(February 24, 2019 at 7:10 am)Jehanne Wrote:(February 24, 2019 at 6:41 am)bennyboy Wrote: Mentioning someone means they wanted that figure to be known. It doesn't mean it was a real figure.
It's possible that early Christians were Jews who sat around and said, "How can we personify our religion in a way that makes it accessible to Romans?"
The early Christians were Jews, as was Jesus. Your thesis that Jews were interested in converting non-Jews to Judaism is, I believe, supported by no one. Judaism has not been a proselytizing religion.
Yeah, I'm just speculatin'. Maybe Jesus was intended as a revolutionary martyr figure, rooted in Jewish legend: he was specifically claimed to be the embodiment of Biblical prophecy, such that the Jews might take heart against their Roman oppressors?
I can see why downtrodden Jews would want such a character to be brought into existence. You can see that effect today, with various groups claiming (and in some cases even believing) that the second coming is nigh.
