--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Despite two millennia of Christian…" description: "\"“Despite two millennia of Christian apologetics, the fact is that belief in a dying and rising messiah simply did not exist in Judaism. In the entirety..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/reza-aslan-2665_death_despite-two-millennia-of-christian-apolo_12742.jpg" --- # Despite two millennia of Christian apologetics, the fact… ![“Despite two millennia of Christian apologetics, the fact is that belief in a dying and rising messiah simply did not exist in Judaism. In the entirety of the Hebrew Bible there is not a single passage of scripture or prophecy about the promised messiah that even hints of his ignominious death, let…” quote by Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/reza-aslan-2665_death_despite-two-millennia-of-christian-apolo_12742.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/reza-aslan-2665_death_despite-two-millennia-of-christian-apolo_12742.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/972/reza-aslan-2665_death_despite-two-millennia-of-christian-apolo_12742.jpg) > ““Despite two millennia of Christian apologetics, the fact is that belief in a dying and rising messiah simply did not exist in Judaism. In the entirety of the Hebrew Bible there is not a single passage of scripture or prophecy about the promised messiah that even hints of his ignominious death, let alone his bodily resurrection.”” [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that Judaism never anticipated a dying‑and‑rising messiah, contrasting it with Christian claims of a crucified‑and‑resurrected savior. **In simple terms:** Judaism lacks a death‑and‑resurrection messiah narrative. Key Takeaway Messiah concept differs across religions. Themes theology interfaith historical criticism scriptural analysis Mood analytical critical inquisitive Type explanatory argumentative When to use this quote - academic study of religion - interfaith dialogue - seminar on comparative theology Key Concepts messianic expectations Christian apologetics Jewish scripture Practical Applications - educational curricula on world religions - public lectures on religious history Questions to Reflect On - How do differing messianic visions shape interfaith relations? - What evidence supports or refutes the claim of a dying messiah in Jewish texts? A Different Perspective Some scholars note obscure Second Temple texts hint at suffering messianic figures, though not a full death‑resurrection motif. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Faith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faith/) [Hebrew bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hebrew-bible/) [Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/) [Messiah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messiah/) [Scripture](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scripture/) ## Related quotes > [With the birth of the babe in Bethlehem, there emerged a great endowment—a power stronger than weapons, a wealth more lasting than the coins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-s-monson/with-the-birth-of-the-babe-in-bethlehem-there-emerged-a-great/) [Thomas S. Monson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-s-monson/) > [ The last image created in verse four of this hymn, \["Come, O Thou Glorious King"\] that of the promised Messiah coming into his temple,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-d-huntsman/the-last-image-created-in-verse-four-of-this-hymn-come-o-thou/) [Eric D. Huntsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-d-huntsman/) > [Jesus not only understood Himself to be the promised Messiah, He also says and does things throughout the Gospels that make it clear He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-mathison/jesus-not-only-understood-himself-to-be-the-promised-messiah-he-also/) [Keith Mathison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-mathison/) > [We are in need of a way out of our poverty of soul and the desperate state of our human condition. We find it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-nichols/we-are-in-need-of-a-way-out-of-our-poverty-of-soul-and-the-desperate/) [Stephen Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-nichols/) > [And yet you see the weakness of external evidence-and outward miracles; they were not sufficient to make true believers, or to make the Israelites…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elias-hicks/and-yet-you-see-the-weakness-of-external-evidence-and-outward/) [Elias Hicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elias-hicks/) > [“Going back to Moses Maimonides, he considers Jesus that prophet who was authorized by God to prepare the heathen world (as Messiah for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandor-goodhart/going-back-to-moses-maimonides-he-considers-jesus-that-prophet-who/) [Sandor Goodhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandor-goodhart/) > [There were dozens of people who walked through the Holy Land claiming to be the Messiah, curing the sick, exorcising demons, challenging Rome, gathering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/there-were-dozens-of-people-who-walked-through-the-holy-land-claiming/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“Much of the Persian period is blank for Jewish history, however you look at it. 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Material prosperity is a divine blessing. Poverty crushes the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-sacks/the-market-economy-is-deeply-congruent-with-the-values-set-out-in-the/) [Jonathan Sacks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-sacks/) ## More by Reza Aslan > [Should I act violently in defense of my religion, absolutely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/should-i-act-violently-in-defense-of-my-religion-absolutely/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Religion doesn't make people bigots. People are bigots and they use religion to justify their ideology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/religion-doesn-t-make-people-bigots-people-are-bigots-and-they-use/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“Scattered across the Roman Empire, it was only natural for the gospel writers to distance themselves from the Jewish independence movement by erasing, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/scattered-across-the-roman-empire-it-was-only-natural-for-the-gospel/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“There is a term for this phenomenon—politicomorphism, or “the divinization of earthly politics”—and it is, to this day, one of the central features of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/there-is-a-term-for-this-phenomenon-politicomorphism-or-the/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Obama has been the single worst president in modern American history in dealing with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/obama-has-been-the-single-worst-president-in-modern-american-history/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [There's no question that homophobia is rampant among the world's 1.5 billion Muslims - but that doesn't negate the fact that there are huge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/there-s-no-question-that-homophobia-is-rampant-among-the-world-s-1-5/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Well, to be clear, I am a scholar of religions with four degrees, including one in the New Testament and fluency in Biblical Greek…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/well-to-be-clear-i-am-a-scholar-of-religions-with-four-degrees/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“There would be no more record of who was rich and who was poor. Everyone in this new and divinely inspired world order would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/there-would-be-no-more-record-of-who-was-rich-and-who-was-poor/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [My biography of Jesus is probably the first popular biography that does not use the New Testament as its primary source material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/my-biography-of-jesus-is-probably-the-first-popular-biography-that/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [The Islamic Reformation is already here. We are all living in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/the-islamic-reformation-is-already-here-we-are-all-living-in-it/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“Pilate, as the histories reveal, was not one for trials. 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Yes, it's possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/is-it-possible-that-jesus-unlike-98-percent-of-his-fellow-jews-was/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“The choice between James’s vision of a Jewish religion anchored in the Law of Moses and derived from a Jewish nationalist who fought against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/the-choice-between-james-s-vision-of-a-jewish-religion-anchored-in/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“Paul's portrayal of Jesus as Christ may sound familiar to contemporary Christians—it has since become the standard doctrine of the church—but it would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/paul-s-portrayal-of-jesus-as-christ-may-sound-familiar-to/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [If the resistance is going to bring Trump down, it will require Democrats to follow the people, not the other way around. 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