Off Topic — HabitableZone

Off Topic » in reply to re: Just pondering....

My own opinion...
ER — (archived)

...is that someone named Jesus probably did exist, and that he was a charismatic preacher with an extensive following, and he probably got executed by the authorities. We have absolutrely no proof of this except that the writings about Jesus started appearing, and were accepted, soon enough after his death, so it is unlikely the whole story was completely fabricated.

However, there is no written record of Jesus having lived that was written during his lifetime; even the earliest records, the Gospels, were almost certainly written after his death, and we have no way of knowing if they were written by anyone who actually knew him, or who even was alive during his days. The first actual independent mention of Jesus other than the Gospels (you can't use the alleged divinity of the bible as proof that it is divinely inspired) came from the historian Josephus many years later, and he hiimself never claims to have met him and was not one of his contemporaries.

The historical authenticity of Jesus is almost certain. That he had an enormous influence on his followers, and that his message has survived for centuries cannot be denied. The value, beauty and wisdom of his teachings, or what we have come to see as his teaching, is undisputed. But whether he was a divine being or not is pure speculation. Personally, I don't believe he was; and even if he was the Son of God, we do not have enough historical evidence to say so.

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