Dying/resurrected gods were a common motif in the ANE. Jesus would have been nothing out of the ordinary to people living then.
Unless someone also wants to assert that Tammuz and Osiris were "real" too the fact remains that you do not need "reality" to start a religion. In fact, "reality" probably gets in the way of a good yarn.
Unless someone also wants to assert that Tammuz and Osiris were "real" too the fact remains that you do not need "reality" to start a religion. In fact, "reality" probably gets in the way of a good yarn.
