Sarah Maddox
News Editor
Author and scholar Dr. Reza Aslan will be leading a lecture at St. Luke’s School on Sunday, Sept. 22 at 3:00 pm, available to everyone in our community.
Aslan will be discussing his seventh book, “Zealot: The life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth,” which describes a unique perspective on the life of Jesus. Aslan focuses on Jesus’ life as a man living in the first century Palestine era in his book. He uses historical documents and information that he acquired from his degrees in religious studies, theology, and sociology to explain who Jesus was.
His lecture will be sponsored by the UN Committee of New Canaan and the New Canaan Library, with the Model UN Club at NCHS helping with the event. The club represented Iran at Harvard last year, which makes the lecture even more interesting given that Aslan is Iranian. Model UN leader Mr. Phillips sees Dr. Aslan’s visit as a great learning opportunity for the Model UN Club. “We are trying to get students to stand in someone else’s shoes,” he said.
Reza Aslan is a former Christian who converted back to his original religion, Islam, after a large amount of analysis on the difference between Jesus as Christ and Jesus the Man. “Zealot: The life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth” sparked some controversy because Aslan is not a Christian, and his book questions ideas about Jesus that have already been accepted by the Christian community.
Model UN member Andrew Penchuk has no objection to what Aslan will be discussing this Sunday. “I think that everyone is entitled to their opinion on Christianity,” he said. “It’s good to hear a perspective from someone who isn’t conforming to people he’s supposed to be representing, he’s only representing himself.”
Mr. Phillips hopes that the lecture will open our community’s minds to new ideas. “Aslan speaks in a way that I think helps overcome that pathway towards understanding,” he said. “The demonizing of a religious group is not helping anybody.”
Though Aslan will be visiting several large cities on his tour, Model UN member Katie Means thinks that it is important for a small town like New Canaan to hear Reza Aslan’s ideas. “I think that we are sheltered from other people’s opinions,” she said. “It will be interesting to get that outside perspective on Christianity and how it really relates to New Canaan’s society and identity as a whole.”
