Atheists being asked about the existence of Jesus

[EgoDeath]

The honest answer?

The evidence I've seen, of which there isn't much, isn't very strong in favor of a Historical Jesus. I think the "consensus" that seems to exist which accepts that Jesus was real exists because our society tends to placate the religious among us, because realistically the type of evidence that exists for a Historical Jesus would not stand the test of scrutiny if said evidence was the best thing we had for any other historical figure. So basically, "Probably not, but maybe." would be the most honest answer you'd get from me.

The easy answer?

Just say I don't know. The people in favor of the historical existence of Jesus seem to be adamant that the evidence they have is sufficient, so arguing with them is usually futile.

I usually go with the honest answer, but I'm a little more willing to debate than most, as I don't see anything wrong with discussions where two individuals disagree with one another, it's no big deal. It's just a conversation between two humans who see things differently. Some people, however, hold their beliefs a little closer to their heart and will be offended if you disagree with them. I suppose it's a case of asking yourself, "Do I want to avoid conflict, or try to have an educated, intellectual discussion? How argumentative am I and am I willing to debate?" A combination of that and knowing your audience. If the person you're talking to is prone to getting aggravated and blowing up at you, you may just want to avoid the topic.

Good luck.

Thank you. There is also another aspect, what if the person you're talking to is not necessarily impolite, but extremely insistent. What if they don't agree to disagree? What if you feel you can't take it anymore? Should you just tell them politely that they're annoying you with their insistance?

In that case, I would simply go with the first answer and just tell them you don't know in the first place. If they then push that he was in fact real, just hear them out and say, "Okay, I guess I never considered thinking about it that way." - and then simply try to change the subject. I wouldn't get too hell bent on trying to prove this point because it honestly doesn't even matter, if he did exist, it was thousands of years ago, and it doesn't prove the case for Christianity any more than if Muhammed from the Quran were real, or Moses from the Torah.

In fact, even if we KNEW Jesus was real. It means absolutely nothing in proving the magical claims we hear of from the Bible. That would be a bit like saying since Daniel Radcliffe is real, Harry Potter is true.

The difference is we can actually see Daniel Radcliffe on camera. The fact remains, the evidence for Jesus is weak. Don't believe me either, look it up for yourself. The only accounts written about Christ were posthumous, meaning they were written after his death. No one wrote about Christ while he was alive. Christian apologists often argue that it's because the effects of Christ's actions weren't realized until years after his death and while that's an interesting speculation, I don't really buy it. But it can be one thing to know how you personally feel about a subject, even if what you feel includes what you know, and how you feel about dealing with the person trying to push the discussion on that subject.

For example, I refuse to discuss religion with my dad. Every time, it goes in the same loop and ends up with one of us getting frustrated and saying let's change the subject. It's something I simply avoid with him now, even if I feel I'm right and even if the evidence is in my favor. It's not worth the headache.