Who is Jesus?

[Jenny A]

Jesus was probably a Jewish bastard (literal bastard not an insult) born in or around Galille, and baptized by John the Baptist. He most likely preached around Galillee. What he preached was most likely an apoplectic message of the imminent kingdom of god on earth. He probably did not preach that he was god on earth. He was almost certainly crucified by the Romans in Jerusalem (probably for sedition, not blasphemy as the Romans wouldn't have cared about blaspheming the Jewish god).

Everything else traditionally ascribed to him is unsubstantiated legend and much of that demonstrably false. For example, the Bethlehem story did not happen because the census that required it did not happen. No Roman census ever required everyone to return to the place on their ancestors for obvious practical reasons. There was no empty tomb because people who were crucified were not given proper burials. Jesus could not have brought the Temple at Jerusalem to a stand still by over turning the money changers tables as the Temple was way, way, too large for that. He was not born of a virgin, as Mary thought he was nuts when he started preaching. And so on and so on.