JESUS <3

[Edwardo Piet]

The Jesus described in the Bible didn't exist because the Jesus described in the Bible performed miracles. So I voted, no he wasn't real.

I am not even entirely sure whether he himself existed but from what I know about Mithras: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSm7YPMQOSo - he may have been a folk legend that was based on someone else in history who perhaps did exist.

[Minimalist]

I'd like to understand what the basis of so many posts here are claiming that Jesus past existence is an unlikelihood.

Jesus exists nowhere except in the pious prattle of believers who, judging from the multiplicity of early sects, could not even agree on what they believed in.  To make matters worse we know that this pious prattle was extensively edited by later writers in a need to make it conform to what turned out to be the winning formula.

No Greco-Roman writer so much as mentions the name "jesus" until the late 2d century.  A number of Greco-Roman writers mention "Christus" but it seems they might have been talking about "Chrestus" until some helpful xtian scribes gave them some help with their spelling.

Read "On the Historicity of Jesus" by Richard Carrier.  Modern scholarship with out the pious blather. 

P.S.  Mohammed has the same problem.

[Homeless Nutter]

The Jesus described in the Bible didn't exist because the Jesus described in the Bible performed miracles. So I voted, no he wasn't real.

I am not even entirely sure whether he himself existed but from what I know about Mithras: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MSm7YPMQOSo - he may have been a folk legend that was based on someone else in history who perhaps did exist.

Well - the Mithras story is not really as clear-cut as QI presented it. That particular view seems to have been popularized by that "Zeitgeist" movie some 10 years ago, which was basically a load of ideologically motivated crap. 

While the name of Mithras was most likely taken from Persian mythology, the cult of Mithras, that was a contemporary of early Christianity - had little to do with the original Persian myths, which in turn don't really resemble the Christian ones. Therefore it's not clear who influenced whom.

Of course - cults and sects were common in Middle East 2000 years ago and Christians have had a lot of time and opportunity to slaughter the majority of competing cults as well as destroy whatever evidence there might have been of their having been plagiarised.

Still - the Mithras example is not particularly convincing.

[Edwardo Piet]

Glad to know that, but it's an example of the sort of thing that does happen. Stories get copied over the centuries . I mean look at how in Ancient history the Greeks copied the Minoans and then the Romans copied the Greeks

[Minimalist]

The Zeitgeist stuff seems to be drawn from Kersey Graves' 1875 work on Sixteen Crucified Savior Gods.  Seeing as how Franz Cumont, the scholar who did the first really serious work on Mithraism in the Roman Empire, was a mere boy at the time and did not publish until the early 20th century it is hard to know what value Graves' sources might have been.  The Roman Mithraic cult morphed into the Cult of Sol Invictus (the All-Conquering Sun) and that clay-footed xtian hero, Constantine, kept him on his coinage throughout his life.

Mithras/Sol Invictus was a true mystery cult.  They had no writings and the knowledge was passed from master to apprentice verbally.  All we can tell from excavating the various Mithraeums which have been found is that the wall paintings stress the killing of the celestial bull by Mithras.  You gotta admit....that's something.  Beats getting your fucking ass nailed to a cross.

[Homeless Nutter]

[...]All we can tell from excavating the various Mithraeums which have been found is that the wall paintings stress the killing of the celestial bull by Mithras.  You gotta admit....that's something.  Beats getting your fucking ass nailed to a cross.

Unless you're a Roman Caesar, in which case as far as role models for the unruly masses go, you can't beat the one who's only achievement - real or fictional - was getting killed by the authorities, without even putting up a fight.

[dyresand]

I mean let's look at it historically the Romans kept records so did Pilate there is no record and or note written by Pilate about jesus.
Again jesus never existed.

[Minimalist]

If that were the only problem with it it could be dismissed.  In the scope of empire the death of one criminal would have been little more than a footnote.  Pilate and his fellow prefects would have reported on important issues... not the death of some schmuck from the backwoods.

No.  What's interesting about Pilate is that later xtians tried to forge so called "Acts of Pilate" to make their boy seem important, often with hilarious results.  Even more with Pilate is the discrepancy between what Philo and Josephus wrote - where he was a rapacious prick - and the vacillating, pussy-whipped, little wimp who is intimidated by a mob of jews that the gospels liars portray.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

There was such a person... he's known as Teacher of Righteousness: http://www.shareintl.org/archives/M_emer...eacher.htm

Well, that is interesting. Jesus might have emulated him out of admiration/inspiration. Copycat mentality possibly.

There's about 7 or 9 Jesus characters in the Bible.  They are not in all versions but you can find them if you want to.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

Its always possible that Jesus or someone similar to him existed 2000 or something years ago.
Its also possible that if he existed he brought forth new ideas, some of which may of got him killed.

Name one new idea that the Jesus character expressed.