The idea of literalism in the Bible is a very new phenomenon. In many ways, it's a product of the scientific revolution. Reza Aslan bibleidealiteralism Change image and share on social
I'm a person of faith, and the language that I use to define my faith, the symbols and metaphors that I rely upon to express my faith, are those provided by Islam because they make the most sense to me. Reza Aslan defineexpressfaith share on social
Many of the prophets of Jesus's time were thought to just be mad men, just sort of crazy people who were claiming to channel the divine. Perhaps that means we should be a little less judgmental of some of our own crazies talking about God on the corner. They might actually have found a pretty comfortable place in Jesus's time. Reza Aslan channelclaimcomfortable share on social
Nobody, absolutely nobody, straps a bomb on their body because they were recruited from the Internet. It takes an enormous amount of personal face-to-face contact and time in order to recruit a young person into the cause of jihad. Reza Aslan absolutelyamountbody share on social
I think if you place Jesus firmly in the historical context... you can make very educated hypotheses and guesses about how he lived. Reza Aslan contexteducatefirmly Change image and share on social
When you forcefully suppress religious nationalism, you radicalize it. Reza Aslan forcefullynationalismradicalize Change image and share on social
There's no question that homophobia is rampant among the world's 1.5 billion Muslims - but that doesn't negate the fact that there are huge groups of Muslims who have easily reconciled their faith and sexual orientation, like LGBT people in other faith communities. Reza Aslan billioncommunityeasily share on social
I'm interested in the origins of the religious experience, how the history of religion has evolved over the last umpteen thousand years, and where religiosity is going in the future. I think that's a topic I've been chewing on for a few years; I would love to eventually work on and produce a book out of it. Reza Aslan bookcheweventually share on social
Whether you're talking about MSNBC or Fox or CNN, it's all about getting enough interest out there, sensationalizing the story in such a way that people are compelled to tune in. Reza Aslan cnncompelfox Change image and share on social
Is it possible that Jesus, unlike 98 percent of his fellow Jews, was literate and educated? Yes, it's possible. Reza Aslan educatefellowjesus Change image and share on social