Did Jesus exist at all?

[Cyberman]

Nah, pretty sure little African kids haven't done anything to deserve the painful death by malaria.

 I didn't say they did Mr. Word Twister. You knew what I meant ans if you didn't what in the world are you doing barging into my replies.

GC

You don't get to decide who can participate in a thread nor how they choose to do it. That's our job.

[Minimalist]

 You've demonstrated you can only parrot what others say and you're like most here you apply Catholic beliefs to all Christians, please study a bit and bring something new, it's tiring to read the same old things said over and over and over. 

Welcome to the forum,

GC

Irony is completely lost on you, isn't it G-C?

[Wyrd of Gawd]

There is no physical or historical evidence to suggest that he existed, but this is not the problem. 

There is no evidence nor logical reason to believe that he was born of a virgin, died for our sins, resurrected 3 days later and watches over us judging our every action and thought. There is no explainable reason why metaphorically eating his flesh and drinking his blood every Sunday brings you closer to him. If you had never heard the story of Abraham or Jesus and someone you met told you that this is what they believed you would sincerely think that they were mentally ill. 

There is no evidence...at all...apart from a few miracle slices of toast but I don't find that conclusive. 

Superstition and stupidity to continue to prevail. 

I'm ashamed to live in a world where we can put a man on the moon (cue debate) and still have people that believe in talking snakes.  
I'm embarrassed that over half the human population believe in a God that is all knowing and all powerful yet watches over the cruelties of our world with no interest. A deity that has the ability to create the entire universe and all its complexities but somehow has the time to police wether you eat bacon or not. 

Sigh.

People love stories.  A good story teller can convince just about anyone of anything by telling a good story.  The story is seldom true and the listener usually knows that but he wants to believe that it's true.  So the listener convinces himself that the lie is the truth because the lie makes him feel good. 

Cleverly crafted stories can inspire and give people hope and a sense of belonging.  Religious stories have perfected the formula.  Paul said that if the dead do not rise then people's hopes are in vain.  How many dead people have you seen walking around during your lifetime?

Even the Bible says that stories in the Bible are just make believe and were created for entertainment.  But people want them to be true so they believe the lies.

[energizer bunny]

I wouldn't know as i wasn't around at that time. I do believe such a person existed. They just made him into some mythical creature with super powers in hopes to gain followers. I can see Jesus now walking into a church, confused. Thinking "what the hell is this rubbish, i've never done that."

[robvalue]

That's the whole problem with "historical Jesus" in a nutshell.

"Such a person" certainly did exist; in fact there were probably thousands of the bastards. Even if the tale was intended to be based around a particular one, through the Chinese whisper mill and other edits, the chances it hasn't picked up elements of anyone else along the way seem very slim (to me). And at that point it's pretty irrelevant who it was originally meant to be, given how terrible the accuracy is likely to be anyway.

The gospel authors were probably not eye witnesses, and so even if they intended the tale to be about one specific person, they didn't have any strong evidence it actually was about just one; or even that the character ever existed at all. They were going off of stinky rumours.

[Wyrd of Gawd]

From a practical matter it doesn't matter if the character existed or not. The believers want him to have existed and they base some of their actions on that wish. There is no celestial deity as described in any of the various religious fairy tales in this solar system. They are all imaginary. Even so it gives the various believers some measure of comfort to think that such beings should exist and give a rat's ass about their welfare in a cruel world. The better the story the stronger and more popular the belief.

[Godscreated]

 I didn't say they did Mr. Word Twister. You knew what I meant ans if you didn't what in the world are you doing barging into my replies.

GC

You don't get to decide who can participate in a thread nor how they choose to do it. That's our job.

I asked a question,  you should learn to differentiate between a question and a demand.

GC

[Cyberman]

The point still stands. You should learn what Romans 13:1 says.

[Godscreated]

The point still stands. You should learn what Romans 13:1 says.

 God's not going to place people here in positions of authority, Satan might though.

GC

[Cyberman]

That's not what your special magic book says, now is it?