No that's not what "you're saying" this is verbatim what you're saying:
"1) Is Jesus of Nazareth, as written in the bible, a real person? No."
The possibility you just mentioned (or rather the scenario) is absolutely ludicrous. You show a poor understanding of literacy records, as they exist, for the ancient world. Take for example the Gospel of Thomas that contains no narrative and only sayings of Jesus. It supports the hypothesis that other sayings documents existed that predate any of the New Testament texts, some of which would likely have been written down at the time Jesus lived.
Take for example the earliest Christian creed found in 1 Corinthians 15 which contains a statement of faith taught to Paul, and one that dates right back to the few years following the crucifixion of Jesus. Paul doesn't say who taught him the creed, nor does he say who it came from. For example suppose there was a Christian named Zac and that he came up with the creed - if Paul had attributed it to Zac it would likely have indicated that Zac came up with it just recently and it needs clarification for its authority - however what Paul doesn't say is just as interesting as what he does say - by not attributing it to anyone in particular, but simply saying "for I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received" clearly implies his readers are familiar with the creed already. This establishes the creed as not just an accepted one in the early Christian church, but also one that is already well known and appears to be an essential statement of faith. One that Paul needn't have even included for his readers of the time - but he does so anyway to remind them of their faith. Since we also know the date of Paul's conversion on the Road to Damascus (c. 31-36 AD) we know this creed must be extremely early to predate Paul's conversion.
This fact alone disproves the possibility - even a slim one - that the entire gospel of Salvation was intentionally fabricated. Being that, as I've just demonstrated, you can date the 1Cor15 creed to before 36AD, the possibility - even a slim one - that it was based on a mythical figure is also dismissed. Finally, to claim that Jesus of Nazareth is a composite of a number of historical figures is also clearly refuted by the evidence.
"1) Is Jesus of Nazareth, as written in the bible, a real person? No."
The possibility you just mentioned (or rather the scenario) is absolutely ludicrous. You show a poor understanding of literacy records, as they exist, for the ancient world. Take for example the Gospel of Thomas that contains no narrative and only sayings of Jesus. It supports the hypothesis that other sayings documents existed that predate any of the New Testament texts, some of which would likely have been written down at the time Jesus lived.
Take for example the earliest Christian creed found in 1 Corinthians 15 which contains a statement of faith taught to Paul, and one that dates right back to the few years following the crucifixion of Jesus. Paul doesn't say who taught him the creed, nor does he say who it came from. For example suppose there was a Christian named Zac and that he came up with the creed - if Paul had attributed it to Zac it would likely have indicated that Zac came up with it just recently and it needs clarification for its authority - however what Paul doesn't say is just as interesting as what he does say - by not attributing it to anyone in particular, but simply saying "for I passed on to you as of first importance what I also received" clearly implies his readers are familiar with the creed already. This establishes the creed as not just an accepted one in the early Christian church, but also one that is already well known and appears to be an essential statement of faith. One that Paul needn't have even included for his readers of the time - but he does so anyway to remind them of their faith. Since we also know the date of Paul's conversion on the Road to Damascus (c. 31-36 AD) we know this creed must be extremely early to predate Paul's conversion.
This fact alone disproves the possibility - even a slim one - that the entire gospel of Salvation was intentionally fabricated. Being that, as I've just demonstrated, you can date the 1Cor15 creed to before 36AD, the possibility - even a slim one - that it was based on a mythical figure is also dismissed. Finally, to claim that Jesus of Nazareth is a composite of a number of historical figures is also clearly refuted by the evidence.
For Religion & Health see:[/b][/size] Williams & Sternthal. (2007). Spirituality, religion and health: Evidence and research directions. Med. J. Aust., 186(10), S47-S50. -LINK
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
The WIN/Gallup End of Year Survey 2013 found the US was perceived to be the greatest threat to world peace by a huge margin, with 24% of respondents fearful of the US followed by: 8% for Pakistan, and 6% for China. This was followed by 5% each for: Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, North Korea. -LINK
"That's disgusting. There were clean athletes out there that have had their whole careers ruined by people like Lance Armstrong who just bended thoughts to fit their circumstances. He didn't look up cheating because he wanted to stop, he wanted to justify what he was doing and to keep that continuing on." - Nicole Cooke
