(March 2, 2015 at 1:16 pm)DeistPaladin Wrote: So you see what I mean by "moot"?
While the historical Jesus doesn't validate Christianity, the mythical Jesus does invalidate Christianity. So it's not moot IMO.
If we ever have persuasive evidence for a mythical Jesus, it would be interesting to see how Christianity adapts. Many Christians are convinced that they know Jesus through a born-again experience, answered prayers, etc. Christianity might redefine the gospels as a symbol of deeper spiritual facts?
So we have Therapeutae, Ebionites, Essenes, Nazarenes, Gnostic Jews, Paulians, etc. What do you suppose the earliest Christians were like?