Did Jesus exist?

[Wyrd of Gawd]

I've kind of said this before, but I think it's worth bringing together:

Let's say we agree that there are details included which embarrass the author. We conclude that this means the author really believed those details to be true.

Now, if the author was an eye witness, the logical inference would be that those details were probably true. However, it is not evident they are eye witnesses. So what they believe is just based on the stories they have heard. All we know is they are faithfully reproducing an aspect of the story, which they find is embarrassing. So what? This doesn't tell us whether the detail arose out of a real event, or was a detail added to the story via Chinese Whispers.

I throw it all out of court. The authors did not have access to the truth, they had access to hearsay.

The veracity of the stories is irrelevant.  The intent is to get people to believe and to obey without exception.  Asking questions is discouraged.  It's like telling kids about Santa Claus.  The intent is to get them to behave and to stop being a pain in the butt when the parent tells them to do something because if they obey they will get some fancy gifts at Christmas.  It gives them something to look forward to.  That's the way religious stories work.