Off Topic — HabitableZone

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Try this
Fox — (archived)

A page from the Jesus Seminar.

Better still, try this book from the same source: The FIve Gospels. I read it three (?) years ago, after being alerted to its existence by our own Mary Anne. Being a Jew, not burdened with the question of Divinity, I came away with a much deeper understanding of the difference between what Jesus probably did say, and what words were probably put in his mouth by later author/editors... as well as a philological history of the books themselves.

Stripped of the editorializing, the probable words of Jesus have a near Zen-like quality, and I also understand how he was able to attract followers, even if the miracle stories are merely stories.

The problem remains that, as far as I know, no contemporary records mention the man, the trial, or the execution. Absence of evidence is not always evidence of absence... and, also as far as I know, there are also no surviving writings from that period which deny the existence or acts of Jesus.*

In short, what historians classify as "primary sources" are missing from both sides of the question. The Gospels are anecdotal, despite protestations to the contrary.

[* - Rome did not act as Egypt did in earlier centuries -- ruthless campaigns to erase all knowledge of some persons -- so the lack of historical mention outside the Gospels cannot be attributed to such an effort by official policy. And, during the time of Jesus' life, and for a long while after, Rome was very tolerant of cults. The persecutions didn't start until later, when a scapegoat was deemed necessary. We Jews know all about that one...]

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