Did Jesus exist?

[robvalue]

I would have said this "embarrassment" angle could be one factor to consider when weighing up a close call, maybe it adds a small amount of extra credibility to add onto other reasons to believe the part of the account is true. But as a sole reason, personally I find it extremely weak.

If I pick up a written account, of anything, my default position is that I have no opinion of it. I don't assume it happened, and I don't assume it didn't. That default doesn't change unless examination of the account, more importantly coupled with independent sources, produces something convincing. Here, I see nothing convincing. These are fictional stories, that much is clear after even a cursory glance. Trying to pull truth out of them without being able to externally verify it seems like an extreme bias towards wanting them to contain truth. And even if you establish that the hero was a real person, just believing any particular part happened as written and wasn't part of the author's imagination seems fanciful, if you can't verify it.

Correlation between the Synoptics is not an argument either since it's known they are literally based on each other. In fact, the differences make it clear how unreliable these people are and that storytelling is more important to them.

I'm not accusing anyone in particular of this, but I've noticed in general a big emotional attachment to HJ. Responses can very quickly devolve into insults and character assassination, basically trying to shut people up if they dare to disagree. This suggests much more than a historical interest. I don't fully understand where this comes from.