Does a God exist?

[pocaracas]

I have never heard a reasonable  plausible scenario that took into account: 

1) that all 8 authors were mistaken that miracles were happening as they followed Jesus around for 3 years, they were mistaken that he rose from the dead after his crucifixion, and how they worked out the common details in time to start writing to

Not all authors claim a rising from the dead, do they? At least, not in the original versions...
The versions that had stuff added to later on... well... it is known that there has been tampering with at least one ending.... no "mistake" intended, I'm sure!

2) the pre-existing churches who mistakenly believed the same basic thing (of which were not in close proximity to the authors)

Like I said: Essenes.
The notion of the dying and rising leader/teacher was already present in the region... for some 200 years.
How odd that such a notion would be built upon and embellished!

3) the well educated Luke (Luke and Acts account for over a quarter of the NT) went to Jerusalem and wrote a historical narrative of Jesus' life and what follows (read Luke 1:1-4). He was not 'originally mistaken' like the rest would have been yet he was convinced that the events were real after reviewing documents and interviewing witnesses. 

The "Lord of the Rings" trilogy is also a historical narrative built after reviewing the "Red Book of Westmarch", a credible document, at the time... -.-'

4) that Paul, who was not part of the original mistaken, changed sides and was thoroughly convinced of the truth of which he wrote.

And...what? People convert from one belief system to another all the time.... even today. Why would back then be any different?

5) the content of the mistaken details were somehow weaved into a complex doctrine that was entirely unexpected, yet eloquent and a 'finished' product so early on, not by scholars, but by fairly common people. In addition, it was not a stand-alone religion, it was thoroughly connected to the OT in that the messiah had come--not as expected, but far better because what is better than a political messiah? a spiritual messiah (more productive, lasts longer). Not only did it connect to the OT, it did not contradict the OT. Not bad for a bunch of uneducated fishermen and a former pharisee to plan so thoroughly that they nailed, not just the foundation, but the entirety of Christianity on the first try and in such a way as to have 2.3 Billion people still believing 2000 years later with no basic alteration.  

I don't believe that ancient Greece would be the sole location of thinkers, at the time.
China is well known to have produced Confucius a few centuries before the Christ story came about.

So, given that, yes, it is well possible that people in today's Middle-East would have thought things through.
It is also possible that they got lucky.... lucky that the emperor of Rome adopted this religion as a symbol of unity for the empire... one god to rule them all...

Simply saying that all these people were mistaken is far easier than accommodating all the facts. 

On the other hand, if you believe that it is possible that God exists, the fact is, it is a much more plausible scenario that it happened just as the NT described. Weird huh?

Belief... that's where the whole building crumbles.
Why is belief required at all?
Why would the super-being creator of the Universe and beyond be limited to belief?
Makes no sense.
But it does make sense if said being was absent (at least) and people were perpetuating a notion that seemed to work... once... and still does, in a way... perpetuating the notion of the absent being.
And which better way than to indoctrinate children? https://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/ages.htm

Kirk said it well.... "What does God need with a starship?"
What does God need with you believers trying to convince others to believe in the same thing? Can't he do it himself?
If He doesn't do it himself, why do you impose yourselves over His apparent desire not to impose?