Open debate: What does Jesus teach?

[DeistPaladin]

I wasn't out to prove that the Gospels were true. I was pointing out that the evidence suggests that some real-world event prompted the inception of Christianity. That some semblance of Jesus Christ walked the earth and those who listened to him walked away with their own interpretation of his work.
Whichever interpretation of Jesus makes the cut is up in the air as far as I'm concerned.

That's fine. I'm a Jesus-Mooter. We can muse about a "historical core" all you like but we'll never know what that was.

When it comes to finding historical information about The Historical Jesus, the pickings are slim. The best we've got is an oblique reference in the 2nd century Annals of Tacitus to a "Christos" (anointed one) who "was crucified by one of our Procurators, Pilate."

Yeshua was a common name. End-times-messiah-wannabes existed in abundance in 1st century Judea. Pilate killed a great many Jews.

The supernatural aspects of the Gospels can be ignored, as surely if they really happened they would've gotten attention. The successful ministry of Jesus that spread like wildfire seems unlikely for the same reasons. What he taught is anyone's guess since we have no writings of Jesus and the wild variance of Christianities indicates against Jesus being very clear about what his ministry's message was.

So what's left? How can we possibly uncover the facts from under the mountain of myth and folklore?

Bart Ehrman can get back to me from his Ivory Tower when he finds something of substance regarding The Historical Jesus.