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July 15, 2013
Guest: Reza Aslan
TERRY GROSS, HOST: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. I want to thank Dave Davies for filling in for me while I enjoyed a week off last week, and now onto today's interview. I was initially surprised to see there's a new book about the historical Jesus by Reza Aslan, surprised because I know him as the author of "No God But God," a book about the history of Islam.
I assumed that Islam was his primary focus as a scholar. He's from a Muslim country and a Muslim family. His family fled Iran when he was seven, after the revolution that brought the Ayatollah Khomeini to power. But the author's note, which opens his book, provided an explanation. He writes: When I was 15 years old, I found Jesus.
And then a couple of pages later, Aslan explains how he stopped being an unquestioning believer and returned to the Bible as an inquisitive scholar. His new book is called "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth." Aslan says it's his attempt to reclaim the Jesus of history, the Jesus before Christianity, and to uncover how after Jesus' death his followers reinterpreted his mission and identity.
Aslan is also the author of "Beyond Fundamentalism." Reza Aslan, welcome back to FRESH AIR. It's a long time since we last spoke. So I was surprised to read that you found Jesus at the age of 15. You know, first of all, I know your book "No God But God," which is about Islam, and so also having fled the Iranian revolution and coming from a Muslim home, I was - I was just surprised. So how did you find Jesus?
REZA ASLAN: Yes, when I was 15 years old I went to a camp sponsored by an evangelical Christian youth group named Young Life. And in this camp it was the first time that I had heard the Gospel message, this incredible story about God who gave his only begotten son to humanity to die for our sins and that anyone who believed in him could have eternal life and not die.
It was just an incredible story, truly the greatest story I'd ever heard. And coming from a nominal Muslim background, I mean my family was Muslim in Iran, but it was very much a sense of identity than anything else. It was about who we were as people, how we understood our role in the world, how we understood our community.
I say in the book that my faith as a Muslim growing up was as familiar to me as my skin and just as disregardable. And I think that's true of a lot of people. And so when we came to the United States in 1979. I'm not sure how many of your listeners remember the 1980s, but it wasn't a great time to be Iranian in America.
ASLAN: I spent a lot of time just kind of backing away from my culture, my ethnicity, and certainly my religion. And really in my household, particularly from my father, there was an enormous amount of resentment against the ayatollahs, who had, in his view, taken over the country and destroyed it and forced him to flee his home.
And so most of our lives in the U.S. were kind of scrubbed of religion in general and Islam in particular. So by the time I entered high school, I didn't really have much of a religious background at all and in a way was primed for the Gospel message when I heard it.
GROSS: So why did your parents send you to an evangelical camp? I realize your father at this point had turned against Islam and had turned against religion in general, I think, considered himself, you know, an atheist, and your mother I think, remained, you know, Muslim in name but not really active. But still, sending you to a Christian camp, that's a surprise.
ASLAN: Well, you know, I went on my own accord. I mean as many children of immigrants will tell you, I mean my parents had thought that they had done their job right if I came home at the end of the day alive and in one piece.
ASLAN: They were so busy trying to just make it in this new country, and frankly, the people that I hung out with, these kind of church-going Christian kids, were in the eyes of my parents good kids, and they were precisely the kinds of kids that my parents wanted me to hang out with.
So they didn't really have much of a problem with it. They were certainly surprised when I returned home and explained that I had accepted Jesus into my heart, and I began to aggressively evangelize to them. My father, of course, wanted nothing to do with it. My mother actually a few years later converted to Christianity herself. She is still a Christian to this day.
GROSS: So did being part of this evangelical Christian group give you a sense of community, and was that really important to you as an immigrant from Iran, to feel like you were connected to a group in America?
ASLAN: Yeah, I mean look, this was a time in which Islam and the Middle East was anathema to everything America stood for - by the way, not much has changed, I guess, 30 years later - whereas Christianity was deeply American. I mean I say Jesus was sort of the national icon of the United States. I mean you couldn't be more American than to accept Jesus into your heart.
And so yeah, I'll be honest, part of the conversion experience for me was trying to feel accepted in this new country, trying to feel as American as possible. And I don't mean to say that this was just a conversion of convenience. On the contrary, I mean I had a deep encounter with Christ, as Christians call it. I fully gave myself to this new faith and spent the next few years traveling the country preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
But I would be lying if I said that part of it wasn't the feeling of belonging to something that was quintessentially American at a time in which my skin color, my culture, my nationality, my background, was seen as almost opposite of America.
GROSS: So what was your way of evangelizing? What did you say to people?
ASLAN: I shared with them the Gospel as I had heard it. I shared the notion that humanity is sinful, in need of salvation, that that salvation came in the form of a child who was born in Bethlehem 2,000 years ago, who was God made flesh, the living incarnation of the eternal God, and that all one had to do to be saved was to believe in him, to accept him into their hearts, and the result would be eternal and everlasting life.
GROSS: And is that what you told your mother?
ASLAN: Yes, that is exactly what I told my mother.
GROSS: So you not only became a devout Christian, you were evangelizing. You evangelized your own parents. But you remained a Christian for only a few years, and the reason why you left Christianity had to do with becoming a scholar of Christianity. So once you started studying Christianity from a historical and scholarly point of view, what changed your mind about being a believer?
ASLAN: Well, in a way it actually started before then. I mean part of the process of evangelizing the Gospel was to prepare myself for the doubts of the unbelievers that I would come across. So I began to really study the New Testament, study the Bible. I wanted to know this stuff inside and out.
And after a while I started noticing a bit of a distance between the Jesus that I was finding in the text and the Jesus that I was hearing about in church. Not everything seemed to jive, in a sense. And it was not until college, when I began my formal education of the New Testament and early Christianity, that those doubts started to really form in my mind. And I began to find that the Jesus of history, that the man who walked 2,000 years ago, Jesus of Nazareth, was quite different than Jesus the Christ.
So in a way that really shook my faith, and like most people in my position, I became very angry, I became very resentful. I turned away from Christianity, began to really reject the concept of Christ. But I continued my education. I continued my scholarly work.
And then something remarkable happened. The more I learned about Jesus the man, Jesus of Nazareth, the historical figure, the more I became attracted to him. In fact, in a way Jesus of Nazareth became far more real to me than Jesus the Christ. The man who 2,000 years ago started a movement and defied the will of the greatest empire the world had ever known and lost was someone I wanted to know, someone I wanted to follow.
GROSS: What's an example of something that you had learned as an evangelical that you came to question that led you to become more committed to the historical Jesus than to the evangelical version?
ASLAN: I guess the best example of this would be the Nativity stories, the stories of Jesus' birth that one finds in the Gospels of Luke and Matthew, which are beautiful, wonderful stories. They have a deep moral truth to them, but historically speaking are frankly ridiculous, that they are unhistorical to the extreme and so have to be understood less for the facts that they are presenting than for the truths that they are espousing.
In fact, probably the one thing that we can be certain about, about Jesus' childhood, is that he was born and raised in the village of Nazareth. There are only two verses in the entire New Testament that talk about Jesus being born instead in Bethlehem. In fact, there are only three verses in the entire New Testament that use the word Bethlehem, and I'm talking specifically, of course, of Matthew and Luke, the Nativity stories.
So of course Luke creates this entire story of a census that the Roman Empire puts forth in the year 6 CE, and in this census all subject peoples of Rome have to go to the place of their father's birth and be counted. And in the case of Jesus' father, Joseph, that's Bethlehem. And so the great scene in which the pregnant Mary and Joseph go to Bethlehem and they find no room in the inn, and they ultimately end up giving birth in a manger, is a wonderful story, but of course the historical flaws of it are too numerous to count.
First and foremost, while there was a census that Rome did call at the time, the census had nothing to do with Galilee, which is where Jesus was from, and secondly, there is no documentation in any Roman source ever written, and the Romans were quite adept at documentation, particularly when it came to issues of taxation, which is after all what the census was for.
Now, here's the important thing, Terry, and this is the most important fact about the Nativity stories that I want my readers to understand. Luke, the person who wrote this story, knew that what he was writing was technically false. Luke's readers, the people who read this story, the early Christian community, who were only a generation or two removed from the events that Luke is talking about, knew that this census never happened, that under Roman law no one had to go to the place of their father's birth to be counted.
In other words, they understood that the facts of this story were incorrect, but they didn't care because what we think about when we say history, or even what we think about when we say fact, would have made no sense to Luke's audience. For them, history was not a matter of uncovering verifiable facts. It was a matter of revealing truths, and the truth of this story that Jesus was born in the town of David because he is of the seed of David, and that makes him the Messiah, the legitimate heir to the kingdom of David, the truth of that story was more important than the facts of it.
GROSS: So you're saying that the Gospels were seen as metaphor then, and only many hundreds of years, thousands of years later that they've been seen as literal?
ASLAN: Well, the truth is, is that the idea of literalism in the Bible is a very new phenomenon. In many ways it's a product of the scientific revolution. You know, when we sort of decided that that which is true is that which can be scientifically verified, well, that put into doubt the stories of the Bible, and what we now refer to as fundamentalism, this belief in the literal and inerrant nature of the Bible, arose out of the scientific revolution.
It doesn't really trace itself back to the time of Jesus. On the contrary, the people in Jesus' time were steeped in mythology. They really did not make the same kind of differentiation between fact and myth that we do today. For them, stories of gods and goddesses and heroes were told not because of any facts that they revealed but because of the truths that they revealed.
GROSS: My guest is Reza Aslan. His new book is called "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth." More after a break, this is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: If you're just joining us, my guest is Reza Aslan, and he's the author of the new book "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth." And he's also the author of the book "No God But God," which is a book about Islam and the Prophet Muhammad.
Your book is called "Zealot," and nowadays when we use the word zealot, it usually has a pretty negative connotation, that somebody is such a true believer that they've kind of shut out everything else, you know, shut out - all they're doing is pursuing with a zeal this kind of one thing.
And why did you call your book about the historical Jesus "Zealot"? And did you mean that to have a negative connotation?
ASLAN: No, it's true that in our modern parlance zealot does have negative connotations, but zealot meant something very specific in Jesus' time. These were followers of a widely recognized biblical doctrine called zeal. Zeal, according to the Bible, implied a strict adherence to the Torah and the law. It was a refusal to serve any foreign master, any human master at all. It implied an uncompromising devotion to the sovereignty of God.
All the great heroes of the Bible were referred to as those who were burning with zeal for God. And in a sense this was a biblical principle that all Jews adhered to, each in his or her own way, but in first century Palestine there were a group of deeply nationalistic Jews who took the biblical principle of zeal to its ultimate limit, who used it as a call to throw off the yoke of Roman occupation, to free the holy land of all foreign elements, and to rededicate it in the name of God as the sole sovereign.
And these Jews referred to themselves as zealots. Now, it would be much, much later, in the year 66 CE, that a group of zealots would form what's called the Zealot Party, and they would be the backbone to the revolt that would ultimately push Rome out of the holy land, but in the '20s and '30s, the era of Jesus, zealotism was just an idea. It was an aspiration.
In other words, it was a model of piety that was linked to this widespread sense of apocalyptic expectation that had seized the Jews in the wake of the Roman occupation. And the argument that I make in the book is that Jesus was deeply a part of this zealot movement, that he himself had these intense zealot tendencies, and that can be revealed in the words and in the actions that we see in the Gospels.
GROSS: Give us one example.
ASLAN: Well, I suppose the perfect example of this is the famous story of the cleansing of the temple. This is a story that of course is told in, you know, every Sunday sermon. Children read about this story in their kids' version of the Bible. It's an incredibly climactic moment in which Jesus is attacking not just the business of the temple but the temple authorities and indeed the Roman authorities, because the two are inextricably linked at the time.
And then something remarkable happens. The Jewish authorities come up to Jesus and they try to trick him, the Gospels say. They show him a coin, a denarius coin, and they say tell us, rabbi, is it lawful to pay tribute to Caesar or not.
Now, this is not a simple question. This is in fact the quintessential test of zealotry in Jesus' time. The zealots being deeply anti-Roman refuse to pay tribute to Rome. The tribute was seen as an abomination. It was sort of proof that the land belonged to Rome instead of God. And so by asking Jesus this question, should we pay the tribute or not, what they were really saying is, are you or are you not a zealot.
Jesus' answer, of course, has been famously understood throughout the centuries as render unto Caesar what is Caesar's and render unto God what is God's, and this has been interpreted as this kind of milquetoast compromise on Jesus' part, neither the priestly position of yes, we should pay tribute, nor the zealot position of no, we shouldn't pay tribute.
But you know, an attempt to say don't worry about the things of this world, focus on the things that matter: worship and obedience to God. But historically speaking, that's not at all what's taking place here. The word that Jesus uses - (speaking foreign language) - doesn't mean render, it means give back. And it's used in Greek as a means of paying someone back that which they owe.
In other words, what Jesus is saying when he looks at the coin and he sees the image of Caesar on here, is perhaps the most obvious example of precisely where Jesus falls in this question of whether it is lawful or not to pay tribute. He deeply is in the zealot camp.
GROSS: Reza Aslan will be back in the second half of the show. His new book is called "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth." I'm Terry Gross and this is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: This is FRESH AIR. I'm Terry Gross. Let's get back to our interview with Reza Aslan, who is best known for his book, "No god but God," about the history of Islam. He's also immersed in Christian scholarship. His new book is called "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth."
When we left off, he was talking about Jesus' rebellion against the leadership of the Temple of Jerusalem, which was at the center of Jewish life, and how that rebellion was actually part of his larger conflict with the Roman Empire - which at the time controlled Jerusalem.
ASLAN: Almost every teaching of Jesus, almost every action of Jesus as presented in the Gospels and seen through the lens of historical analysis, leads to Jesus pushing against the Roman occupation. One of the things that Rome did that made it so successful, as it stretched its empire ever deeper into Africa and into the Middle East, is that rather than trying to rule over these lands directly, they would form a partnership with the landed aristocracy in all of the lands they occupied. They would make sure that the local aristocrats would be responsible for maintaining order, for collecting taxes, for collecting the tribute and they would reward them handsomely for that. So in other words, what they would do is they would make sure that the aristocracy was deeply vested in maintaining the imperial system.
Now, of course, in Israel and in Palestine, in the Holy land, the landed aristocracy meant the priestly aristocracy - the people who actually controlled the temple. This created this collusion between the temple and Rome, between the priestly authorities and the Roman authorities that really in the eyes of Jesus and the zealots made them one in the same. They were equally responsible. The attacks that Jesus has against the priests and against the temple would certainly in the eyes of Rome be tantamount to an attack on the empire.
GROSS: So, in comparing your, you know, evangelical understanding of Christianity and of Christ to your historical understanding of Christ, let's jump ahead to the crucifixion of Christ. So in your historical understanding of the Jesus story, why do you think he was crucified?
ASLAN: Well, 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. Crucifixion was in reality a deterrent. It was an obvious symbol to subject peoples of what happens when you defy the will of Rome - which is why crucifixions always had to happen in public places, at crossroads, on hills, at the entrance of cities. And so for that reason, crucifixion was a punishment that was reserved solely for the most extreme crimes, crimes against the state - insurrection, rebellion, treason, sedition. That was the only crime for which you could be crucified. And so that's why if we really want to know who Jesus was and what he meant, we should start not at the beginning of the story with him in a manger, but at the end of the story with him on a cross. Because if Jesus was in fact crucified by Rome, he was crucified for sedition; he was crucified because he challenged the Roman occupation.
GROSS: Before Jesus is crucified, Pontius Pilate asked him, are you the king of the Jews? What's the significance of that question?
ASLAN: Well, it is the crime for which he is being accused. In other words, it's the only reason that Jesus would be standing in front of the Roman governor in Jerusalem to begin with. He's there simply to answer the charge made against him, which in this case is striving for kingly rule.
GROSS: And he says? And Jesus says?
ASLAN: Well, Jesus' answer changes, depending on which Gospel you read. And partly that has to do with who the Gospels were written for. Remember, all of these Gospels were written after the destruction of Jerusalem, after the Jewish revolt had made the Jewish religion pariah in the Roman Empire. So it's very important for these early Christians, who were after all writing about a Jew - and by the way, a Jew who shared the same revolutionary zealot tendencies as the insurrectionists who started the revolt against Rome in the first place - to make him sort of more manageable for a non-Jewish audience.
And so as a result, Pilate in the Gospels slowly transforms into this deeply sympathetic character, right up to the point where in the last Gospel, in John, he is deeply pained at the idea of having to put Jesus to death. He's forced to do it by the crowd of Jews who are demanding his blood. He literally washes his hands of the entire event and then reluctantly hands Jesus over to be crucified by the masses.
This story is, of course, complete fantasy. I mean, what we know about Pilate - the historical Pilate - is that he was a deeply cruel and hard man who had absolutely no sympathy for the Jewish sensibilities at all, routinely sent his soldiers into the streets to slaughter Jews whenever they disagreed with any of his decisions. The idea that he would be strong-armed by the crowd into handing over yet another Jewish rabble-rouser, one of probably hundreds that he had sent to the cross that month alone, it really begs the imagination. But in the Pilate story, we get a sense of precisely who the audience for the Gospels was. The audience wasn't the fellow Jews of the Gospel writers. The audience was the Romans - and particularly, the Roman elite. They became the primary focus of Christian evangelism after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE.
GROSS: Why after the destruction of Jerusalem did the subjects of the evangelism change to the Romans?
ASLAN: The destruction of Jerusalem was the consequence of the Jewish revolt, this moment in which a group of zealots took up arms against the Jewish occupation and miraculously managed to free themselves from Roman control and managed to also stay independent for about three or four years until the Romans finally returned in 70 CE. When they returned they razed Jerusalem to the ground. They destroyed the temple of God, this sort of this living repository of the spirit of God. They murdered tens, if not hundreds of thousands of Jews in the city. The survivors were scattered to the winds. They renamed Jerusalem. In a sense they wanted to create the impression that there were never any Jews to begin with in the city. This was a moment of deep psychic trauma for the Jews. What made it worse however, is that as a result of the revolt, Judaism in the Roman Empire became, as I say, a pariah. It became almost an illegal religion. Jews were not seen as a legitimate cult among the many, many other cults that existed within the Roman Empire.
So for the Christians, you know, they had a very obvious choice here. They could maintain their connections to their Jewish parent religion and experience the same wrath of Rome that the Jews were experiencing - of course, the Christian experience of the wrath of Rome would come a little bit later - or they could refashion the story of Jesus. Make him, well, frankly, less Jewish. Make responsibility for his death on the shoulders of the Jews and not on the Roman Empire. This was a I think a very important, clever way of refashioning the Gospel story to make it more palatable to the kind of audience that the early Christian community wanted to convert - not Jews but Romans.
GROSS: So let me reintroduce you here and then we'll continue our conversation. My guest is Reza Aslan and his new book is called "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth," and it's about the historical Jesus. And he is also the author of "No god but God," which is about the history of Islam.
Let's take a short break here and then we'll talk some more. This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: My guest is Reza Aslan. His new book is called "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth." I know you can't answer this but do you think Jesus ever intended to start a new religion, and ever intended to break completely from Judaism?
ASLAN: Actually, I can answer this.
ASLAN: I don't want to be hubristic, but I mean I think when you read the Gospels and you read them again through a historical lens it's very clear, Jesus repeatedly says that he has not come to abolish the law but to fulfill it. In fact, in those times in which he espouses on the law, when he talks about how the law says thou shalt not commit adultery, but I say that if you look with lust upon a woman then you have committed adultery, in fact, he is creating a more extreme version of the law than even the priests would allow for.
I think the key to understanding Jesus of Nazareth is to recognize him for what he was - which was a Jew. His context was first-century Palestine. The God that he worshiped was the God of the Hebrew Bible. He knew no other God. He knew no other means of religious expression. You know, he was an illiterate peasant from the backwoods of Galilee. He was not by any means a sophisticated or urbanized, educated person. And so if you want to know what Jesus the man actually thought, what Jesus the man actually said, then you have to place every word that comes out of his mouth, every action that he performs in a Jewish context.
GROSS: Do you think he intended to be worshiped himself and therefore, start a new religion?
ASLAN: If you're asking whether Jesus expected to be seen as God-made-flesh, as the living embodiment, the Incarnation of God, then the answer to that is absolutely no. Such a thing did not exist in Judaism. In the 5,000-year history of Jewish thought, the notion of a God-man is completely anathema to everything Judaism stands for. The idea that Jesus could have conceived of himself, or that even his followers could have conceived of him as divine contradicts everything that has ever been written or said about Judaism as a religion.
GROSS: So to sum up, I think what you're saying in your book is that Christianity as we know it is revisionism of what Jesus stood for in his time and what he preached in his time.
ASLAN: I think to truly understand how Christianity arose, how it was that this peasant and day laborer from the low hills of Galilee who took on the greatest empire the world had ever known and lost, who was ultimately executed as a state criminal, how that person in the span of two decades all of a sudden became called by his disciples as God, to understand that remarkable unprecedented transformation, you have to understand this one rather uncomfortable fact, which is that almost every word ever written about Jesus was written by people who didn't actually know Jesus when he was alive. These were not people who walked with Jesus or talked with Jesus. These were not people who ate with him or prayed with him. I mean, certainly, his family played an important role in the Christian community after Jesus' death. But they were sort of limited by the fact that they more or less remained ensconced in Jerusalem, and, in fact, stayed in Jerusalem until the year 70 when the Roman armies came and destroyed the cities and the early Christian church in Jerusalem with it.
The apostles certainly spread around the known world at the time preaching the message of Jesus. But you have to understand that the apostles were farmers and fishermen. These were illiterates. They could neither read nor write. So they couldn't really espouse sort of Christology - high-minded theology - about who Jesus was. And they certainly couldn't write anything down.
Instead, the task of spreading the Gospel message outside of Jerusalem, of really creating what we now know as Christianity, fell to a group of urbanized Hellenized, educated Jews in the Diaspora. These were deeply Greek-influenced Jews, who by the way, their primary language was Greek. They wrote in Greek. They spoke in Greek. They thought in Greek. And for them having sort of grown up immersed in this kind of Hellenized Romanized world, the concept of a God-man was something quite familiar. I mean, Caesar Augustus was a God-man. And what we really see in these 20 years after Jesus' death - 20, 25 years after Jesus' death - is this process whereby this Jewish religion, based on a Jewish revolutionary becomes transformed into a Roman religion where Jesus is transformed from a Jewish conception of a Messiah to a kind of Roman demigod.
GROSS: Now, when we started our conversation we were talking about how you became a devoted evangelical Christian at the age of 15 after moving to America at the age of seven from Iran where, you know, your family fled the revolution after the ayatollah took over. Your family was Muslim although your father just kind of really turned against Islam, became an atheist. Your mother remained Muslim but after you became a Christian she eventually became a Christian.
You became a scholar of Christianity, but lost your religion. You really are deeply interested in the historical Jesus but don't have the kind of religious faith. However, at some point you did return to Islam. So what was that point? We've been spending this interview talking about Christianity and about your comprehension of the historical Jesus. At what point did you return to Islam, and why?
ASLAN: Well, ironically, it happened while I was in college. I went to a Jesuit Catholic university called Santa Clara University. Wonderful, incredible learning institution with a really wonderful religious studies program. And it was, you know, speaking to the Jesuits that I became very close to, talking about the New Testament, the doubts that I had about Jesus and the things that I was learning about the historical Jesus.
My advisor at the time, who was a Catholic priest, just sort of offhandedly said, you know, what happened? Why did you abandon Islam? Why did you abandon the faith and culture of your forefathers? And aren't you interested in learning more about that, especially now that you seem to be kind of spiritually unmoored by the academic work that you're doing?
And it's funny. I had never really thought about that issue. I was never really all that serious of a Muslim. It was just kind of something that I grew up with and something that, as you say, was removed from my household after we moved to the United States. And so, at the encouragement of these Catholic priests, no less, I began to go back and study Islam, study Islamic culture, Islamic theology.
And something remarkable happened. What I discovered in the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed and what I read in the Quran and particularly the great works of the Sufis, was what I already believed. It was as though I was being told something I already knew. I already felt it.
GROSS: But like what? Like what?
ASLAN: Well, partly it had to do with the way that Muslims and Islam thinks about God. This - the problem that I always had with Christianity, and would ultimately push me away from it, was the notion of the Trinity, was the notion of the Incarnation. The idea of Jesus as the literally begotten son of God as fully god and fully man. It never made sense to me.
The God that I sort of deeply and intimately felt in my heart was a being of divine unity, was a being that sort of encompassed all of creation, in a sense. And that's how Islam talked about God. You know, in Islam, particularly the Sufi tradition, which is the tradition that I most adhere to, there is this notion that God is all of creation.
That in other words, that his very substance is existence. Which means that everything that exists - from me to you to this book to this table to this microphone - everything that exists, exists only insofar as it shares in the existence of God. It creates this sense of divine unity amongst all of creation without this separation between creator and creation. That was profoundly moving to me and spiritually speaking, it's what I gravitated towards.
GROSS: You know, it's funny. What you're describing sounds to me like my understanding - my very shallow understanding, my very semi-informed understanding - of the more mystical branch of Judaism.
ASLAN: Indeed, it's sort of the understanding of the more mystical branch of all religions. Even Christian mystics.
GROSS: Mm-hmm.
ASLAN: You know, people like Meister Eckhart professed this kind of understanding of the relationship between God and humanity, the relationship between creator and created. The purpose of the mystics, whether they're Sufis or Jewish mystics or Christian mystics or what have you, the purpose is to break down the wall that separates us from God to have an intimate divine union with God. And so that's why some of this language would sound familiar to a lot of people of different faiths.
GROSS: My guest is Reza Aslan. His new book is called "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth." We'll talk more after a break. This is FRESH AIR.
GROSS: My guest is Reza Aslan. His new book is called "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth." He's also the author of "No god but God: A History of Islam." He's from a secular Muslim family that fled Iran after the revolution. He became an evangelical Christian at age 15, left the faith when he became a religion scholar, and now adheres to Sufi Islam.
My impression is that you are a person who requires some kind of spiritual comprehension. You know, whether it's Christianity or Islam it's something that you need and that you seek.
ASLAN: I think that if you believe that our experience of the world goes beyond just the material realm, that there is something beyond, that there is a transcendent presence that one can commune with, then it's only natural to want to reach out to this transcendent presence, to want to experience it in some way. That's what religion does.
I mean, you have to understand that religion is nothing more than just a language made up of symbols and metaphors that allow us to describe to each other and to ourselves the ineffable experience of faith. I mean, when we talk about God we're talking about something that is, by definition, indescribable, indefinable. You need a way to talk about God and so what religion does is it provides a readymade language that allows you to be understood when you're talking to your own community.
GROSS: So I have one more question for you. When we spoke in 2005 after the publication of your book "No god but God," about the history of Islam, we were talking about how your family fled Iran after the revolution. And I guess this was in '80, 1980, and it was a mob scene at the airport. You know, everybody knew this was, like, their last chance to get out.
So there's a mob scene at the airport and your mother says to you hold tight to your younger sister's hand. She was four, you were seven. And you said you knew that if you let go of her hand or if you lost sight of your mother, you'd all be separated forever. And so you held tight. You kept your eye on your - you held tight to your sister's hand. You kept your eye on your mother.
The family stayed together. You made it out of Iran, first to London and then to America. Are you close to your sister now, after having held tight to her hand in that moment of crisis, in that moment of escape?
ASLAN: I am. I love my sister deeply. We have a wonderful relationship and actually, you know, when we grew up we grew up in very difficult circumstances. We came to the United States with nothing. No money. We basically had a suitcase each. My parents didn't have a job. We lived for the first year or so in a one-room motel in which my sister and I were not even allowed to leave the room during the daylight hours because my parents said that there were only two people living in the room.
And so, you know, we formed a very close bond at that time, but at the same time, the incredible stress of being an immigrant family in the United States, particularly in the 1980s and particularly having come from Iran, created enormous troubles in my family, let's just say. It really tore us apart rather than bring us together. And my sister and I really did not get along very much as we grew up.
But I am happy to say that now that we are both adults with our children, our relationship is as close as ever.
GROSS: Good. It makes me happy to hear that.
GROSS: Reza Aslan, it's great to talk with you again. Thank you so much.
ASLAN: It was such a pleasure, Terry. Thank you.
GROSS: Reza Aslan is the author of the new book "Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth." You can read an excerpt on our website, freshair.npr.org where you can also download podcasts of our show.
Transcripts are created on a rush deadline, and accuracy and availability may vary. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Please be aware that the authoritative record of Fresh Air interviews and reviews are the audio recordings of each segment.


text:
extra color cost
The 2018 Corolla was made for those who refuse to blend in. Corolla SE and XSE feature an aggressively sporty front end. Loaded with attitude, it signals to all that this sedan is always up for some fun.
Standard Bi-LED headlights set the stage for a stylish look, no matter the time. Designed for style and performance, these lights shine bright and use less energy compared to standard lights. And the available Multi-LED headlights with integrated LED accent lights will help raise your profile wherever you go.
Available 17″ alloy wheels add to the unique profile of Corolla. Every stoplight is a chance to make a new impression. Every spoke on the wheels is crafted to enhance style and performance.
Corolla shows off its fun-to-drive nature from all angles. Corolla LE Eco, SE and XSE models are equipped with a rear spoiler that integrates seamlessly into the bold lines of the rear deck lid.
You'll know you've arrived the second you get inside Corolla. The dashboard has been redesigned to enhance Corolla's upscale feel, featuring flowing lines, premium materials and available contrast stitching. Beautiful piano-black accents surround the large touch-screen, bringing the right amount of tech and beauty to this inspiring space.
Elegant, comfortable and designed with you in mind. Available SofTex®-trimmed seats blend science and luxury, providing a leather-like surface that's sensitive to the environment. These seats are water and stain-resistant, and they provide plenty of support on those long road trips.
A 60/40 split allows you to easily reconfigure the rear seats to extend trunk space. Fold one seat flat to get a little extra space or quick access to the trunk, or fold both for a larger cargo area.1
So much space, it's inspiring. Corolla gives you the rear cargo space1 you need to haul all your stuff. Now you can feel free to indulge in all your hobbies and not feel limited by a tiny trunk—so go get started on that next passion project.
This is the way temperature control should work on every car. Have a favorite temperature? Just select it using the available digital controls, and the car will always keep the interior feeling just right. It's like having the weather on autopilot.
Standard on Corolla SE and XSE, the sport gauge cluster offers a sports-car-inspired illuminated speedometer and tachometer to help amplify your drive. And the 4.2-in. color Multi-Information Display shows you the data you crave. See your average mpg, current song selection and more—all at a glance.
Release your inner driver. The available sport button on the center console of SE and XSE allows you to enable Sport Mode, in which the Engine Control Unit and simulated shift points are adjusted to give a sportier feel to your drive.
For those times you want to take a bit more control of your drive, Corolla's available paddle shifters let you shift gears without letting go of the wheel. Just a light touch on either lever gives you lightning-fast gear changes, helping you tap in to the sporty side of Corolla. And when you want a calmer drive, just put the gear-select lever in "D," and Corolla will resume shifting on its own.
You won't miss a beat with the available Entune™ Audio Plus system, featuring a 7-in. high-resolution touch-screen display, MP3/WMA playback capability, auxiliary audio jack and Siri® Eyes Free.1 And when paired with a compatible smartphone equipped with the Scout® GPS Link App,2 Entune™ Audio Plus also becomes your source for turn-by-turn directions.3
Technology to make life easier. Available Entune™ Premium Audio with Integrated Navigation3 and App Suite4 gives Corolla XLE and XSE the tech you crave. Its 7-in. touch-screen display, backup camera5 and Integrated Navigation give you the tools to help make every drive easier. And with apps like OpenTable®, MovieTickets.com and Pandora®,6 it helps you plan that perfect night out too.
More music. Easier phone calls. No wires. Integrated Bluetooth®7 technology lets you take calls from friends and stream your entire music library8 without ever needing to take your phone out of your pocket. And when you need to plug in, Corolla's standard USB port9 helps you power up and still access all the fun.
When you're in Reverse, the standard integrated backup camera5 helps you see more of what's behind you by giving you a view of what the camera detects from the rear. This feature is especially useful when you're parking in a tight spot or backing up.
With Corolla's steering wheel controls, your music and more are right at your fingertips, so you can stay in total command. And with Corolla's advanced voice recognition,10 you can access the info you need just by talking. It's easy to use: Just press the button, give one of the supported commands, and you're done.
When you're always on the move, you don't want to waste time searching for your keys. That's why Corolla is available with the Smart Key System11 with Push Button Start. This lets you unlock the front doors and trunk, plus start Corolla, with just the push of a button—all while the key fob sits comfortably in your pocket or bag.
3 Availability and accuracy of the information provided by the navigation system is dependent upon many factors. Use common sense when relying on information provided. Services and programming subject to change. Services not available in every city or roadway. Updates may be available from your dealer at an additional cost. See Owner's Manual for details.
4 Be sure to obey traffic regulations and maintain awareness of road and traffic conditions at all times. Apps/services vary by phone/carrier; functionality depends on many factors. Select apps use large amounts of data; you are responsible for charges. Apps and services subject to change. See toyota.com/entune for details.
5The backup camera does not provide a comprehensive view of the rear area of the vehicle. You should also look around outside your vehicle and use your mirrors to confirm rearward clearance. Environmental conditions may limit effectiveness and view may become obscured. See Owner's Manual for details.
6 PANDORA®, the PANDORA® logo, and the Pandora trade dress are trademarks or registered trademarks of Pandora Media, Inc., used with permission.
7 Concentrating on the road should always be your first priority while driving. Do not use the hands-free phone system if it will distract you. The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are registered trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Toyota is under license. A compatible Bluetooth®-enabled phone must first be paired. Phone performance depends on software, coverage and carrier.
8 Apps/services vary by phone/carrier; functionality depends on many factors. Select apps use large amounts of data; you are responsible for charges. Apps and services subject to change. See toyota.com/entune for details.
9 May not be compatible with all mobile phones, MP3/WMA players and like models.
10 Advanced voice recognition capabilities vary by head unit.
11 The Smart Key System may interfere with some pacemakers or cardiac defibrillators. If you have one of these medical devices, please talk to your doctor to see if you should deactivate this system.
*MSRP excludes the Delivery, Processing, and Handling Fee of $895 for Cars (Yaris, Yaris iA, 86, Corolla, Corolla iM, Camry, Camry HV, Prius LB, Prius c, Prius v, Prius Prime, Mirai, Avalon, Avalon HV), $995 for Small/Medium Trucks, SUVs and Van (C-HR, RAV4, RAV4 HV, Highlander, Highlander HV, 4Runner, Sienna, Tacoma), $1,295 for Large SUVs (Sequoia, Land Cruiser), and $1,295 for Large Truck (Tundra). (Historically, vehicle manufacturers and distributors have charged a separate fee for processing, handling and delivering vehicles to dealerships. Toyota's charge for these services is called the "Delivery, Processing and Handling Fee" and is based on the value of the processing, handling and delivery services Toyota provides as well as Toyota's overall pricing structure. Toyota may make a profit on the Delivery, Processing and Handling Fee.) Excludes taxes, license, title and available or regionally required equipment. The Delivery, Processing and Handling Fee in AL, AR, FL, GA, LA, MS, NC, OK, SC and TX will be higher. Actual dealer price will vary.
^2018 EPA-estimated mileage. Actual mileage will vary.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
GetHuman provides free contact information and other useful tools for millions of customer per month to make customer service a bit easier and faster. Larger companies will sometimes have dozens of phone numbers and other means to contact their customer service teams- though chat, email, Twitter™ and a variety of media. In those cases, we can tell you which ones are the best and compare the options side by side for wait time, reply time, quality of communication, quality of customer care, customer votes and more. For example, look at our Contact Domino's Pizza page. Or look at our Contact PayPal page. We can't really provide this kind of help if you're looking to contact Allsleepingbags.com because they don't have multiple lines or means of contact. But we hope GetHuman can help you again in the future if you need contact information for another company.
GetHuman does not work with Allsleepingbags.com's customer support operations, directly or in any other way. GetHuman has no partnership or relation to Allsleepingbags.com at all. GetHuman works with customers everywhere to compile the best tips and tools for reaching call centers faster and solving common customer problems effectively. Much of the information on this website comes from customers who struggled to find the best contact information or solve a problem and shared their story. The information on this website is edited frequently, but for the most accurate and up to date contact information, it may be useful to check Allsleepingbags.com's own website for new or more up to date information about calling or messaging their call center. If you'd like to help in the effort to improve customer service for all, please share this page!


text:
... is The Shire, a development of Middle Earth themed habitations notable for -- among other things -- its utter earnestness. From the website:
The Shire is conceived to be a retro community in its exterior appearance. Inside The Shire dwellings you'll find a blend of quaint and charming styling cues melded throughout completely modern floor plans, conveniences and appliances.
To achieve the character and feeling of English cottages and village townhomes, The Shire designers have specified only high quality fixtures and materials. Some materials, seldom seen in residential construction for a hundred years, have been resurrected and manufactured from contemporary compositions.
The Shire is unique, fearlessly created to the vision of developer Ron Meyers and a team of designers to help implement his vision. The Shire's homeowners will share this unique vision to have their community and primary residence beyond the ordinary incorporated with the values and charms of a different age.
Depicted above is a cottage of a type called "The Swordsman." Why a swordsman would live in a Viking range equipped, granite counter supplied McMansion disguised as a quaint country getaway is difficult to discern.
You wouldn't necessarily know that this community is patterned on Middle Earth's bestest place from the website's mainpage; go here for a quotation from Tolkien that will distinguish this Olde English village from one that might have been developed by, oh, say the piss artist Thomas Kinkade.
To truly make me want to live in Bend, Oregon, this Shire had better include prowling Ringwraiths and the possibility of Balrogs.
(with many thanks to N50)


text:
WARNING - Form Has Not Been Signed - Please confirm this action
If you know your login credentials, click here.
New Client Oncology Form
Welcome to Freedom Massage. We look forward to working with you. Please note: In order to receive a massage with us you will need to completely fill out this form. Each section is important in order for us to provide you with a great session and uphold state wide ethics for massage therapists.
How did you hear about Freedom Massage: Have you ever had a massage before: If yes, how often to you get massages: What is your preferred level of conversation during your massage? (Please note your therapist may ask about pressure & level of comfort during session: I prefer silence I prefer to lead the conversation How frequently do you stretch and/or exercise: Daily Several Times a Week Once in a while Never
Do you require a treatment room on the first floor?
Medical Information: What type of cancer were you diagnosed with: Where was it located: When were you diagnosed: - Are you currently in treatment: Yes No If no when was your last treatment: - What type of treatments are you currently or have done in the past: Chemo If yes, how was it admistered IV Oral Topical Radiation Please check box: Internal radiation External radiation
Surgery, if yes please list surgeries Hormonal Medication
Please mark if your Chemo treatment consist of Cytoxan, Cytosine, Neosar Methotrexate, or Thioplex?
If anything else please list Have you had any lymph nodes removed or irradiated? Yes No If yes, where: Do you currently have (or in the past have had) any of the following: Medical Devices (Ports, IV, PICC Lines, etc.) or Open wounds (even if they are covered/bandaged) Skin conditions, rashes, sensitivity, or allergies Blood Clots/Aneurysms/DVTs Lymphedema Bone fragility, fractures, or any bony or spinal metastases Infections, fevers, or contagious diseases Areas of heat, redness, or swelling Areas of diminished sensation or any neuropathy in the hands and/or feet Head or spinal injuries or recent concussions Neurological issues High Blood Pressure or Heart Disease Diabetes History of seizures or epilepsy Difficulty breathing, asthma, or any other respiratory conditions Liver or kidney conditions Headaches/Migraines and/or TMJ Arthritis, joint pain, or any areas of tenderness or injuries Anxiety and/or depression Trouble sleeping Get cold easily Nausea Please list all current medications &supplements you take, including chemotherapy drugs: Are there any side effects from these medications we should know about: Are there any areas on your body that you feel are tense or need special attention: Head Neck Shoulders/upper back Lower back Hips Legs Feet Arms/hands Are there any areas that you prefer we do NOT work on? Please list: Would you like your glutes worked on (Buttocks): Yes No So we may give you the help, care, and support you deserve, please let us know of anything else you think is important in regards to your health or that we should be aware of during the massage (ex. If you get cold easily, get nauseous laying face down, etc.):
COVID-19 Related Questions
1. Have you had a fever in the last 24 hours of 100°F or above or any abnormal symptoms? Yes No
2. Do you now, or have you recently had, any respiratory or flu symptoms, sore throat, or shortness of breath? Yes No
3. Do you now, or have you recently had, any chills, muscle aches, new loss of taste or smell, or new rashes or lesions? Yes No
4. Have you been in contact with anyone in the last 14 days who has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or has coronavirus-type symptoms?
Yes No
ALL CLIENT informed consent:
I understand that COVID-19 is highly contagious and still present in the community where I am seeking massage therapy. I understand that COVID-19 is passed through close contact with others and that people without symptoms may be infectious. I understand that Freedom Massage has taken every precaution to ensure my health and safety but that risk of infection is still possible. With full knowledge of the risks involved, I hereby hold harmless and indemnify the therapist, their principals, and Freedom Massage from all claims and liability regarding massage whatsoever, directly or indirectly arising out of or related to COVID19 while participating in any activity while in, on, or around the premises or while using the facility that may lead to unintentional exposure or harm to COVID19.
HIGH-RISK CLIENT awareness/consent:
I understand that the heath conditions listed below place me at higher risk for serious COVID-19 infection. If I have one of these conditions I should forgo massage therapy while COVID-19 is still present in my community, or obtain my physician's consent. Should I decide to proceed with massage therapy I assume all risk related to COVID-19 infection.
The CDC estimates that 88% of people who require hospitalization for COVID-19 have one or more of these underlying conditions:
Clients with these conditions should consult with their primary care
Statement regarding release of personal information to Health Dept:
I understand that in the event that a client, therapist, or staff member of this facility tests positive for COVID-19 within a time period that places me at risk of exposure, my name and contact information will be shared with the State Department of Health for their follow-up. In the event that I develop symptoms of illness within two weeks of my massage appointment, I will contact this massage facility immediately.
The CDC reports that pregnant woman typically develop more serious cases of viral diseases than others. Understanding this suggests that pregnant women are also at increased risk for more serious COVID-19 cases.
New protocols implemented as a result of COVID-19, include waiting in your car until your recieve a call from your therapist, wearing a mask during the session, we will need to record your temperature when you arrive, and getting set up for contactless payment beforehand.
CLIENTS MUST REVIEW THE FOLLOWING: Please carefully read below. Please note —answering yes works as your signature and validates you are responsible to share important/additional health information with your therapist today and at all appointments in the future: I have stated all conditions I am aware of, and this information is true and accurate to the best of my knowledge. I will inform my health care provider and massage therapist if anything changes in my status. If I experience any pain or discomfort, I will immediately inform my massage therapist so that the pressure and/or methods can be adjusted to my comfort level. If there is something I feel I need and I am not getting during a session I understand it is best to let the therapist know during the session, rather than leaving disappointed.
I acknowledge that massage is not a substitute for a medical examination or diagnosis and that I should see my health care provider for those services. Verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature will constitute as sexual harassment it will be reported to the authorities and will absolutely not be tolerated. Therapists should not be asked for personal information or be contacted outside of Freedom Massage. Our code of ethics does not support it in the state of PA. I hereby hold harmless and indemnify the therapist, their principals, and Freedom Massage from all claims and liability regarding massage whatsoever. If a client is not feeling well or foresees a potential missed appointment they must give Freedom Massage 24 hours notice or they will be charge. No show/No calls will always be charged 100% of cost. If a client is late for an appointment they may lose time from the original amount of time scheduled though they will owe the amount for the time scheduled. Minors: If massage is being done on a minor, the signature below provides an understanding that "the signer" is responsible to make sure the minor feels safe. By law, absolutely no one under 18 will be massaged without a parent or guardian in the room. No action will be taken against Freedom Massage for treatment with this signature — all responsibility lies on the person whom signs. CODE OF ETHICS: ETHICS FOR MASSAGE THERAPISTS IN PA AND FOR FREEDOM MASSAGE Freedom Massage therapists are all licensed professionals. They all have the required hours of schooling and training needed in the state of Pennsylvania. In order to keep their license in good standing they each take continuing education classes and get more training here at Freedom Massage. Our goal is to create a safe and professional environment for people to experience the many benefits of our chosen craft.
1. Congratulations on your choice to practice self–care with massage therapy. 2. The answer is – YES! Try other massage therapists here! We support it! We encourage it! We all have subtle strengths. We invite you to discover what you like about our ENTIRE TEAM. Please note that NOT ALL THERAPISTS are trained for Oncology Massage, but please feel free to inquire about who is. 3. Our therapists are excited to work with you at Freedom Massage. However, they will not be in touch outside of Freedom Massage. We are unable to accept personal information, give personal information, accept "Friend Requests" on Facebook, or any other form of social media. It is suggested in our code of ethics for PA, and we follow those guidelines here at Freedom Massage. 4. Out of respect for your privacy and keeping our professional boundaries, if a Freedom Therapist sees you in public, they will not initiate contact. If you decide to initiate interaction, please keep in mind that the therapist will likely keep conversation to a minimum. 5. All outside job opportunities for massage, chair massage, or anything related to self-care should be passed on directly to our Owner. The direct line to our owner is on her business card. All scheduling for our therapists is done in house only. If you need to email a therapist you can do so at firstname.lastname@example.com, just note their name in the subject. 6. The massage is all about YOU. Our therapists will not initiate conversation during session,unless it is about pressure or YOUR comfort level. Of course they will respond if you initiate conversation, though their answers may be brief as suggested in the PA code of ethics. 7. Please remember to let us know what areas you do not want worked on. 8. Please let us know what areas you would like us to focus on. 9. Please let the therapist know if you would like more, less, or the same pressure during sessions. Your input is very valuable. Please note that if you have had lymph nodes removed the therapist may not be able to preform a deep tissue massage. They will discuss all health concerns & and questions with you. 10. Let us know if you are too cold or warm. We can make adjustments. 11. Each room has a white noise machine. Please let us know if you would like us to turn it off before or during the session. 12. Please help us keep a quiet space upstairs. Please turn off your cellphone, speak quietly, and be mindful when walking up stairs. 13. We want you to be 100 percent happy with your experience. Please feel free to call the Owner directly with any feedback at 484-889-9749. Do not hesitate to contact her we want you to be 100% happy with your visit.
I understand Freedom Massage requires 24 hours notice for any cancellations. If you understand this policy please type yes: I have reviewed all the questions and answered them honestly. Please type yes if this is correct: I will not hold Freedom Massage liable for any unforeseen health issues during or after my session. Please type yes if you agree: I have reviewed the policies above and have provided the most up to date information about my health. I understand that typing my name below works as my signature: (Required): Clear (draw your signature)
Thank you and enjoy! We look forward to working with you! Diane Matkowski, Owner of Freedom Massage
Text is not available for now. Test version.
Our Privacy Policy
PLEASE NOTE THAT WAIVERKING, INC.'S ("WaiverKing") PRIVACY POLICY HAS CHANGED EFFECTIVE May 25th, 2018. You acknowledge that this privacy policy is a part of our website's Terms of Service, and by accessing or using our website, you agree to be bound by all of its terms and conditions. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS, AS UPDATED, PLEASE IMMEDIATELY STOP ACCESSING THE WEBSITE.
This document explains how we use your personal data.
When you sign up to use this service provider's services, you do so through software provided by us, WaiverKing. We are committed to ensuring the privacy of all users of our software and services and other visitors to our website. In this policy we explain how we hold, process and retain your personal data. In respect to the account data, waiver data, and payment data (as defined below) that you provide to us, we are acting as a data processor on behalf of the service provider, who will be acting as the data controller in respect to such data. We will never store or control this data. You should direct any requests or queries you have regarding this data to the data controller, your service provider.1. How we use your personal data 1.1. This section provides you with information about:
a) what personal data we hold and process; b) in respect of personal data that we did not collect from you directly, where we obtained that data from, and what types of data we have collected; c) the purposes for which we may process your personal data; and d) the legal grounds on which we process your data.
Members and end users of our services
1.2. Account data. We may process information about you that you provide to us when you first sign up with a service provider ("account data"). This account data may include your name, address, telephone number, email address, date of birth, gender, employment details, and a photograph of you. We may use this data to create your account with the service provider when you sign up. This account data may be updated each time you complete a document through our software. We do not process your account data in any other way, or have access to it in any way. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests in providing our services to our clients, and ensuring that your account is updated each time that you complete a document through our software. 1.3. Waiver data. If you are using our software in order to sign documents such as a waiver, health form, contract, or questionnaire, we may process information that you put into such documents ("waiver data"). This waiver data may include your name, signature, date of birth, email address, information about your health and medical history, and any other information that you are required or requested to put into the document. Once you have completed the document, we will process it, convert the document into a different format, and send it to your account with the service provider in order for it to be stored. We will never store your data permanently on our systems (although it may be stored in your account with your service provider). The purpose for our processing your data in this way is to maintain and administer a complete and accurate record of the documents that you have signed and completed for your service provider. The legal basis for our processing your waiver data (to the extent that such waiver data does not class as a special category of personal data), will be our legitimate interests in providing our services to our clients who have asked you to complete the document in question, in order to ensure that a complete and accurate record of your signing and completing the documents is maintained and administered. 1.4. Sensitive Personal Data. During the course of using our software and services and providing us with information in order for us to provide our services to you, you may provide us with sensitive information about yourself ("sensitive data"). This sensitive data may include your health and medical history. We may use this data for providing our services to you. However, we will only process this sensitive data if you consent to us doing so.[The consent to use this information needs to be provided by the parent for children under the age of 13. Anyone over the age of 13 can provide consent for use of their data under GDPR]We comply with the requirements of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act. You must be at least 18 years old to have our permission to use the WaiverKing website. If you are between the ages of 13 and 17, or under the age of majority where you live, you represent that your legal guardian has reviewed and agreed to this privacy policy.
Other processing that we may carry out
1.5. Website data. We may process data about your use of our website and services ("website data"). The website data may include your IP address, geographical location, browser type and version, operating system, referral source, length of visit, page views and website navigation paths, as well as information about the timing, frequency and pattern of your service use. The source of the website data is our analytics tracking system. This website data may be processed for the purposes of analyzing the use of the website and services. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely monitoring and improving our website and services. We may also process this data for the purposes of diagnosing any issues we detect in relation to the use of our products or services. This data may be collected by our error-tracking software which is provided by Rollbar. We always try to ensure that any such data is anonymized so that you cannot be identified before it is stored in our records. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests in monitoring and improving our products and services. 1.6. Enquiry data. We may process information contained in any enquiry you submit to us regarding our products or services ("enquiry data"). The enquiry data may be processed for the purposes of offering, marketing and selling relevant products and/or services to you. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely dealing with and responding to your enquiry appropriately. 1.7. Notification data. We may process information that you provide to us for the purpose of subscribing to our blog and press releases ("notification data"). The notification data may be processed for the purposes of sending you newsletters. Where you are a corporate customer, the legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the marketing of relevant products and services to you. 1.8. Correspondence data. We may process information contained in or relating to any communication that you send to us ("correspondence data"). The correspondence data may include the communication content and metadata associated with the communication. Our website will generate the metadata associated with communications made using the website contact forms. The correspondence data may be processed for the purposes of communicating with you and record-keeping. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely the proper administration of our website and business and communications with users. 1.9. Payment data. We do not process payment information relating to goods and services that you purchase from the service provider. However, we do capture certain data relating to your payments and use them to update your account with the service provider ("payment data"). The payment data may include your contact details, your card details and the transaction details. The payment data may be processed for the purposes of updating your account with the service provider. The legal basis for this processing is our legitimate interests, namely our interest in the proper administration of our software and ensuring your account with the service provider is updated. 1.10. Other processing activities. In addition to the specific purposes for which we may process your personal data set out above, we may also process any of your personal data where such processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.2. Providing your personal data to others 2.1. To our clients and partner service providers. The only third parties that we will disclose your personal data to are our clients (your service provider) who is the data controller in respect to the account data, waiver data, and payment data that we collect about you, and MINDBODY Inc. ("MINDBODY"), who provide software services to service providers in conjunction with the WaiverKing software. Your accounts are created by WaiverKing in the MINDBODY software on behalf of our clients. 2.2. Our insurers/professional advisers. We may disclose your personal data to our insurers, legal counsel, and/or professional advisers insofar as reasonably necessary for the purposes of obtaining and maintaining insurance coverage, managing risks, obtaining professional advice and managing legal disputes. 2.3. Where we provide your personal data to any third party. Where we share your personal data with any of the third parties referred to above, we will ensure this processing is protected by appropriate safeguards including a suitable data processing agreement with that third party. 2.4. To comply with legal obligations. In addition to the specific disclosures of personal data detailed above, we may also disclose your personal data where such disclosure is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation we have to comply with, or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another individual. This may include disclosing your personal data in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including to meet national security or law enforcement requirements. 2.5. We take reasonable and appropriate steps to ensure that third-party agents and service providers process your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Shield obligations and to stop and remediate any unauthorized processing. Under certain circumstances and pursuant to applicable laws, we may remain liable for the acts of our third-party agents or service providers who perform services on our behalf for their handling of your personal data that we transfer to them.3. Transfers of your personal data outside of the European Economic Area As further detailed below, we may transfer your personal data to our servers based in the US, as we are part of the Privacy Shield. Otherwise, where your personal data is transferred outside of the EEA, we will ensure that either (a) The European Commission has made an "adequacy decision" with respect to the data protection laws of the country to which it is transferred, or (b) we have entered into a suitable data processing agreement with the third party situated in that country to ensure the adequate protection of your data. In all cases, transfers outside of the EEA will be protected by appropriate safeguards.4. Retaining and deleting personal data 4.1. Personal data that we process for any purpose or purposes shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose or those purposes. Details about members of our clients (your service provider) and end users of our services, including the account data, waiver data and sensitive personal data, will not be stored by WaiverKing. 4.2. Unless we contact you and obtain your consent for us to retain your personal data for a longer period, we will retain and delete your personal data as follows:
a) Website data will be retained for 12 months following the date of our last contact or dealing with you, at the end of which period it will be deleted from our systems. b) Enquiry data will be retained for 12 months following the date of our last contact or dealing with you, at the end of which period it will be deleted from our systems. c) Notification data (other than Notification data that is also Contact data) will be retained for 12 months following the date of our last contact or dealing with you, at the end of which period it will be deleted from our systems. d) Correspondence data will be retained for 12 months following the date of our last contact or dealing with you, at the end of which period it will be deleted from our systems.
4.3. We may retain your personal data where such retention is advisory and/or necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which we are subject (such as with regard to applicable statutes of limitations, litigation or regulatory investigations), or in order to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of another natural person.5. Your rights 5.1. You may instruct us to provide you with any personal information we hold about you; provision of such information will be subject to:
a) your request not being found to be unfounded or excessive, in which case a charge may apply; and b) the supply of appropriate evidence of your identity (for this purpose, we will usually accept a notarized photocopy of your driver's license and/or passport and an original copy of a utility bill showing your current address).
5.2. We may withhold personal information that you request to the extent permitted by law. 5.3. You may instruct us at any time not to process your personal information for marketing purposes. 5.4. In practice, you will usually expressly agree in advance to our use of your personal information for marketing purposes, or we will provide you with an opportunity to opt out of the use of your personal information for marketing purposes. 5.5. Your right to access your data. You have the right to ask us to confirm whether or not we process your personal data and, to have access to the personal data, and any additional information. That additional information includes the purposes for which we process your data, the categories of personal data we hold and the recipients of that personal data. You may request a copy of your personal data. The first copy will be provided free of charge, but we may charge a reasonable fee for additional copies. 5.6. Your right to correct. If we hold any inaccurate personal data about you, you have the right to have these inaccuracies corrected. Where necessary for the purposes of the processing, you also have the right to have any incomplete personal data about you completed. 5.7. Your right to erasure. In certain circumstances you have the right to have personal data that we hold about you erased. This will be done without undue delay. These circumstances include the following: (1) it is no longer necessary for us to hold those personal data in relation to the purposes for which they were originally collected or otherwise processed; (2) you withdraw your consent to any processing which requires consent; (3) the processing is for direct marketing purposes; and/or (4) the personal data have been unlawfully processed. However, there are certain general exclusions of the right to erasure, including where processing is necessary: for exercising the right of freedom of expression and information; for compliance with a legal obligation; or for establishing, exercising or defending legal claims. 5.8. Your right to restrict processing. In certain circumstances you have the right for the processing of your personal data to be restricted. These circumstances include the following: (1) you do not think that the personal data we hold about you is accurate; (2) your data is being processed unlawfully, but you do not want your data to be erased; (3) it is no longer necessary for us to hold your personal data for the purposes of our processing, but you still require that personal data in relation to a legal claim; and/or (4)you have objected to processing, and are waiting for that objection to be verified. Where processing has been restricted for one of these reasons, we may continue to store your personal data. However, we will only process it for other reasons: with your consent; in relation to a legal claim; for the protection of the rights of another natural or legal person; or for reasons of important public interest. 5.9. Your right to object to processing. You can object to us processing your personal data where our legal basis for the processing is that it is necessary for: the performance of a task carried out in the public interest, or in the exercise of any official authority vested in us; or the purposes of our legitimate interests or those of a third party. If you make an objection, we will stop processing your personal information unless we are able to: demonstrate compelling legitimate grounds for the processing, and that these legitimate grounds override your interests, rights and freedoms; or the processing is in relation to a legal claim. 5.10. Your right to object to direct marketing. You can object to us processing your personal data for direct marketing purposes. If you make an objection, we will stop processing your personal data for this purpose. 5.11. Your right to data portability. Where you have given us consent to process your personal data, or where we are processing your personal data for the performance of a contract, you have a legal right to receive a copy of the personal data we hold about you in a structured, commonly used and computer readable format. When a data request is made of us we will make available all applicable personal data to you in a computer readable format and will transmit your personal data to the appropriate third party pursuant to your instruction. We will not process your data in this way if we believe that it may pose a threat to the security of the data. 5.12. Your right to object for statistical purposes. You can object to us processing your personal data for statistical purposes on grounds relating to your particular situation, unless the processing is necessary for performing a task carried out for reasons of public interest. 5.13. Automated data processing. To the extent that the legal basis we are relying on for processing your personal data is consent, and where the processing is automated, you are entitled to receive your personal data from us in a structured, commonly used and computer-readable format. However, you may not have this right if it would adversely affect the rights and freedoms of others. 5.14. Complaints to a supervisory authority pursuant to the GDPR. If you think that our processing of your personal data infringes data protection laws, you can lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority responsible for data protection. You may do this in the EU member state of your habitual residence, your place of work or the place of the alleged infringement. This provision is only applicable if you are subject to the protections of the GDPR. 5.15. Complaints if you are not subject to the protections of the GDPR. If you think that our processing of your personal data infringes data protection laws you may contact us via email at firstname.lastname@example.com or mail at: WaiverKing, Inc. 340 S Lemon Ave # 2018 Walnut, California 91789. 5.16. Right to withdraw consent. To the extent that the legal basis we are relying on for processing your personal data is consent, you are entitled to withdraw that consent at any time. Withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of processing before the withdrawal. 5.17. Exercising your rights. You may exercise any of your rights in relation to your personal data by written notice to us in addition to the other methods specified above. 5.18. Point of Contact Data. PARAGRAPHS 5.1 – 5.17 SHALL NOT APPLY TO ACCOUNT DATA, WAIVER DATA, OR PAYMENT DATA OBTAINED OR PROCESSED BY WAIVERKING. IN RESPECT OF SUCH DATA:
a) WAIVERKING IS ACTING AS A PROCESSOR OF THAT DATA AND THE MAIN CONTRACTOR IS THE CONTROLLER; b) YOU SHOULD CONTACT THE SERVICE PROVIDER TO EXERCISE THE RIGHTS SET OUT IN THIS PARAGRAPH 5
6. Links To Other Websites. Except as otherwise discussed in this privacy policy, this document only addresses the use and disclosure of information we collect from you. Other websites accessible through our website have their own privacy policies and data collection, use, and disclosure practices. Please consult each website's privacy policy. We are not responsible for the policies or practices of third parties, including any third-party site or other products and services used in connection with WaiverKing's services. The inclusion of a link does not imply endorsement of the linked site or service by us or by our affiliates. We are not responsible for the collection, usage and disclosure policies and practices (including the data security practices) of other organizations, such as, Apple, Google, Microsoft, or any other operating system provider, wireless service provider or device manufacturer, including any personal data you disclose to other organizations through or in connection with WaiverKing's services.7. Security of Your Information. The security of personal data is a high priority at WaiverKing. We seek to use reasonable technical, administrative and physical safeguards to protect personal data within our organization. Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, while we strive to protect your personal data, you acknowledge that: (a) there are security and privacy limitations of the Internet which are beyond our control; (b) the security, integrity, and privacy of any and all information and data exchanged between you and us through the website cannot be guaranteed; and (c) any such information and data may be viewed or tampered with in transit by a third party.8. IP Addresses and Cookies. Cookies are very small text files that are stored on your computer when you visit some websites. We use cookies to help identify your computer, including where available, your IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration so we can keep your activity secure, tailor your user experience and remember your preferences. This is statistical data and does not identify any individual. You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, but some parts of our website may not work properly.9. Your California Privacy Rights: Notice to California Customers and Opt-Out Information. Residents of the State of California, under certain provisions of the California Civil Code, have the right to request from companies conducting business in California a list of all third parties to which the company has disclosed certain personal data, as defined under California law, during the preceding year for third party direct marketing purposes. You are limited to one request per calendar year. In your request, you must supply appropriate evidence of your identity and attest to the fact that you are a California resident and provide a current California address for our response. You may request the information by writing to firstname.lastname@example.com Some web browsers incorporate a "Do Not Track" feature that signals to websites that you visit that you do not want to have your online activity tracked. California residents are entitled to know how WaiverKing, Inc. responds to "Do Not Track" signals. How browsers communicate the Do Not Track signal is not yet uniform, so a standard technological response has not yet been developed by the appropriate technology communities. For this reason, we do not respond to Do Not Track signals currently. To opt out of direct advertising on our website, please send a request to the address above. The effect of an opt-out will be to stop direct advertising, but it will still allow the collection of usage data for certain purposes (e.g., research, analytics, and internal online services operation purposes).10. Privacy Shield Framework 10.1. WaiverKing Inc. complies with the EU-U.S. and Swiss-U.S. Privacy Shield Framework as set forth by the U.S. Department of Commerce regarding the collection, use, and retention of personal information transferred from the European Union and Switzerland to the United States. WaiverKing has certified to the Department of Commerce that it adheres to the Privacy Shield Principles. If there is any conflict between the terms in this privacy policy and the Privacy Shield Principles, the Privacy Shield Principles shall govern. To learn more about the Privacy Shield program, and to view our certification, please visit https://www.privacyshield.gov/ 10.2. In compliance with the Privacy Shield Principles, WaiverKing commits to resolve complaints about our collection or use of your personal information. Any individual(s) with inquiries or complaints regarding our Privacy Shield policy should contact us at: email@example.com 10.3. WaiverKing Inc. has further committed to refer unresolved Privacy Shield complaints to Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services (JAMS), an alternative dispute resolution provider located in the United States. If you do not receive timely acknowledgment of your complaint from us, or if we have not addressed your complaint to your satisfaction, please visit https://www.jamsadr.com/eu-us-privacy-shield for more information or to file a complaint. The services of JAMS are provided at no cost to you. In certain situations, you may also have the right to pursue binding arbitration under the Privacy Shield Framework.
10.4. You may have the option to select binding arbitration for the resolution of your complaint under certain circumstances, provided you have taken the following steps: (1) raised your complaint directly with WaiverKing Inc. and provided us the opportunity to resolve the issue; (2) made use of the independent dispute resolution mechanism identified above; and (3) raised the issue through the relevant data protection authority and allowed the U.S. Department of Commerce an opportunity to resolve the complaint at no cost to you. For more information on binding arbitration, see U.S. Department of Commerce's Privacy Shield Framework: Annex I (Binding Arbitration). 10.5. For purposes of enforcing compliance with the Privacy Shield, WaiverKing is subject to the investigatory and enforcement authority of the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. 10.6. WaiverKing Inc. is controlled and operated by us from the United States. Except where you are a resident of a Member State of the EU, in which case paragraphs 2 and 3 above will apply, your personal data may be stored and processed in any country in which we engage service providers, and by using WaiverKing's services you understand that your information may be transferred to countries outside of your country of residence, including the United States, which may have data protection rules that are different from those of your country. In certain circumstances, courts, law enforcement agencies, regulatory agencies or security authorities in those other countries may be entitled to access your personal data. Regardless of where your information is processed, we apply the same protections described in this policy.11. Changes to the privacy policy. We reserve the right to change this policy at any time, without prior notice to you. Such changes, modifications, additions, or deletions shall be effective immediately upon notice thereof, which may be given by means including, but not limited to, issuing an e-mail to the e-mail address provided by you or posting the revised policy on this page. You acknowledge and agree that it is your responsibility to maintain a valid e-mail address and/or review the WaiverKing website and this policy periodically, and be aware of any modifications. Your continued use of the WaiverKing website after such modifications will constitute your: (a) acknowledgment of the modified policy; and (b) agreement to abide and be bound by the modified policy.12. Our details 12.1. This website and software is owned and operated by WaiverKing Inc. 12.2. We are registered in the state of California under registration number C3518177, and our registered office is at 340 S Lemon Avenue, # 2018 Walnut, California 91789. 12.3. You can contact us:
a) by mail, using the postal address given above; b) using our website contact form; c) by telephone, on the contact number published on our website from time to time; or d) by email, using the email address published on our website from time to time.
13. Data protection officer Our data protection officer may be contacted via email: email@example.com, or telephone: +1 (888) 211-6693.


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