. >> when a muslim who starts to write about jesus, all of a sudden the knives comes out. >> the life and times of jesus of nazareth. >>> reza aslan. pleasure to have you. >> thank you for having me. >> look at the conversation you started with this book, "zealot", the life and times of jesus of nazareth. the jesus that so many of us came to know through the bible through pastors was also the jesus of your youth. >> that's right. yeah, when i was 15 years old, i heard the gospel story for the first time. it was a transformative story for me. i didn't grow up with much religious teaching. when we came to the united states to iran, we scrubbed our history, the 1980s was not a time to be of iranian origin. i was deeply spiritual kid. didn't have much instruction. but maybe what it had to could with childhood images of revolutionary iran, the way in which i experienced in a deep and profound way the way that religion has a power to transform a society for good and for bad. i think that really seared itself in my subconscious because i have always been deeply interested in religious matters. but sometime in high school

> woodruff: and ray suarez talks to the author of a book that sheds new light on the life of jesus of nazareth. >> to try to get to the man himself was if for no other reason just to know him better. >> ifill: those are just some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: our lead story tonight, the president of kenya proclaimed victory in the bloody siege of a shopping mall in nairobi. he put the death toll at 72, but the islamist attackers disputed his account. >> at the tale end of the operation, three floors of the west gate mall collapsed and there are several bodies still trapped in t

debate that's been going nonacademia for a very long time. >> suarez: "the life and times of jesus of nazareth." i think we put so much emphasis on the life that we forget about the times and one of the best things the book does is take us to first century palestine, take us to the eastern mediterranean of the roman empire and it's important to understand the soil that this new religion grows out of >> this period we're talk about was probably the most tumultuous era of the holy land, which is obviously saying a lot. you're talking about a bloody, brutal roman occupation that controlled every aspect of the life of the jews. you're talking about a continuous succession of insurrections and rebellions by the jews against the romans, many of which were brutally crushed by the empire and a sense of apocalyptic expectation that animated the jews, it was like a virus going through the land. everyone expected something dramatic to happen and there were a series of messianic aspire rants, one after another claiming to be the messiah, claiming to come to release the jews from the bondage of the reman o

> woodruff: and ray suarez talks to the author of a book that sheds new light on the life of jesus of nazareth >> to try to get to the man himself was if for no other reason just to know him better. >> ifill: those are just some of the stories we're covering on tonight's pbs newshour. >> major funding for the pbs newshour has been provided by: moving our economy for 160 years. bnsf, the engine that connects us. >> the william and flora hewlett foundation, working to solve social and environmental problems at home and around the world. >> and with the ongoing support of these institutions and foundations. and... >> this program was made possible by the corporation for public broadcasting. and by contributions to your pbs station from viewers like you. thank you. >> woodruff: our lead story tonight, the president of kenya proclaimed victory in the bloody siege of a shopping mall in nairobi. he put the death toll at 72, but the islamist attackers disputed his account. >> at the tale end of the operation, three floors of the west gate mall collapsed and there are several bodies still trapped in th

. >> when a muslim who starts to write about jesus, all of a sudden the knives comes out. >> the life and times of jesus of nazareth. >>> reza aslan. pleasure to have you. >> thank you for having me. >> look at the conversation you

. >> when a muslim who starts to write about jesus, all of a sudden the knives comes out. >> the life and times of jesus of nazareth>>> reza aslan. pleasure to have you. >> thank you for having me. >> look at the conversation you started with this book,

here's what jesus of nazareth did to tee them off. buy -- they had to buy lambs for the pa passover. there was a tax on it. you couldn't buy it unless there was a certain currency and when jesus went into the temple and overthrew the tables that's when his death sentence was proclaimed. >> any time you write a book like this people will take shots at the way you tell the stories. but i read the book also and i think this was an oversimplification. a criticism is you don't spend enough timealking about jesus and preaching that dealing with the poor and sharing with the underprivileged was the principle theme he lived by. >> i'm getting attacked by the antichristian people. they said because i was inspired i believe by the holy spirit to do all my work, not just this, they mock if he more that. the left wing blogs want me to bring obamacare into killing jesus. that's what they want me to do and the evangelicals say i'm going to hell because i don't say jesus on every page. >> what was your up bringing? >> my parents weren't fanatics. ir

reconsideration of the historical jesus in which they took out any -- any source that actually believed in jesus as messiah and son of god and not trustworthy and then began to look at jesus of nazareththout any possibility that he was actually who he was. and so you're going to have people writing in very major publications saying, you know what? bill got it totally wrong. why? because he actually believed that matthew, mark, luke and john were written by either the apostles or people very close to the apostles, people who actually had an experience of jesus. >> but they weren't. i mean, john, for example, was written by the apostle on the island of patmos. and that's an historic fact. that's documented. >> 1800 years after the fact. >> right. >> people got very smart and said, actually, these gospels were not written by anybody who even knew him. >> yeah, but we don't even bother with that because martin dugard and i, an author, unlike other books, there are footnotes, and you see what we write and where it come from. go ahead, pastor. >> bill, your book sets a bigger narrative you've been telling for a long time, and that is that secularists are out to destroy christianity because

reconsideration of the historical jesus in which they took out any -- any source that actually believed in jesus as messiah and son of god and not trustworthy and then began to look at jesus of nazareththout any possibility that he was actually who he was. and so you're going to have people writing in very major publications saying, you know what? bill got it totally wrong. why? because he actually believed that matthew, mark, luke and john were written by either the apostles or people very close to the apostles, people who actually had an experience of jesus. >> but they weren't. i mean, john, for example, was written by the apostle on the island of patmos. and that's an historic fact. that's documented. >> 1800 years after the fact. >> right. >> people got very smart and said, actually, these gospels were not written by anybody who even knew him. >> yeah, but we don't even bother with that because martin dugard and i, an author, unlike other books, there are footnotes, and you see what we write and where it come from. go ahead, pastor. >> bill, your book sets a bigger narrative you've been telling for a long time, and that is that secularists are out to destroy christianity because

"a controversial new book, zealot: the life and tyms of jesus of nazareth. like 20% of the fellow jews he could neither read or write. as an artisan and day laborer who lived at second lowest rung of the social status at his time just above the slave, indigent and beggar. he was as a poor marginal jew from the backwoods of galilee, the twijs definition of a nobody. despite that, he formed a movement through his charisma and the power of his teachings and not his education or status that was seen as so threatening to the established orders of this time and movement on behalf of the marginalized, the poor, the dispossessed and outcasts and people like him that rome executed him as a state criminal for the crime. >> a reminder, you can see that full interview tonight at 10:30 eastern and 7:30 pacific. >>> nearly four months after a portion of it collapsed, a washington state bridge has re-opened. that story is ahead. >>> italian officials get ready to start the salvage of the costa con cacordincordia. it's a massive effort. we have the video, next. on inside sto

of my life. >> here's a look at some books that are being published this week. in killing jesus, that history, bill o'reilly and martin daugaard detail the events leading up to the death of jesus of nazareth. richard dawkins recounts his childhood and the development of his intellectual curiosity at oxford university, which led to the writing of his first book in his book an appetite for wonder, the making of a scientist. in my country, to the the, keith ellison, the first muslim to be elected to congress presents his thoughts on what needs to change in government to accommodate the variety of beliefs and the united states. and military historian max hastings explains events that led to world war i in catastrophe, 1914, your best war. in fighting the dragon lady, monique princeton every presents the first interview with the south vietnamese first lady since her exile in 1987. and alan weiss and in bringing the plant back to its natural balance for our last best hope, a future on earth. earth. and the rise in times of charlie parker. the family recounts the life of a late saxophonist. look for these titles and more this coming week and watch for the authors on booktv and on booktv.org. >>

jesus of nazareth was a man. his life and death is incredible.e tell the story with details that may surprise you, but probably not since you won't read it. if you are very emotional about the subject of jesus you may not want to read the book. we respect that. tip of the day. know yourself and you will know what's worthy to read. that's it for us tonight. check out the fox news factor website which is different from bill o'reilly.com. we would like you to spout off about the factor from anywhere in the world. name and town if you wish to opine. word of the day, do not be nebulous. next week we'll do a watching the factor from an exotic place segment. if you are somewhere in the world that's off the beaten path and you're watching us, we want to know what you think ant the show, the seg mnt s by bu pineapplely your destination. the most unusual letter i got so far was from antarctica. they have a science station down there and all the gizmos to pull in a satellite. they're big factor fans. the penguins, not so much. it uh frightens them. a little

they said, "jesus of nazareth is coming." you've got to discern your difference from others.a say, "boxing." if i say, "bill gates," you're gonna say, "computers." if you cannot tell me, in a single sentence your difference from others, then you have not yet discovered your difference and your success is produced through your difference. our sameness, and our similarity creates our comfort. but our difference creates our reward. you didn't marry your wife because she reminded you of your first little girlfriend. she wasn't like your first little girlfriend.

>> o'reilly: the most important thing that i learned was that jesus of nazareth was the most famous humananet. and he had no infrastructure. and it's never been done-ever been done. he had no government, he had no p.r. guy, he had no money, he had no structure-- he had nothing. yet he became the most famous human being ever. >> o'donnell: "killing jesus" and his other books are only part of the o'reilly empire, which includes his cable news show, a syndicated column and a live stage show-all at the same time. how do you do that? >> o'reilly: because i'm quick at what i do. i'm efficient. >> o'donnell: so efficient that, on his drive to work, he lays out that night's show for his producers. >> o'reilly: get a picture of the police chief, because i'm gonna hammer him. >> o'donnell: and dictates his script. >> o'reilly: the president's legacy is now on the line... the president's legacy, now on the line. i think i'm the only national anchorman that writes his own stuff, all. and i write the promos, too. >> o'donnell: leaving nothing to chance, he even dictates obvious lines he says every nig

if you want to know what happened to jesus of nazareth, you read a book. >> elisabeth: i think the reasonwo things i took away from it was number one, jesus of nazareth, the most famous human being who ever lived. he had no infrastructure, no money, no government, no pr guy. nothing. that's never been done. how did this poor carpenter do it? all right? so that's number one. number two, thousands of people followed him around to back waters. i mean, really remote places. he was drawing huge crowds. no flyers, no tv, no radio. >> elisabeth: nitwitter -- nitwitter. >> steve: how did he do it? >> you tell me. >> steve: you wrote the book! >> there were reports he was performing miracles. now, we don't say he performed miracles because it's a history book and we're no doctors confirming that. but we do say that reports back to pilate were that he was. but something was mobilizing those people. something made them go out there. they couldn't hear him! there were so many people. so those are the two things that i took away that if you were going to say he is god, you would have to answer those q

all, saying, (well), are talking about.' out to the gateway, him and said to those who with jesus of nazareth came up and you too are one of them; talk gives you away.' swear, 'i do not know the man!' a rooster crowed. word which jesus had said, you will deny me three times.' and wept bitterly." that he would give his denied being a three times. fear to overcome his love. peter denied him the third time. that jesus at peter. out and wept bitterly. committed such a sin, bitterly for it. such guilt and regret; he's done and even hate himself. destroyer of self-esteem. lord can see beyond the present. of jesus toward peter. verses 31 to 34, "simon, demanded permission to i have prayed for you, not fail; and you, strengthen your brothers." when you and i fail. the lord may be praying you and for me? come back after his failure. have turned again, strengthen your brothers." but because he loves us, forgive and give us to change. that you can do if you fail. confess your failure. or ignore your failure. own. god remembers. yourself and with god is overcoming any weakness. verses 8 and 9 that, (then

of place. where you are matters as much as what you are. god made places before he made people. even jesus did not do well in places. that's why he left nazareth and went to capernaum. you don't belong everywhere; you belong somewhere. let's talk about that for a moment because everything god created solves a problem. my glass solves a problem. your watch solves a problem. my eyes see, my ears hear, my hands reach, my feet walk, my mouth speaks, my mind thinks. lawyers solve legal problems. mothers solve emotional problems. preachers solve spiritual problems. lawyers solve legal problems. everything created contains an invisible instruction. the tomato seed doesn't look over to watermelon seed and say, "what do you think i oughtta do? what should i become?" it contains an invisible instruction on what to multiply, what to do. everything god makes contains an invisible assignment. you don't decide your assignment; you discover it. >> ossie: yes. >> in jeremiah chapter 1, god gave you your assignment in your mother's womb. your assignment's always to a person or a group of people. how do you know two whom you are assigned? whose pain do you feel