--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is a miracle that we know anything at…" description: "\"“It is a miracle that we know anything at all about the man called Jesus of Nazareth.”\" — Reza Aslan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/reza-aslan-2665_jesus_it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at_891780.png" --- # It is a miracle that we know anything at all about the man… ![“It is a miracle that we know anything at all about the man called Jesus of Nazareth.” quote by Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/reza-aslan-2665_jesus_it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at_891780.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/reza-aslan-2665_jesus_it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at_891780.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/reza-aslan-2665_jesus_it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at_891780.png) > ““It is a miracle that we know anything at all about the man called Jesus of Nazareth.”” [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 highlights the astonishing fact that we can claim knowledge about a historical figure whose existence is debated. **In simple terms:** We surprisingly know about Jesus. Key Takeaway Question assumptions about historical evidence. Themes history faith epistemology Mood thoughtful inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - academic research - theological debate - education - media reporting Key Concepts historical methodology myth vs fact Questions to Reflect On - How do we verify ancient historical claims? - What role does faith play in interpreting history? A Different Perspective The claim may overstate certainty given limited primary sources. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Called Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/called-jesus-1155658/) [Jesus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/) [Jesus Nazareth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus-nazareth/) [Miracle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracle/) [Miracle Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracle-know-1155657/) [Miracles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miracles/) ## Related quotes > [Each beat of your heart is a small miracle, you know, so don't get carried away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathias-malzieu/each-beat-of-your-heart-is-a-small-miracle-you-know-so-don-t-get/) [Mathias Malzieu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathias-malzieu/) > [Why who makes much of a miracle? As to me I know nothing else but miracles, whether they be animals feeding in the fields,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/why-who-makes-much-of-a-miracle-as-to-me-i-know-nothing-else-but/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) > [We are alive within mystery, by miracle... We have more than we can know. We know more than we can say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-berry/we-are-alive-within-mystery-by-miracle-we-have-more-than-we-can-know/) [Wendell Berry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-berry/) > [The miracle is when you shift. The miracle is when you know there is no hill - you're removing the hill. The miracle is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/the-miracle-is-when-you-shift-the-miracle-is-when-you-know-there-is/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Paul hardly ever allows the real Jesus of Nazareth to get a word in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/paul-hardly-ever-allows-the-real-jesus-of-nazareth-to-get-a-word-in/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) > [Those who have the disease called Jesus will never be cured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brennan-manning/those-who-have-the-disease-called-jesus-will-never-be-cured/) [Brennan Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brennan-manning/) > [“So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, a “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered, “Do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-pilate-entered-his-headquarters-again-and-called-jesus-and-said-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [ \[There is\] a great book from Ravi Zacharis, a scholar from India, and its called Jesus Among Other Gods. I havent read that one,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/there-is-a-great-book-from-ravi-zacharis-a-scholar-from-india-and-its/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Somehow you've come past the realm of just knowing about this Person called Jesus Christ and He is real to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-grubb/somehow-you-ve-come-past-the-realm-of-just-knowing-about-this-person/) [Norman Grubb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-grubb/) > [Guy back there called you 'Jesus'.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcclane/guy-back-there-called-you-jesus/) [John Mcclane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcclane/) > [“Who say mo'? You say mo'? I say mo' Mo' what? Mo' who? Mo' when? More Jesus. Right Now! To stop the fighting Backbiting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maisie-a-smikle/who-say-mo-you-say-mo-i-say-mo-mo-what-mo-who-mo-when-more-jesus/) [Maisie A. Smikle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maisie-a-smikle/) > [“There was just such a man when I was young—an Austrian who invented a new way of life and convinced himself that he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-h-white/there-was-just-such-a-man-when-i-was-young-an-austrian-who-invented-a/) [T.H. White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-h-white/) > [“Christians have been beaten, whipped, starved, humiliated, mutilated, tortured, hung, burned at the stake, crucified, and fed to lions; yet two thousand years after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/christians-have-been-beaten-whipped-starved-humiliated-mutilated/) [Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/) > [“We are not called to embody Jesus ourselves; He has already been incarnated and is still even now! No, we are not called to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-anderson/we-are-not-called-to-embody-jesus-ourselves-he-has-already-been/) [Hannah Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-anderson/) > [I'm from Oklahoma City, and there's a statue across from the site of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building of Jesus. It's called 'Jesus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-hunter/i-m-from-oklahoma-city-and-there-s-a-statue-across-from-the-site-of/) [Holly Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-hunter/) ## 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. 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. In his ten years as governor of Jerusalem, he had sent thousands upon thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/pilate-as-the-histories-reveal-was-not-one-for-trials-in-his-ten/) [Reza Aslan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/) > [Is it possible that Jesus, unlike 98 percent of his fellow Jews, was literate and educated? 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 Jesus quotes > [“God hates Hell. He hates the idea of people going there. He hates it so much that He was willing to take on human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evan-minton/god-hates-hell-he-hates-the-idea-of-people-going-there-he-hates-it-so/) [Evan Minton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evan-minton/) > [I could not limit my values and pursuits to what makes others comfortable. Being possessed by a promise I live without options. I will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/i-could-not-limit-my-values-and-pursuits-to-what-makes-others/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [Here's the reality. The image of a white Jesus has been used to justify enslavement, conquest, colonialism, the genocide of indigenous peoples. There are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-wise/here-s-the-reality-the-image-of-a-white-jesus-has-been-used-to/) [Tim Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-wise/) > [When the Lord Jesus Christ became my surety . . . He went to Calvary's cross, and all my guilt was charged against Him.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-allen-ironside/when-the-lord-jesus-christ-became-my-surety-he-went-to-calvary-s/) [Henry Allen Ironside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-allen-ironside/) > [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [Faith is the avenue to salvation. Not intellectual understanding. Not money. Not your works. Just simple faith. How much faith? The faith of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-graham/faith-is-the-avenue-to-salvation-not-intellectual-understanding-not/) [Billy Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-graham/) > [May nothing entice me till I happily make my way to Jesus Christ! Fire, cross, struggles with wild beasts, wrenching of bones, mangling of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ignatius-of-antioch/may-nothing-entice-me-till-i-happily-make-my-way-to-jesus-christ-fire/) [Ignatius of Antioch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ignatius-of-antioch/) > [God always gets the glory when Jesus comes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-giglio/god-always-gets-the-glory-when-jesus-comes/) [Louie Giglio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-giglio/) > [It was no accident, no coincidence, that the seasons came round and round year after year. It was the Lord speaking to us all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francine-rivers/it-was-no-accident-no-coincidence-that-the-seasons-came-round-and/) [Francine Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francine-rivers/) > [The emerging church movement has come to believe that the ultimate context of the spiritual aspirations of a follower of Jesus Christ is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samir-selmanovic/the-emerging-church-movement-has-come-to-believe-that-the-ultimate/) [Samir Selmanovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samir-selmanovic/) > [Have the courage to go against the tide of current values that do not conform to the path of Jesus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/have-the-courage-to-go-against-the-tide-of-current-values-that-do-not/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [One thing the young Christian should be taught as quickly as possible after his conversion is that Jesus Christ is all he needs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/one-thing-the-young-christian-should-be-taught-as-quickly-as-possible/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [“Jesus was a more reliable backer, evidently, less likely to drink himself unconscious or get liver cancer. No wonder people chose Him as their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/jesus-was-a-more-reliable-backer-evidently-less-likely-to-drink/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [Jesus' kingdom was not like the popular expectation. He used the phrase 'kingdom of God' with a different meaning. His kingdom was not of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-harpur/jesus-kingdom-was-not-like-the-popular-expectation-he-used-the-phrase/) [Tom Harpur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-harpur/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) [Browse all 10,297 Jesus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jesus/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It is a miracle that we know anything at all about the man called Jesus of Nazareth.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Reza Aslan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at-all-about-the-man-called/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Jesus" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at-all-about-the-man-called/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/reza-aslan-2665_jesus_it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at_891780.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/reza-aslan-2665_jesus_it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at_891780.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b0a/reza-aslan-2665_jesus_it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at_891780.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is a miracle that we know anything at all about the man called Jesus of Nazareth.” — Reza Aslan", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Reza Aslan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reza-aslan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It is a miracle that we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at-all-about-the-man-called/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reza-aslan/it-is-a-miracle-that-we-know-anything-at-all-about-the-man-called/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```