Intelligent Atheists: Who/What Was Jesus?

[Vincent]

Hello everyone,

I would like your honest views on who or what you think Jesus really was, with some reasonable justifications please.

I ask this because some say he was a myth, some say he existed, some say he represents a sun god, etcetera...

I am simply unsure and require answers for further discussions.

Thanks!

Hello!

You're probably not going to get a straight, direct, and agreed-upon answer to this question, because everyone has a different take on the character of Jesus, whether he was the son of God, or whether he even existed. My answer reflects only what I think of him. 

As far as I am concerned, there is enough historical and archaeological evidence to convince me that a man named Jesus did live some 2000 years ago. He was a prophet of sorts, preached Christianity to people in the Middle East, and was probably killed for it. 

However, as far as all the other supernatural claims go - divine birth, walking on water, actually healing people, feeding thousands, being God (or the son of God, or a piece of God, or whatever you want to call it), being resurrected after 3 days, ascending into Heaven - I take all of that with a grain of salt. Most - if not all - of the evidence to support those claims is shaky at best. Chances are more likely that it's just shit that's been twisted and exaggerated over the years, especially given the ignorance and gullibility of humans during that time. And I find it quite strange that so many people were able to see this guy do all this shit, and so little record of it survived through history outside of the Bible. Bottom line for me: I don't trust ancient ass books to tell me what is true, especially not ones as vague, dividing, and untrustworthy as the Bible. Need I remind you, it's the same book that claims two of every animal in the world would be able to stay on a wooden ship manned by one family for 40 days.