Did Jesus Exist? (TTA Podcast Thread)

[Joel]

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/thethinking...rd-carrier

What do you all think? Do you completely disbelieve his existence?
Or do you believe he was real, but not the son of God?

[Something completely different]

I dont even care.

Why???


He isnt relevant to my life nore does he deliver anything that could be relevant in todays sociaty in any way.

[Joel]

I agree that he isn't relevant, but I care in a sense, because it's a widely debated subject - it would be interesting to know whether or not he was actually a real person.

[Minimalist]

He certainly did not exist as jesus freaks imagine him to be.

And...anything less than a resurrected miracle worker means that for all intents and purposes he did not exist at all.

Sucks to be them.

[CapnAwesome]

It's kind of funny that people debate his existence. For example Bart Ehrman claims he exists, but did no miracles, preached different things, wasn't resurrected. At what point is something so loosely based on the narrative of an actual person that it becomes entirely fictional?

If you discount the miracles and supernatural then the question becomes: Was Jesus an entirely fictional person or a highly fictionalized version of a real person? You can see why I cease to give two shits.

[Tonus]

These are the same people who think suffering shows that god is good. We're not talking intellectual titans, here.

[Justtristo]

"Sophisticated" Christian Apologists will readily admit that the other gods were just myths, as opposed to just demons (which is the view of the New Testament writers). Arguing for the historicity of the Gospels is a key part of their apologetics. Admit to the public that you believe these other "gods" do exist, however they are demons is rightfully seen as sane people as tin foil hat nuttery.

Therefore I have concluded if you can argue convicting that the Gospels and the Jesus portrayed in them are myth like what these apologists claim of other gods such as Mithras and Attis. Then you have delivered a major defeat to their Apologetic strategy. I do believe that these apologists know that the Christ Myth Hypothesis is a major threat and therefore dismiss by saying things like denying the historicity of Jesus is akind to holocaust denial (Michael Licona said exactly that).

I personally believe if there was a historical character behind the Jesus of the Gospels, we know virtually nothing about him. Because everything in the Gospels has been borrowed from the Old Testament, Hellenistic literature and the other Dying and Rising God and Mystery cults.