Is it egotistical to think that a God would die for you?

[Consilius]

First of all, Jesus Christ existed as a historical figure. Plenty of historians say so.
Dying on a cross? My evidence is that Christianity came to be the religion of millions when it started out surrounded by devout Jews who savagely killed its followers, and spread across the Roman Empire, despite that many more of it followers were killed as well.
Whatever these people preached, it had to be something worth listening to, and something worth believing as well, since so many people died for it.
It would take quite the conspiracy to make that stuff up. If Jesus Christ HAD been a story, it would have made as little sense to first century Jews and Romans as it does to you. In Jesus' time, gods didn't love people. And if they ever were on earth, they didn't die. So I also believe in the Christian story because it is so original.

Quite, but just because it is cited in history that he was real, it is not proof.

It surprises me that so many millions of people follow such religions, when some know little or nothing about their doctrines.

I believe in the Crucifixion because it is recorded in different historical documents, including the Bible.
The validity of what is written there I judge to be what it is because of my previous statement. This is the conviction I have that what these people said about Jesus is probably true.

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The Bible is a book completely dedicated to stroking the massive ego of human beings:

God created man in his own image (or the other way around)
God gave man paradise (of course he did!)
God gave man dominion over animals (try telling that to a tiger)
God gave man dominion over women (try telling that to a woman)
God killed himself to save man (but not before killing millions of men in floods, wars, natural disasters, and genocide)

and, the grand finally....

God has prepared an eternal realm of robotic bliss for man, where happiness is the only option (still pales in comparison to 72 virgins for blowing yourself up)

As humans, we have special value. Or are you interested in giving gorillas voting rights? How about giving cattle rights to life?
At the same time, we are imperfect. That is why, in the Bible, people sin and are punished. We don't deserve what we have as human beings. But what the Bible says is that God loved people so much that he died for them. It wasn't a requested favor. It was an act of mercy that came from God.