Freewill

[FallentoReason]

Yet the life, death and resurrection of Jesus spread and created multitudes of converts within five years of his time on earth. Were they all so easily fooled?

It's not that they were fooled. They were already familiar with the idea of a god sending down himself to Earth e.g. Zeus and Heracles. The themes found in the NT already existed for around a thousand years before Jesus was even thought of.

I think the anonymous authors of the Gospels deserve a pat on the back for a successful marketing strategy. Although I'd only give them 2/10 for originality and 0/10 for proof reading. If they're going to copy each other's hearsay accounts at least make them sound remotely similar. Regardless, they knew what their target audience wanted to hear.