Serious Question for Atheists?

Question

I know you don't believe in God but do you believe that there was a man named Jesus and he told people he was the son of God and he was somewhat like the modern day prophets? Or do you think that is just another fictional chapter in the bible?

Red Queen I asked Atheists the question.

wartytoadjody
Thanks for side stepping the question just to tell us you believe in God.

Answer 1

I've gone back n forth on this one and studied it a lot, from both sides of the aisle. I think the best I can come up with is that yes there was a man who existed and had a minor following. You asked specifically about "son of god" - I suspect he emphasized "we are all children of god" and the idea of "one n only son of god" came about after his death. I do think he said enough stuff that ticked off the "establishment religion" of his day.

Answer 2

I don't believe the stories that are in the bible really happened and the Jesus story is one of them. I think some aspects of the story it's possible that something similiar could have happened at some point in history, but I don't think it's a fictionalised version of the truth or anything. I don't think Jesus himself was real. I think it's a story that was made up by either the people who wrote the bible or the people who edited the bible.
I think it's feasible that there have been lunatics who thought they were the son of god or a prophet and some people believed them. Or people who said they were just to manipulate others. Pretty much like most cults today. And get on a train if you want to see crazy people who think god has chosen them.
It's also possible that there have been people that were kind or spent a lot of their life helping people or supporting a cause and some tried to make them into something they weren't. Probably to suit a political agenda or because people were desperate for someone to give them hope.
So no I don't think a man named Jesus really existed.

Answer 3

Much to my shock a little more than a year ago, i discovered that there is NO reliable evidence that Jesus was a historical person. The gospels are all biased hearsay, many times removed, conflated from oral accounts. The stories they tell are a combination of midrashed Jewish scripture and pagan myths, and cannot be reconciled with contemporary historical writings. The NT letters don't say anything about the life or teachings of Jesus. The Josephus testimonials are transparent forgeries, and all other 1st century accounts speak of "Christians," not of "Jesus." There are NO contemporary reports of any kind about Jesus or his movement--rather strange if the stories in the gospels are accurate..

Heck, historians and archeologists cannot even verify that the town of Nazareth even existed during the 1st century.

The historical existence of Jesus appears to have been just taken for granted all this time. Nobody bothered to check until recently!

Due to the overwhelming lack of evidence, i find no reason to believe that Jesus ever existed as a historical figure. There are ways to explain the phenomenon of Christianity without a historical Jesus. But i'm still open to the possibility that he did exist.

What i tell Christians is that belief in Jesus's historical existance is a matter of faith.

Answer 4

I think its difficult to prove or disprove either way based on evidence or lack of evidence. Aside from the Bible there are very few mentions of any such person in historical texts. Of the handful that exists many scholars have found them to unreliable and in some cases obviously edited. The one that seems most reliable is by Josephus, who mentions he heard of a person Christ from the followers of Christ. This is merely hearsay.

I do tend to think there was a person though. It just seems likely there was an individual who was crucified as many were back then. This person then made a good martyr for the early faith and the legends were tacked onto the historical figure. How much of what we get in the Bible about is fact vs. fiction I don't know. I read "The Incredible Shrinking Son of Man" by Robert Price and "The Jesus Puzzle" by Earl Doherty. They really put out a fairly good case that the integrity of the Bible leaves room for doubts.

So I am content to say I lean toward a real person who was Jesus but there is room for doubt.

Answer 5

From another Atheist:

I have never questioned that a man named Jesus lived 2000 years ago, historical documents are well known to demonstrate his existence. Obviously he did preach and claim to be some deity that people now worship in many and sundry ways; certainly peoples' perogatives to believe as they wish. I do suspect that in a few hundred more years religion as a whole will be much less influencial in modern society, much as is happening in Europe. I also suspect that the current rise in antgonism between religions and those who do not practice religion will result in the near future in much more mass tragedy, as people try and force their beliefs on others who do not share them. Sad commentary on the overall state of mankind, we are at a crossroads between acheiving technological and mental greatness and reverting back a few hundred years, much like what happened in the Dark Ages as the Catholic Church rose to power.

Answer 6

I'm not an atheist, but I believe that Jesus most likely existed, that he was a devout and inspired Essene rabbi who taught many truths (similar to truths found in Buddhist teachings). Judging from the way Christianity was created 30-70 years after his demise, I don't believe Jesus ever claimed to be the son of God, or the messiah -- I believe his followers (particularly Paul, who never met him and disagreed with James, a brother of Jesus) gave Jesus a makeover, using him as a cover boy for a new religion.

Answer 7

There seems to be evidence that Jesus did exist, whether he told people that he was the Son of God or if that was a later addition is still up in the air. Even if he did exist, there is no proof or indication that he was the Christ. For example the Babylonian Talmud records that his execution was announced for 40 days and no one came forward to speak for him. We do not find in the same source or any other of the time record of the temple curtain being ripped in any manner. There is the problem with Jesus's genealogies which not only don't match each other in the number of generations but neither place Jesus in the royal line, royal blood, but not even close to the royal linage -- oh and neither mentions Mary either. We could go on with the lack of independent documentation close to the time of Christ. All of the writers that most christian reference wrote, at best, 140+ years later.

Answer 8

Even though there is no conclusive evidence that an historical Jesus ever existed, I believe it is likely that such a man did exist. Like Thomas Jefferson, however, I believe that he was a man, not a divine being, and never considered himself divine; his followers embellished his life story after his death. My guess is that he was a revolutionary thinker who wanted to reform Judaism but never claimed to be God or the "only begotten" Son of God, claims he would have considered shockingly blasphemous.

And like Red Queen, I have nothing but respect for many of the teachings attributed to him.

Answer 9

It is probable that there was a Rabbi named Jesus. It is by no means a sure thing. There is not too much documentation outside the Bible and NO firsthand accounts.

He was not the Son of God, just a man. I haven't the slightest idea rather he told his followers that he was, or not. The Bible was actually written down several generations after the fact, so it is impossible to tell what the original story was. Religious zealots like the guys that wrote it really are not a great source.

Answer 10

I think there may have been a man Jesus who lived and was a pretty progressive thinker for his culture. He may have gotten into trouble with the religious and political leaders of his time for speaking out, like many, many others at that time and he may have gotten strung up like many others of his time.

The Romans weren't shy about crucifying anyone.

Afterwards there were rumors of resurrection, which was no doubt a common rumor for may of the groups who had "messiah's" who were crucified.

The only reason this group got big was political reasons in the third century.

Since the accounts of this man weren't written until decades after the events, the disticnt possibility of "embelishment" of events exists.

Answer 11

I was under the impression it was well established that Jesus' was a real person. The accounts of his life in the Gospels are highly embellished but not untrue.
Based on my understanding he was remarkable and innovative but not the son of god and far from a perfect person.