In the interview below, Fox News Lauren Green is interviewing the author of a new book on Jesus Christ. However, Green appears to be incapable of getting over that academic/author Reza Aslan is a Muslim. While Fox and the other networks routinely interview Christian and Jewish experts on Islam (including highly biased authors), it appears inconceivable that a Muslim would ever write a book on Christianity.
Ironically, Aslan once converted to Christianity and then converted back to Islam. However, it is his current religion that seems to be the stumbling block for Green:
GREEN: This is an interesting book. Now I want to clarify, you’re a Muslim, so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity?
ASLAN: Well to be clear, I am a scholar of religions with four degrees — including one in the New Testament, and fluency in biblical Greek, who has been studying the origins of Christianity for two decades — who also just happens to be a Muslim. So it’s not that I’m just some Muslim writing about Jesus, I am an expert with a Ph.D in the history of religions…
GREEN: But it still begs the question why would you be interested in the founder of Christianity?
ASLAN: Because it’s my job as an academic. I am a professor of religion, including the New Testament. That’s what I do for a living, actually.
The interview repeatedly return to his religion as the most interesting aspect of the interview. It is a highly disturbing interview and a powerful example of how Muslims face double standards in their treatment in the media.
Agnotology says that this is one of the ignorance generators, Faux Snooze, busy doing haard weerk.
They’re not racist. It’s just that the Professor over and over has to keep telling the fox talking head his academic credentials qualify him to write a book about Jesus, even though in her white racist thinking, his religion makes him a sub-human who should never dare even think he has any right to comment on anything Christian.
…and conservatives complain about identity politics while their news network engages in it.
While I fully agree that the interview was of such low quality, I cannot agree that Aslan’s work is scholarly, factual or original. Nor can I accept that it is not written with an agenda. His religion DOES play a huge role. While stating that the gospels are just myths, his arguments are all based and backed by the gospels. Aslan is good at playing with words on his gullible readers. Please read the book before ye judge his work.
It was abundantly clear throughout the interview that the interviewer had not actually read the book, or even a representative sample. She just came to the table with a bunch of sound bytes from critics with vague credentials. Seriously disrespectful.
Also, she needs to look up what “beg the question” means.
http://begthequestion.info/
Another secret to comedy is impeccable timing. Kudos Gene H.
His background could involve a deep understanding of Greek myth: It’s still real people pretending to know the wills of blatantly fictional characters that were invented by our ignorant ancestors.
Every time religious people talk about religion, swap out the characters and replace them with Othello and Hamlet.
Sects are like Shakespearian devotees all arguing over which play is the real truth.
Bunk.
JH,
You sort of answered me and then you totally didn’t answer me. I asked you two yes or no questions. Is jesus the God of Abraham and do you go to the church founded by Jesus 2,000 years ago?
You undermine yourself when you proclaim the Bible is corrupted. You say the Bible is corrupted in one breath and in the next, you start quoting it. Can you see how this is sort of not a straight line of thinking?
You seem to be saying we should not have jails or the death penalty. That is fine detail and I am asking you general questions. I don’t think that because you write comments here, everyone in the world will disband their court systems tomorrow and end the death penalty.
I am asking you about what you believe, but I am kind of busy. Can you tell me what you believe about Jesus and your church?
If you can’t, it’s kool….just asking
Jesus is the God of Abraham. Jesus in the new is the same one Abraham saw in the old. Do yoiu see now? I told you. I do not God to any church made with human hands. People coorupt the Bible. There is a devil. Jesus never jailed. The devil is in his self imposed Jail A jail Robs people of money giving guilt. That is all. Nothing godly in it at all. Satan has an unseen Jail the NDE -people mistakenly think is Hell. Gods light gets rid of evil forever. The devil and only the devil wants death. God is not in the stars making them explode or fissile out. Jesus is God who is like a humble child. that has charity. That is not a cheap clothing store like religions made people think thinking they were crafty.
I wrote it like this so people will get a butter idea what the verses are saying.
Slightly Modified 1corinthians,13,
4 God is Charity who suffereth long, and is kind. God is charity who envieth not. God is charity who vaunteth not himself not being puffed up not behaving himself unseemly, not seeking his own meaning seeking to love everyone. God is not easily provoked thinking no evil not rejoicing in iniquity. God rejoices in the truth bearing all things, believing all things, hoping all things, enduring all things. God in us will be like that. Does the militarily, jails, police, legal sytem that condemns or islsmic law have that? I see the in the furries zoosexuals and others oppressed by human law and people perverting scripture to make it into a thing humans love and that is a weapon. My body is my church.
Must be slow news day – this is the best you all have to discuss….and with such great venom too. Must be a nice luxury to sit in your basements and torch everything anyone says about anything while the real world spins right by you. Grow up or find another hobby.
Gods light in me will torch evil wherever it is. Even fox news knows that so called scholars intent is to glorify Islam not Jesus who is the Lord God of all that is seen and unseen.
Hi JH,
I don’t have time for long debates. But I do have a couple of questions for you, if you can directly answer them without repeating dogma. Now if you can only parrot back to me what your preacher says, then you really shouldn’t be here wasting everyone’s time. I have maybe even more than two questions about your faith, if you don’t mind really answering from your soul and being truthful as best you can.
1) Is Jesus the God of Abraham? And if you answer yes, does that men that the God who created the entire universe was a man?
2) I want to know what you think about church history. Do you go to an actual church every Sunday that’s the same church? Do you believe like many Christians that your church is the very same church founded by Jesus?
Remember be from the heart and honest, NOT HATEfUL
Imposable for me t be hurtful. I will give you truth religions held in a safe opened by me. My teacher is the Holy spirit and only the Holy spirit. I am at odds with the preaches I have faced even as Jesus was at odds with the religions people of his time when he had blood in him. 1, Jesus is the God of Abraham. Like I said before hadj Abraham been raised seeing Jesus with blood in him would have said my Lord and My God. The spirit of God resided in a body with blood in him. in the same body Abraham a saw and the same body Moses saw on the mount. Upon rising from the dead was exactly like what Moses saw and what Abraham saw. In spirit Jesus needs to be in our body with blood in it to overcome even as he overcame. Over come like Christ overcame refute to call jehad power refusing to calling war power refusing calling anywhere power.
2, Church history patterned themselves after the people that rejected Jesus. That is why we have what we have. I do not go to any church what so ever. I sat in on a bible study once but when the people in the church started to see the truth that is in me the pastor escorted b me to the door. I showed that the gays are not wanting worse for anyone thus are not sodomites at all.
What is in me is what Jesus intended not what is. I see Christs church outside of man made walls. The churches made with walls are founded on Peter, Judas, and Barabbas. Their reflection is seen in what we have that needs to be ground to powder for the souls sake of many.
Okay, you believe Jesus is the God who created the universe and everything in it, but you do not go to church.
The idea of Jesus being the God of Abraham comes directly from the Catholics. Did you know that? Are you going to pretend that this doctrine reached you through some sneak route that does not involve church institutions? Were you just sitting in your bed one night, totally unaware of Christian doctrine and then you just happened to decide you would follow the edicts of the Council of Nicaea?
But really I have a bigger question for you. You claim the spirit, but the spirit is not easily offended, so I as I ask politely, please think and give me a calm answer.
This is my BIG question for you:
You claim a man as your god, who in your book it says the man died. Does that mean that death can claim your god? Does your god die? You see that confuses me because the God of Abraham says He is eternal.
Eternal means you cannot die.
If you die and come back, that’s reincarnation. So you believe your god redeemed you by dying and coming back, but you want to say that’s not reincarnation? (Webster’s plays that game) But the coming back is not where I question you and what you believe.
You worship a god who dies?
Was he vulnerable to death back then but now he’s not? Where in your scripture does your god promise you he won’t die again? My understanding of Christianity says he died to forgive you your sins. Because your god was unable to say “you are forgiven”????? The God of Abraham, who created everything that exists, says “BE” and it becomes….your god was unable to forgive you without a human blood sacrifice…that just happened to imitate the pagans of that region of that time? Anyway….sorry for being so long. I just don’t understand how people can worship a man-god who dies…so I need for you to explain to me how it is possible for the God of Abraham to say He cannot be seen and He cannot die when addressing Moses and Abraham and then you say in a “new testament” that God has changed his mind, become a man for everyone to see and died. Who’s lying? The old covenant or the new?
Keep this one.This is edited. It is Imposable for me to be hurtful. I will give you truth religions held in a safe opened by me. My teacher is the Holy spirit and only the Holy spirit. I am at odds with the preaches I have faced even as Jesus was at odds with the religions people of his time when he had blood in him. 1, Jesus is the God of Abraham. Like I said before had Abraham been raised seeing Jesus with blood in him would have said my Lord and My God. The spirit of God resided in a body with blood in him. in the same body Abraham saw and the same body Moses saw on the mount. Upon rising from the dead was exactly like what Moses saw and what Abraham saw. In spirit Jesus needs to be in our body with blood in it to overcome even as he overcame. Over come like Christ overcame refuse to call jehad power refusing to calling war power refusing calling war power.
2, Church history patterned themselves after the people that rejected Jesus. That is why we have what we have. I do not go to any church what so ever. I sat in on a bible study once, but when the people in the church started to see the truth that is in me the pastor escorted b me to the door. I showed that the gays are not wanting worse for anyone thus are not sodomites at all.
What is in me is what Jesus intended not what is. I see Christs church outside of man made walls. The churches made with walls are founded on Peter, Judas, and Barabbas. Their reflection is seen in what we have that needs to be ground to powder for the souls sake of many.
get real,
I’m fully aware of the spam filter problem. Hughes does that even when the spam filter is working fine.
I am real. I am telling all what really is not what religions tell you. I Know what his intent is. He does not Know Jesus who is Lord. He will deny that. I know what is on his mind.
gene, there have been posting issues lately where posts dont show up so people are posting the same thing to try and get it to show up.
Yeah that is messed up. Ive seen Christians attacked the same way by the progressives though.
Btw….PROGRESSIVES ARE INSANE !!!!!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2008453/School-bans-bid-stop-children-falling-gender-stereotypes.html#ixzz1Qb9NNxwz
School In Sweden Trying To Get Rid Of Gender Stereotypes
A school in Sweden is trying to get rid of gender stereotypes by banning the use of pronouns like “him” and “her.” The pre-school, called Egalia, is located in Stockholm. In addition to the avoidance of designations that might betray the gender of the child, Egalia also plans out the kind of toys the kids play with, the books they read, and the different colors they are surrounded with, all with the goal of removing stereotypes.
The country of Sweden is trying to reach gender equality by starting very early with children; the pre-school is trying to put this into practice. The idea is that males have an unfair edge in society that must be rectified.
Teacher Jenny Johnsson says:
“Society expects girls to be girlie, nice and pretty and boys to be manly, rough and outgoing. Egalia gives them a fantastic opportunity to be whoever they want to be.”
Some of the school’s methods include:
Placing lego’s next to toy kitchens, “to make sure the children draw no mental barriers between cooking and construction”
Making almost every children’s book center around homosexual couples, single parents or adopted children
Placing emphasis on tolerance of gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people
Experimenting with “new ideas” like more than one “mother” during roleplay
Using the word “hen” to refer to a visitor instead of “han” or “hon” (him/her in Swedish). The use of “Hen” is genderless
Not everybody is gung ho about these methods of trying to eliminate gender roles/gender stereotypes. Jay Belsky from University of California, said:
“The kind of things that boys like to do – run around and turn sticks into swords – will soon be disapproved of. So gender neutrality at its worst is emasculating maleness.”
One of the secrets of comedy is repetition.
I do not care about his credentials in human wisdom. Jesus is God. When Jesus walked on earth he was God with blood in him. Muslims will deny that. When Jesus rose up from the dead walked through the rock at the entrance to the tomb not having blood in him. The stone had to be rolled away for people with blood in them to look in. Jesus walked through a wall to talk to his disciples. The doors were locked. Had Moses or Abraham seen Jesus being resurrected would have recognized Jesus as being the same being they saw in the old thousands of years ago. I bet that so called experts never said that. He is a boaster. He has no truth. He wants to support islamic views not any Christian view at all. When pressed he will say that Jesus is according to his view is a great prophet. That puts him on the same level as John the baptist. This guy is a lot of hot air nothing more. His intent is to try to make Islam extractive to Real Christians.Don’t fall for that guy. They think that saying the word great prophet in front of the name Jesus shows respect. They are lying. That is what is known as loving with dissimulation deception. Muslims are known for that.
Jonathan,
This has nothing to do with the content of your comments. As a site dedicated to free speech, we do not like to delete comments or bar commenters. I am the only one who can ban anyone from the site. However, you continue to post repeated comments that are interrupting the flow of the blog. Please do not post the same comment more than once. I have deleted two identical comments to your last comment, but I cannot monitor the comments due to professional obligations. I need people to respect the common forum of the blog and not clog the comment lines with repeated identical posting. You help would be much appreciated.
Jonathan Turley
I do not want a post to have an error on it. The post I posted last in a sequence would be the one with the fewer errors. I do my best to find them correcting them. Had this web page be like other web pages I would not have to do what you are seeing. The comments are not identical.
lottakatz, I as well watched the 9 minute interview. I could not stop watching. It’s like a 9 minute train wreck!! Mr Aslan showed more patience than I thought a human was capable. How he didn’t get up after the 4th time he was challenged is beyond me. Kudos for him. ….. I did get a kick out of the looks on his face. I imagine he was amazed at how many buckets of stupid Ms Green was spilling on herself.
I’ve seen Reza Aslan on CNN & MSNBC several times & had seen this post on Facebook last night. So I went to Amazon thinking I might get the book, but was surprised it only had 2.5 stars to a rating! When I started reading some of the reviews, which so many of them were 5 stars (!), and then I read that “someone” seemed to be trying to sabotage the book, by giving a barrage of 1 star reviews!!! Something doesn’t seem right here! Aan is a bright scholar!
I saw that interview and it was such a stunning examination of bad journalism I bookmarked the interview!
Below is a link to the longer version of the interview. The interviewer becomes increasingly combative and aggressive in challenging his credibility and then, at the end of the interview, alleges that he is concealing that he is a muslim, which he has not.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/27/reza-aslan-fox-zealot_n_3665211.html
Ms Greene has this as her qualifications, kind of far afield from journalism:
“Green is well known as a concert pianist with a degree in piano performance from The University of Minnesota.”
GREEN: This is an interesting book. Now I want to clarify, you’re a Muslim, so why did you write a book about the founder of Christianity?
ASLAN: This is an interesting discussion. Now, I want to clarify–you’re an idiot…so why were you hired to interview people on a news program?
But raff! If’n a blasphemer ever read the (insert holy book of choice here) or about their history or even thought about it they’d burst into flames! So academic study of those subject is absolutely out of the question for non-believers.
Unless you’re fire proof.
FAUXNews! Boldly marching into the 13th Century!
The interviewer should be fired. To ignore the academic achievement this fellow has a reached simply shows her level of ignorance. She had a predetermined outcome and asked questions to obtain the outcome.
I saw this story and it disgusts me. There is no hope for our society if people cannot get past someone’s religion. According to Fox News, a Jewish person cannot learn about the Christian faith and a Muslim cannot learn about the Christian Faith, but the Christians know everything about those terrorist Muslims. Scary.