--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For every well-attested, heavily…" description: "\"“For every well-attested, heavily researched, and eminently authoritative argument made about the historical Jesus, there is an equally well-attested, ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/reza-aslan-2665_contradictions_for-every-well-attested-heavily-research_1832205.jpg" --- # For every well-attested, heavily researched, and eminently… ![“For every well-attested, heavily researched, and eminently authoritative argument made about the historical Jesus, there is an equally well-attested, equally researched, and equally authoritative argument opposing it.” quote by Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/reza-aslan-2665_contradictions_for-every-well-attested-heavily-research_1832205.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/reza-aslan-2665_contradictions_for-every-well-attested-heavily-research_1832205.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ed8/reza-aslan-2665_contradictions_for-every-well-attested-heavily-research_1832205.jpg) > ““For every well-attested, heavily researched, and eminently authoritative argument made about the historical Jesus, there is an equally well-attested, equally researched, and equally authoritative argument opposing it.”” [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. Historical debates on Jesus are equally balanced, showing scholarly uncertainty. **In simple terms:** Scholarly arguments on Jesus are equally strong. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty. Themes history religion scholarship Mood analytical neutral Type academic philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - faith discussions - public discourse Key Concepts critical analysis source evaluation Questions to Reflect On - How does balanced debate affect belief? - What evidence matters most? A Different Perspective Consensus may never be reached. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Argument Historical](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/argument-historical-2283945/) [Authoritative Argument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/authoritative-argument-2283947/) [Contradictions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contradictions/) [Equally Researched](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/equally-researched-2283946/) [Historical jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historical-jesus/) [Jesus Equally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus-equally-2283944/) [Scholarship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scholarship/) ## Related quotes > [“Anti-fascism is many things, but perhaps most fundamentally it is an argument about the historical continuity between different eras of far-right violence and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bray/anti-fascism-is-many-things-but-perhaps-most-fundamentally-it-is-an/) [Mark Bray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bray/) > [The more I started studying the historical Jesus, the man who lived 2,000 years ago... the more I started to realize that there was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/the-more-i-started-studying-the-historical-jesus-the-man-who-lived-2/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Paul's lack of concern with the historical Jesus is not due, as some have argued, to his emphasis on Christological rather than historical concerns.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/paul-s-lack-of-concern-with-the-historical-jesus-is-not-due-as-some/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“Paul may be an excellent source for those interested in the early formation of Christianity, but he is a poor guide for uncovering the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/paul-may-be-an-excellent-source-for-those-interested-in-the-early/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [“Moreover, it is not just that the early documents are silent about so much of Jesus that came to be recorded in the gospels,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-albert-wells/moreover-it-is-not-just-that-the-early-documents-are-silent-about-so/) [George Albert Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-albert-wells/) > [The Gospel of Thomas, greatly favored in some circles, is ignored by archaeologists, primarily because it exhibits no verisimilitude. It tells us nothing about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-a-evans/the-gospel-of-thomas-greatly-favored-in-some-circles-is-ignored-by/) [Craig A. Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-a-evans/) > [“For centuries after obtaining power during the reign of Constantine, Christians went on a censorship rampage that led to the virtual illiteracy of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-m-murdock/for-centuries-after-obtaining-power-during-the-reign-of-constantine/) [D.M. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-m-murdock/) > [“In the entire works of the Jewish historian Josephus (37-c. 100 CE), which constitute hundreds of pages, there are only two paragraphs that purport…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-m-murdock/in-the-entire-works-of-the-jewish-historian-josephus-37-c-100-ce/) [D.M. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-m-murdock/) > [Today's Politically Correct "historical Jesuses" are no different, being mere clones of the scholars who design them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-price/today-s-politically-correct-historical-jesuses-are-no-different-being/) [Robert M. Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-price/) > [“There are no known non-biblical references to a historical Jesus by any historian or other writer of the time during and shortly after Jesus's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-m-murdock/there-are-no-known-non-biblical-references-to-a-historical-jesus-by/) [D.M. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-m-murdock/) > [“Jesus himself remains an enigma. 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And his conduct was good, and \[he\] was known to be virtuous.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephus/at-this-time-there-was-a-wise-man-who-was-called-jesus-and-his/) [Josephus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephus/) > [ Punishment \[by Nero\] was inflicted on the Christians, a class of men given to a new and mischievous superstition. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suetonius/punishment-by-nero-was-inflicted-on-the-christians-a-class-of-men/) [Suetonius](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suetonius/) > [“ Bauer 's 'Criticism of the Gospel History' is worth a good dozen Lives of Jesus, because his work, as we are only now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-schweitzer/bauer-s-criticism-of-the-gospel-history-is-worth-a-good-dozen-lives/) [Albert Schweitzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-schweitzer/) ## More by Reza Aslan > [“Despite two millennia of Christian apologetics, the fact is that belief in a dying and rising messiah simply did not exist in Judaism. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/despite-two-millennia-of-christian-apologetics-the-fact-is-that/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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. 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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/) [Explore all 154 Reza Aslan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) ## More Contradictions quotes > [:)So Micayla didn't quite understand the meaning of the word paradox, so like most things I struggle to understand or make sense of I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/micayla-ludick-basson/so-micayla-didn-t-quite-understand-the-meaning-of-the-word-paradox-so/) [Micayla Ludick Basson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/micayla-ludick-basson/) > [I've realized that life is indeed full of contradictions. 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