For People Who Think There Was No Historical Jesus

[Minimalist]

Let's not go overboard here, Stim.

[Cyberman]

Far too late now, I fear.

[splashes happily in the water]

[Cato]

The guy's who wrote it were pretty smart even by todays standards.

Yeah, nothing screams intelligence like making up a story to conceal the fact your wife was an adulterous whore.

[DeistPaladin]

The guy's who wrote it were pretty smart even by todays standards.

Yeah, nothing screams intelligence like making up a story to conceal the fact your wife was an adulterous whore.

And the fact that virgin births by a divine father and mortal mother were quite common in many different myths back then. Sure, Zeitgeist is crap but they got that one right.

[Minimalist]

I neglected to post Candida Moss' conclusion.

"The idea of a persecuted church comes predominantly from authors who were writing after the reign of Constantine had begun and in some cases centuries after his death. Although there were other historians and church thinkers, Eusebius has uniquely shaped the way that people tell the story of Christianity. Eusebius helped to make the history of Christianity the history of persecution. The historical evidence suggests tha the majority of texts about martyrs were written down or heavily edited during this period of relative peace and quiet. These stories were composed because a martyr's opinion as a holy person prepared to die in denfense of Christ, had great authority in the eyes of readers. When it came to matters of truth there was no better authority than a saint.

At the same time that Eusebius was editing his Church History, other Christians began to edit and compose their own stories about persecution and suffering. As competition between religious centers and towns grew, there was a greater motivation for longer, more ornate martyrdom stories. It was important to demonstrate concrete links between the remains and the story of a saint over and against the claims of nearby religious centers. More broadly, Christians enjoyed hearing martyrdom stories. They relished the horrifying tortures, delighted in the battle between good and evil, and cheered the martyr's final triumph. As time went on, the stories about early Christians were edited and changed in order to address later doctrinal issues and cater to evolving liturgical and literary tastes."

It continues but that is enough for starters. The martyrs may have been bullshit but it was bullshit with a reason.

[cneron]

I'm neutral as to whether or not Jesus existed. Knowing how these things work, though, if there ever was such a person it's pretty improbable that historical Jesus would much resemble the popular modern version.

As to "how" it started: Christianity was built upon the Old Testament, which it interpreted, edited and perpetuated into another saga called the New Testament, which includes the Gospels. It needn't have gone that way, and of course with the Jews, it didn't. But every epic needs a main character, an Achilles or Odysseus, and in this case Jesus got elected. If the Jesus character was based on a real person, his name might as well have Bill or Chuck, since Jesus/Yeshua means "salvation/savior" in Hebrew and that's a bit convenient. Since the name was likely attributed, there's no reason to assume his actions and attributes weren't also an amalgam of myths and legends from other characters who themselves may or may not have existed.

As to "why" it started: Then as now, religion was a tool used to manipulate the masses. As Buddhism was a response to Brahmanism, Christianity was a response to Orthodox Judaism and the Roman occupation.

[Confused Ape]

Although there were other historians and church thinkers, Eusebius has uniquely shaped the way that people tell the story of Christianity. Eusebius helped to make the history of Christianity the history of persecution.

I had a look at his Martyrs of Palestine and wish I hadn't. He had a very unhealthy obsession with writing about maiming and torture.

[Minimalist]

Yes, well that is the point. What they wanted were stories of their heroes who face torture and who ultimately triumph by retaining their faith until death and the gorier the better.

Pretty much the basic plot of every shitty Rambo-type movie ever made.