Quote:all of the references to Jesus you've produced have necessarily been second hand accounts, as none of the writers were ever alive when Jesus was.
Unavoidable, Esq as there are no first-hand references. Period. The authors of the gospels never even claim to be primary sources. "Paul," even if he was not a mere construct of Marcion, only has a hallucination of the godboy. In this, even though they were consummate bullshit artists, they are more honest than fundie shitheads like h-m.