Did Muhammad exist?

[The Grand Nudger]

You and I see eye to eye on finding comparative mythology interesting and worthwhile. I mean, if you go back far enough into Greece's history, you might find that there was some guy upon whom the god Zeus is based. From a comparative mythology standpoint this might interest us, but it would have no real bearing on how we interpret the stories. After all, at some point, the stories took on a life of their own, and "the real Zeus" is far less interesting than what poets from later generations had to say about him.

Euhemeris seemed to think so..but there's no explicit reason to make this assumption.  It may be the case..but, equally..sometime..a story is just a story.  There are certaily legendary and mythical characters whose character is too much of a contrivance of narrative requirements to be entertained as a real person.

Consider Icarus.  The question becomes, how many icari are there in the stories we tell.  

I'm going to make it a point to pick your brain about Christian history at some point, since you seem to know a thing or two about it. The stuff from early Roman Christianity up through Constantine interests me the most. Y'know, the interpretations of X, Y, and Z which was branded heresy in order to create "unity" among believers.

It's Mins brain you want to pick about that, not mine.  I only know these bits because of an interest in Julian, essentially, they're the prelude to the end of paganism..and it wasn't faith in the one true god or any of his prophets that conquered our preexisting beliefs, lol. Christianity bores me to tears. It's the dullest goddamned myth we ever devised. Made for and by bureaucrats. That much, at least, is amusing...that 30% of the worlds people, today, bow their heads to some shit that a bunch of mediterranean bean counters assembled by committee...because the emperor wanted a new pony.