Atheists being asked about the existence of Jesus

[BrianSoddingBoru4]

I tend to treat Jesus the way I treat King Arthur.

Was there a 1st century preacher in Palestine who got into trouble with the authorities?  Very probably.  Are the Gospel stories about him true?  Very probably not.

Was there a 6th century warlord in Britain who gave the Saxons a rough time?  Very probably.  Is Monmouth's Historia an accurate representation of his life?  Very probably not.

Boru

Why do you consider it very probable that Jesus and King Arthur were real? What are the most compelling pieces of evidence?

No evidence.  It simply doesn't seem unreasonable that there were historic people who were mythologized into the characters we know as 'Jesus of Nazareth' and 'Arthur of Britain'.  Both areas and eras were in a time of upheaval (religious and military, respectively).  The Hebrews in Palestine felt they were being treated badly, so it isn't terribly far-fetched that some radicalized preacher was killed by the Romans for being a troublemaker. Similarly, Britain had just suffered the Roman withdrawal and the Saxons were a fucking nightmare - it makes sense that someone or other had a few victories against them.

Boru