Reza Aslan

Writer

1972-05-03

Quotes by Reza Aslan

According to Mark, it was a custom of the Roman governor during the feast of Passover to release one prisoner to the Jews, anyone for whom they asked. When Pilate asks the crowd which prisoner they would like to have released— Jesus, the preacher and traitor to Rome, or bar Abbas, the insurrectionist and murderer— the crowd demands the release of the insurrectionist and the crucifixion of the preacher. Why? Pilate asks, pained at the thought of having to put an innocent Jewish peasant to death. "What evil has he done?" But the crowd shouts all the louder for Jesus's death. Crucify him! Crucify him! (Mark 15:1–20). The scene is absolutely nonsensical. Never mind that outside the gospels there exists not a shred of historical evidence for any such Passover custom on the part of any Roman governor. What is truly beyond belief is the portrayal of Pontius Pilate— a man renowned for his loathing of the Jews, his total disregard for Jewish rituals and customs, and his penchant for absentmindedly signing so many execution orders that a formal complaint was lodged against him in Rome— spending even a moment of his time pondering the fate of yet another Jewish rabble-rouser.
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Whether for good or for bad, the Iran that ultimately rises out of the ashes of last summer's uprising will be unlike the Iran we know today, and for that we can thank the Green Movement, not another round of useless sanctions.
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A politician is a politician whether he's wearing a suit or a funny hat.
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A politician is a politician whether he's wearing a suit or a funny hat.
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Whether for good or for bad, the Iran that ultimately rises out of the ashes of last summer's uprising will be unlike the Iran we know today, and for that we can thank the Green Movement, not another round of useless sanctions.
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According to Mark, it was a custom of the Roman governor during the feast of Passover to release one prisoner to the Jews, anyone for whom they asked. When Pilate asks the crowd which prisoner they would like to have released— Jesus, the preacher and traitor to Rome, or bar Abbas, the insurrectionist and murderer— the crowd demands the release of the insurrectionist and the crucifixion of the preacher. Why? Pilate asks, pained at the thought of having to put an innocent Jewish peasant to death. "What evil has he done?" But the crowd shouts all the louder for Jesus's death. Crucify him! Crucify him! (Mark 15:1–20). The scene is absolutely nonsensical. Never mind that outside the gospels there exists not a shred of historical evidence for any such Passover custom on the part of any Roman governor. What is truly beyond belief is the portrayal of Pontius Pilate— a man renowned for his loathing of the Jews, his total disregard for Jewish rituals and customs, and his penchant for absentmindedly signing so many execution orders that a formal complaint was lodged against him in Rome— spending even a moment of his time pondering the fate of yet another Jewish rabble-rouser.
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There were dozens of people who walked through the Holy Land claiming to be the Messiah, curing the sick, exorcising demons, challenging Rome, gathering followers. In a way, there's nothing unique about what Jesus did. In fact, many of these so-called false Messiahs we know by name.
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When you forcefully suppress religious nationalism, you radicalize it.
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There's only one reason to be crucified under the Roman Empire, and that is for treason or sedition. Crucifixion, we have to understand, was not actually a form of capital punishment for Rome. In fact, it was often the case that the criminal would be killed first and then crucified.
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I have watched Muslims chant 'Death to America!' on the streets of Tehran, then privately beg me to help them get a visa to the United States.
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'Zeal' is essentially a compromising devotion to God, a commitment to cleansing the Holy Land of all foreign and pagan presences and to re-establish the kingdom of David as God had intended.
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