of our understanding of God, this book is an attempt to get to the root of this humanizing impulse in order to develop a more universal spirituality. Whether you believe in one God, many gods, or no god at all, God: A Human History will challenge the way you think about the divine and its role in our everyday lives.
Praise for God
“Timely, riveting, enlightening and necessary.”—HuffPost
“Tantalizing . . . Driven by [Reza] Aslan’s grace and curiosity, God . . . helps us pan out from our troubled times, while asking us to consider a more expansive view of the divine in contemporary life.”—The Seattle Times
“A fascinating exploration of the interaction of our humanity and God.”—Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
“[Aslan’s] slim, yet ambitious book [is] the story of how humans have created God with a capital G, and it’s thoroughly mind-blowing.”—Los Angeles Review of Books
“Aslan is a born storyteller, and there is much to enjoy in this intelligent survey.”—San Francisco Chronicle

回到歷史現場，
看見耶穌時代的帝國壓迫。
歷史上的耶穌，
是一位反抗不公義的革命與宗教領袖。

　　★ 解構、顛覆、重新認識！歷史上的凡人耶穌，如何活在他的時代
　　★ 紐約時報、亞馬遜、華爾街日報、洛杉磯時報第一名暢銷書
　　★《造神》、《伊斯蘭大歷史》作者雷薩．阿斯蘭暢銷經典
　　★鄭仰恩、葉浩，宗教與政治學領域兩大學者齊力推薦

　　西元一世紀的巴勒斯坦，是一塊被佔領的土地，整個猶太地方到處駐紮了羅馬軍團。當時巴勒斯坦已歷經五百年連續殖民，巴比倫人、波斯人、亞歷山大大帝的希臘軍隊、托勒密王朝、塞琉古王國都曾佔領與統治耶路撒冷。

　　西元前六十三年，羅馬帝國攻下了上帝之城，首先便與土地貴族結盟，猶太貴族與祭司成了帝國代理人，享受財富與權力。農民則苦於重稅，土地被侵奪，流離失所。羅馬任命的「猶太人的王」──希律王，以屬國國王身份統治當地，致力於將耶路撒冷羅馬化。希律王之後，整個猶太地區更進一步被改制為行省，由羅馬總督直接統治。

　　這就是耶穌誕生的時代背景。他出生在拿撒勒貧窮的木匠之家。他身邊滿是因羅馬統治而痛苦不堪的平民百姓。他一生的行誼，挑戰了史上最強大帝國──羅馬。

　　本書帶領讀者回到歷史現場，看見歷史中的耶穌──他面對的壓迫，與他的反抗。作者解讀歷史文獻，重現耶穌的生平與時代，也追索耶穌作為反抗者的一面，後來被淡化、湮沒乃至遺忘的原因……

　　如同本書作者阿斯蘭所說：「當我愈瞭解耶穌的真實生平，愈瞭解他身處的動盪世界，以及他對羅馬暴政的反抗，我愈被他吸引。耶穌以猶太農民與革命分子之姿，挑戰世界有史以來最強大的帝國的形貌，在我心中反而比教會塑造的超然絕塵形象更為真實。」

　　本書重點介紹
　　第一部
　　從耶路撒冷聖殿的獻祭儀式談起，佐以暗殺情節，逐步帶出公元前兩世紀中猶太人的歷史、宗教及社會發展，特別是自馬加比反抗運動讓猶太人從塞琉古王國獲得短暫獨立、卻又在一百年後落入羅馬外來統治的困窘情境。耶穌就在此時出生在卑微的拿撒勒小城。

　　就在此一階段，出現了「第四哲學」，他們的基本信念是要藉助狂熱的一神信仰讓以色列從外邦的統治中解放，這也是本書原名「狂熱派」（Zealot）的緣由。面對殘酷無情的總督彼拉多以及羅馬統治者，狂熱派分子的憤怒和反抗一步步將猶太族群帶向集體反叛，也就是所謂的第一次猶太戰爭以及悲壯的馬薩達集體自殺行動。

　　第二部
　　焦點轉到在猶太群眾的政治期待和想像中以「公開入城」的方式進入耶路撒冷的耶穌。他以憤怒的姿態潔淨聖殿的行動反映出他潛在的狂熱派特質。儘管耶穌不屬於後來和羅馬政權對抗的狂熱黨，但因他的彌賽亞理想對羅馬占領巴勒斯坦構成威脅，且他的狂熱派論點也讓聖殿當局芒刺在背，他最終被羅馬人釘十字架。

　　第三部
　　耶穌想在人世間建立上帝國的運動失敗後，他的追隨者如何重新詮釋耶穌的任務與身分，以及猶太彌賽亞的性質與定義？福音書作者為什麼極力淡化耶穌訊息中帶有的革命性質，刻意抹去耶穌運動中帶有的革命色彩？

　　作者指出，耶穌被釘十字架之後，基督教開始出現兩個不同而彼此競逐的詮釋體系：其中一派的領袖是耶穌的弟弟雅各；另一派則由保羅帶領。這兩個團體彼此仇恨、水火不容，但雙方的競爭反而讓基督教成為我們今日所知的全球宗教。

　　原本雅各擁有很大的影響力，但伴隨著西元七○年羅馬大軍夷平耶路撒冷，雅各門派在耶路撒冷一切也被殲滅。定義耶穌訊息的任務因此落在另一批新人身上：受過教育、住在城市、說希臘語的離散猶太人。為了使耶穌的訊息更能吸引外邦人，他們逐漸把擁有革命熱忱的耶穌轉變成羅馬化的半神，把企圖帶領猶太人脫離羅馬壓迫的耶穌，轉變成與塵世無涉的彼世之人。

本書特色

　　就如現任教宗方濟各在他的書《讓我們勇敢夢想》中表達：人類是世界的創造者，我們有責任去創造更好的世界，而不是躲回舊有的世界、撤退到防禦的盔甲後方。在雷薩．阿斯蘭《革命分子耶穌》中所呈現的歷史上的耶穌，也是一位改革者、一位試圖創造更好世界之人。

作者簡介

雷薩．阿斯蘭（Reza Aslan）

　　伊朗裔美國作家。一九七二年出生於伊朗，一九七九年伊朗革命時，隨家人移民美國。阿斯蘭原本隨家中傳統信奉伊斯蘭教，但青少年時在美國參加福音青年營卻受到啟發，改信基督教。隨著年紀更長，他在研讀《聖經》時，常感到有諸多矛盾，上大學研讀宗教史後，更倍感困惑。在深思熟慮之後，他重回伊斯蘭信仰。然而他仍然以學者身分繼續研究耶穌，經二十年研究後寫出《革命分子耶穌：重返拿撒勒人耶穌的生平與時代》。他也研究伊斯蘭的歷史與當下正在發生的變革展望，並寫成《伊斯蘭大歷史：穆斯林的信仰故事與改革之書》。阿斯蘭更跨越宗教藩籬，透過考古學、認知科學，與研讀跨宗教經典而最終寫成《造神：人類探索信仰與宗教的歷史》（以上皆由衛城出版）。

　　阿斯蘭為聖塔克拉拉大學宗教研究學士，哈佛大學神學碩士、愛荷華大學寫作班碩士，與加州大學聖塔芭芭拉分校社會學博士。現為加州大學河濱分校創意寫作系教授，美國伊斯蘭理事會（National Islam American Council）理事。他同時也是一名活躍的公共知識分子，經常在媒體上發言，倡議宗教寬容與自由。

譯者簡介

黃煜文

　　資深譯者，譯有《一四九三：殖民、貿易、物種，哥倫布大交換推動的新世界》、《在緬甸尋找喬治．歐威爾》、《革命分子耶穌：重返拿撒勒人耶穌的生平與時代》、《奧許維茲臥底報告：自願關進納粹集中營的波蘭英雄》 、《閱讀蒙田，是為了生活》、《歷史的歷史：史學家和他們的歷史時代》、《王者之聲：宣戰時刻》、《世紀末的維也納》、《耶路撒冷三千年》、《大轉向：文藝復興的開展與世界走向現代的關鍵時刻》、《文明：西方與非西方》等作品。

A cosmic war is a religious war. It is a battle not between armies or nations, but between the forces of good and evil, a war in which God is believed to be directly engaged on behalf of one side against the other.

The hijackers who attacked the United States on September 11, 2001, thought they were fighting a cosmic war. According to award-winning writer and scholar of religions Reza Aslan, by infusing the United States War on Terror with the same kind of religiously polarizing rhetoric and Manichean worldview, is also fighting a cosmic war–a war that can’t be won.

How to Win a Cosmic War is both an in-depth study of the ideology fueling al-Qa‘ida, the Taliban, and like-minded militants throughout the Muslim world, and an exploration of religious violence in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Surveying the global scene from Israel to Iraq and from New York to the Netherlands, Aslan argues that religion is a stronger force today than it has been in a century. At a time when religion and politics are increasingly sharing the same vocabulary and functioning in the same sphere, Aslan writes that we must strip the conflicts of our world–in particular, the War on Terror–of their religious connotations and address the earthly grievances that always lie behind the cosmic impulse.

How do you win a cosmic war? By refusing to fight in one.

　　亞馬遜、紐約時報、出版人周刊、邦諾書店、洛杉磯時報、華爾街日報等排行榜非文學類第一名


　　反抗帝國，反抗權貴，耶穌是搞革命的猶太農民
　　本書重返歷史現場，還原耶穌的真實面貌，重新詮釋基督教的起源與精神

　　他是一位充滿魅力的傳道者，敢於冒犯宗教領袖的權威。
　　他是激進的猶太民族主義者，勇於挑戰外邦統治者。
　　他是革命的狂熱分子，四處聚集門徒，計劃在世間建立上帝的國度。
　　「當我愈瞭解耶穌的真實生平，愈瞭解他身處的動盪世界，
　　以及他對羅馬暴政的反抗，我愈被他吸引。
　　耶穌以猶太農民與革命分子之姿，挑戰世界有史以來最強大的帝國的形貌，
　　在我心中反而比教會塑造的超然絕塵形象更為真實。」──本書作者

　　本書試圖考察歷史上耶穌的真實面貌，也就是被基督教神化「之前」的耶穌。藉由羅馬帝國的文獻以及各種歷史考證，佐以聖經的描述，作者顛覆了傳統對於耶穌的許多詮釋。

　　根據作者考證，耶穌出生在貧窮的小鎮拿撒勒，家族多半從事木工與建築工，屬於底層階級，地位只比乞丐、奴隸高一點。他沒受過多少教育，目不識丁，可能是私生子。在拿撒勒，木工根本沒有工作可做，身為木匠的耶穌必須到城市工作。

　　年輕的耶穌從農村來到城市，他目睹巨大的城鄉差距。富有的城市公共設施周全、交通四通八達，而拿撒勒連一條道路都沒有。他也感受到巨富與赤貧。白天他為富有的猶太貴族蓋豪宅，晚上自己住的卻是破落的小屋。

　　農村的人不是跑到城市為富人做牛做馬，就是在農村辛苦耕種，供應糧食給城市的人。而住在耶路撒冷聖殿的大祭司，卻過著極盡奢華的生活，勾結富商和官吏，壓迫底層猶太人，對他們課徵重稅，兼併他們的土地，使窮人陷入徹底的絕望，強盜與叛亂活動四起。

　　在迦南地區成為革命溫床的同時，有個名叫施洗者約翰的人在約旦河邊，一邊洗除人們的罪惡，一邊宣揚革命的理念。許多對羅馬帝國不滿的群眾慕名前來，耶穌也是其中之一。他接受約翰的教導，並在約翰死後成為他的繼承者。

　　耶穌回到家鄉，準備傳播上帝國度的到來與末日將近的訊息。他的鄰人不歡迎他，擔憂耶穌的激進主張會讓他們不得安寧。他的家人勸他當個安分的木工，但耶穌拒絕了。

　　耶穌批評權貴，挑戰既得利益者。他像個社運分子，衝進了象徵權力的堡壘：耶路撒冷聖殿。他堵住聖殿入口、打翻桌椅、趕走攤販，大肆批評時政。

　　耶穌宣稱在不久的未來，猶太人將擁有屬於自己的國度，既有的秩序將會反轉，富人與有權力的人將會變成窮人與無權力的人。他明知自己的言行將難逃一死，還是四處宣揚理念，直到羅馬人逮捕他，以煽動叛亂的罪名處死他。

　　耶穌死後，反抗羅馬的行動並未消減，一個革命家被處死，就有另一個革命家興起。加上羅馬派來的總督都是一些無能之輩，只忙著鞏固權力，不僅不理會民眾的不滿，還以殘酷的血腥鎮壓試圖嚇阻，最後民怨累積到極限，終於爆發全面性的革命。

　　西元六十六年的這場猶太革命十分慘烈，在耶路撒冷，羅馬軍隊殘暴地姦殺擄掠所有人，不管男女老幼，不論貧富，不論效忠羅馬或反抗羅馬，逢人便殺，甚至阻斷水源與糧源，讓人們活活餓死。

　　屠殺造成猶太人巨大的陰影，導致後世追隨者在宣揚耶穌事蹟時，因為害怕羅馬統治者報復，刻意降低耶穌的政治性與革命色彩，只強調神性與和平的一面。耶穌從此由帶領革命的猶太民族主義者，變成宣揚和平而不關心世俗的精神領袖。

　　透過本書，不僅可以瞭解耶穌的另一面，也理解一個國家如何導致人民的反抗。而這樣的歷史至今在世界各地仍不斷上演著。

本書重點介紹

　　第一部

　　從耶路撒冷聖殿的獻祭儀式談起，佐以暗殺情節，逐步帶出公元前兩世紀中猶太人的歷史、宗教及社會發展，特別是自馬加比反抗運動讓猶太人從塞琉古王國獲得短暫獨立、卻又在一百年後落入羅馬外來統治的困窘情境。耶穌就在此時出生在卑微的拿撒勒小城。

　　就在此一階段，出現了「第四哲學」，他們的基本信念是要藉助狂熱的一神信仰讓以色列從外邦的統治中解放，這也是本書原名「狂熱派」（Zealot）的緣由。面對殘酷無情的總督彼拉多以及羅馬統治者，狂熱派分子的憤怒和反抗一步步將猶太族群帶向集體反叛，也就是所謂的第一次猶太戰爭以及悲壯的馬薩達集體自殺行動。

　　第二部

　　焦點轉到在猶太群眾的政治期待和想像中以「公開入城」的方式進入耶路撒冷的耶穌。他以憤怒的姿態潔淨聖殿的行動反映出他潛在的狂熱派特質。儘管耶穌不屬於後來和羅馬政權對抗的狂熱黨，但因他的彌賽亞理想對羅馬占領巴勒斯坦構成威脅，且他的狂熱派論點也讓聖殿當局芒刺在背，他最終被羅馬人釘十字架。

　　第三部

　　耶穌想在人世間建立上帝國的運動失敗後，他的追隨者如何重新詮釋耶穌的任務與身分，以及猶太彌賽亞的性質與定義？福音書作者為什麼極力淡化耶穌訊息中帶有的革命性質，刻意抹去耶穌運動中帶有的革命色彩？

　　作者指出，耶穌被釘十字架之後，基督教開始出現兩個不同而彼此競逐的詮釋體系：其中一派的領袖是耶穌的弟弟雅各；另一派則由保羅帶領。這兩個團體彼此仇恨、水火不容，但雙方的競爭反而讓基督教成為我們今日所知的全球宗教。

　　原本雅各擁有很大的影響力，但伴隨著西元七○年羅馬大軍夷平耶路撒冷，雅各門派在耶路撒冷一切也被殲滅。定義耶穌訊息的任務因此落在另一批新人身上：受過教育、住在城市、說希臘語的離散猶太人。為了使耶穌的訊息更能吸引外邦人，他們逐漸把擁有革命熱忱的耶穌轉變成羅馬化的半神，把企圖帶領猶太人脫離羅馬壓迫的耶穌，轉變成與塵世無涉的彼世之人。

名人推薦

　　鄭仰恩（台灣神學院教會歷史學教授、臺灣大學兼任教授）導讀
　　陳士齊（香港浸會大學宗教及哲學系高級講師）推薦

　　這是一本引人入勝的好書，書中滿含歷史細節，將耶穌和他的時代清晰地描繪出來。正如作者所說：「與耶穌基督相比，拿撒勒人耶穌──凡人耶穌──毫不遜色，他與基督一樣令人折服、充滿魅力與值得欽敬。」虔誠的基督徒可以思考如何將他們信奉的聖子耶穌，與書中描繪的革命分子耶穌銜接起來，從而呈現一個不離地、不棄世的基督教。──陳士齊（香港浸會大學宗哲系高級講師，社會評論人及社運參與者）