Did Jesus Christ really live and is the Bible historical or just a romance?

Question

Did Jesus Christ really live and is the Bible historical or just a romance?

I just read a remarkable essay that will be of great interest to you whether you are a Christian believer or a sceptic...I would love to hear your opinion of it if you manage to take the time to read it through..you won't be bored! "DID JESUS CHRIST REALLY LIVE" by Marshall Gauvin. see link below:

http://www.infidels.org/library/historical/marshall_gauvin/did_jesus_really_live.html

That's great but I'd like to know if it you see this essay as a reasonably neutral or biassed view of the Bible & Jesus, if you'd read it.

I'm disappointed at the large numbers of Christians who answered here without even nreading the essay I wanted their opinion on. It makes it plain to me that faith is so much wishful thinking that even to read a page of scholarly investigation into the basis of those Christian beliefs is too much effort...or too frightening? How shallow and weak is a faith that cannot even consider a critical look at that faith, only by looking at an issue from every possible vantage point can any real understanding be gained about it's truth...I'm disappointed in you.

Answer 1

wow what an article i was going to answer you differently before i read it...i was going to say YES Christ lived but that the bible is a book written many years after the events it described happened and edited many many times to say what it does today (as i have said many times on here) but now my answer is maybe he lived that is of course just the writings of one man and his opinions and interpretations of event but still the existence of Jesus Christ of the bible is rather suspect very good article and thank you for sharing.

Answer 2

Are you pushing your beliefs on us or are you actually, honestly wanting a real answer?

Look, there is very little information about the historical Jesus.
We know he was Jewish and a firm believer in Torah.
Nearly all of his teachings were from the Torah (the so-called "Old Testament").

He didn't eat pork or shellfish and he worshiped in the synagogue during Shabbat (from sundown Friday night until sundown Saturday night), to name just a few of the 613 mitzvot (commandments - see link).

We also know that the entire text of the New Testament was written years (decades, in some cases) long after Jesus died.
His words were dictated orally and once written, the language changed from Aramaic to Greek to countless other languages.
The interpretations and meanings of these original words have changed and leaves the reader with a multitude of questions.

So, now that I've taken up sufficient space to address your first question, I hope you'll do some serious soul searching and ask yourself: "Did Jesus really mean to start a new religion or was he just trying to get people to understand Judaism in a new way?"

Answer 3

I'm at work, so I don't have time to read the link, tho I will later. There was an Italian fellow that sued a Priest and the Catholic Church for fraud. He said that Jesus wasn't real and that all the teachings were actually the work of someone else. His suit was thrown out, but he plans to refile it as an International Issue. I hope to hear more about it soon.

Now don't forget: The Council of Nicea picked the canon books for the Bible in 323 AD. Gnostics still had other books (where the Jesus in Hell story can be found with some other really good books). Catholics write their doctrines. Protestants revise in their own way. King James is the common version considered 'true', but even it was edited.........

Answer 4

I'll read through the essay later, but I think it's useful to ask two key questions regarding this topic:

1. What do we really KNOW about Jesus. Not just guesses and opinions, but real knowledge extracated from the legendary Jesus of the Bible.

2. What evidence is there that is inconsistent with the premise "Jesus is a purely mythical character".

From what I've been able to gather, the answer to (1) is "nothing", and the answet to (2) is also "nothing". Because of this, I judge that he is likely a purely mythical character, but might possibly be somehow intertwined with a real person of which no trace remains (sort of like Santa if we didn't know the origin of the myth).

Answer 5

Earth, let's just state something up front:

The fact that people haven't bothered to read your assigned essay doesn't necessarily follow from the fact that their faith is "wishful thinking," and "so shallow and weak" and unwilling to look at an issue from every possible vantage point and yada yada yada.

Yes, it CAN mean that to some extent. Certainly some people be frightened to explore other viewpoints, can be narrow-minded or assuming, and so forth. It happens. We see it in many areas of life.

But why don't you use your good mind for a minute to put yourself in someone else's shoes and try to imagine some GOOD reasons why people might not be interested in reading a book assignment given to them by someone they don't even know?

1. They've got many things in life on a daily basis to do besides read book assignments given to them by guys they don't know.

2. The assignment is not a quick one.

3. It's written in a prose/style that for some is hard to follow, rather than something in their own vernacular. [After all, it was written in 1875 -- ten years after the Civil War -- and originally published anonymously.]

4. Not everyone is an intellectual and absorbs this stuff quickly, or has the ability to discern what they're reading without lots of outside advice.

5. The guy who is assigning it obviously has a particular point of view (i.e., is not unbiased himself), judges them when they don't comply with his demands, and they simply don't trust him.

6. There's no way on earth that everyone can read everything in the field of faith and be able to comment intelligently on it -- we simply do not have the time or brainpower or lifespan to do such. Instead, realistically, people read what they can, determine which people are "authorities" or are responsible enough to trust, and then live their lives as best as they can.

I'm not saying this as a justification for me, simply for all the people here who you see to be busting on for not being as well-read in your narrow selection of titles, but yeah, sure, I fall into the same boat as well:

Personally, I've got a full-time job, three kids and a wife to spend time with, numerous "daily maintenance" issues to deal with, private projects of my own, and a stack of books a mile high that are on my reading list ahead of Gauvin -- who from what little I have seen doesn't really impress me as someone worth reading.

There is not enough time or mental energy in the world to read everything, as much as I hate it -- and at best, I'd have to be a full-time religious student or apologist, sure, and then maybe I'd read him in greater detail just to understand why you bother to reference him.

In any case, to drive my point home :), I just read a remarkable essay that will be of great interest to you whether you are a Christian believer or a sceptic...I would love to hear your opinion of it if you manage to take the time to read it through..you won't be bored! "Did Jesus Christ Really Live? Annotated and Corrected." by JP Holding:

http://www.tektonics.org/gk/gauvin01.html

If you don't bother, I shall probably have to respond with something like, "I'm disappointed at the large numbers of sceptics who did not read the essay I wanted their opinion on. It makes it plain to me that their faithlessness is so much wishful thinking that even to read a page of scholarly investigation into the basis of those non-Christian beliefs is too much effort...or too frightening? How shallow and weak is a faithlessness that cannot even consider a critical look at itself, only by looking at an issue from every possible vantage point can any real understanding be gained about it's truth...I'm disappointed in you."

Hmm. Doesn't sound fair when I say it, does it?

Doesn't sound very fair when you say it either.

So why don't we cut each other a break and lay off the invective for a bit?

Answer 6

Obviously he lives ! Don't be misled by what people writes. Bear in mind, people writes to make a living. Money is the roots to all evil. Have an open mind with whatever you are reading. It is always good to read as much as you can. Then you have to connect to your higherself for a better understanding. This book:
The Hiram Key, is an interesting book too. You can get it from your local library. Enjoy it.

Answer 7

I agree with tsbr. Historically, there is too much evidence of Jesus' existance for us to say that he never existed.

But to say that he was the son of God? I don't know if I believe that.... like tsbr said, he made an impression on millions of people, but there were others who also did great things throughout history.

Answer 8

Yup, too many references to him in too many books (including the Koran) for have him not to have lived. The essay you refer to is weak.

HOWEVER- just cause a guy named Jesus lived a few thousand years ago does not lead me to believe he was a divine person. Evidently there was a guy named Jesus who made quite an impression on a number of people....but, there are always people who make strong impressions on people...and there will be forever. Mother Teresa, Ghandi, Bill Gates, Abraham Lincoln, etc. I am not ready to grant any of them some sort of divinity though.

Answer 9

There is historical evidence that a man bearing the name Jesus lived, but as for the Bibles tall tales of him as the son of God is hotly disputed. He was said to be a prophet and mortal man, but the historical references to this were destroyed or hidden in the time of Constantine in a politically driven move to put the catholic church in a higher power. They created the myth of him as the son of god and created the bible that we know of today.

Answer 10

YES, Jesus Christ really lived and the Holy Bible is a Historical record of the people who lived back there
in the bibical era!!!