Athiests and Agnostics: Do you believe in Caesar, Henry V or Charlemagne?

Question

We only have paintings, statues or sculptures of these people. Their words are mostly reported and written down by others. Not a person living can say they met these men. Yet we believe in their existance and agruements only arise about historical issues.

The same be said for Christ. We do have His words in the Bible. A book about Caesar is just as much just a book as is the Bible. We have paintings, sculptures and statures of Christ. Same for Caesar.

So if you can believe in the men in the question why can you not believe in Christ?

Most of you cannot answer a question without insult. As for my historical knowledge, it is vast. That means reading a lot of books and not taking my history from TV or movies. I am also well read in the Bible.
Evedently some of you don't do the same, per Santa. Of course he is not real - he comes from a real person though:
http://www.the-north-pole.com/history/
Every aspect of Christmas has roots in history. If you care to learn.....

I know that Christ is a figure centered in faith, I was just asking a question that I thought most adults could respond to politely. Thank you for correcting me on that one.

Answer 1

Even if there were many books which speak of the life of Jesus (which there are not, you know) it would simply prove that a man named Jesus once lived in the middle east. It would in no way prove he was God.

If you found a book purporting that King James was God, would you believe it simply because it was written?

Answer 2

I'm afraid your presupposition is erroneous. There is ample evidence that Julius Caesar, King Henry V and Charlemagne existed. There is far more information about these persons than simply 'paintings' and 'books about them'. There are documents from their time period which confirm their identities, there are minted coins with their images on them. There are corroborating testimonial documents which completely confirm their existence.

Unlike the character of Jesus. His life so strongly resembles mythological characters which preceded him as to make him seem like a product of the imagination. There isn't a single word written about him from the time he was supposedly alive. Despite the fact that he was supposedly wandering around performing numerous miracles. There is no record of his execution, despite the fact that the Romans were meticulous record keepers. But the most damning of all is that the gospels, which are said to be an account of his life, which disagree with one another on several points, were not even written until some 50 to 80 years after he supposedly died. By persons who were supposedly his disciples. How dedicated were his disciples if they couldn't even bother to write this guy's story down until he'd been dead for over half a century? Also not a single credible document corroborates anything that is written in the gospels.

So go back to school and learn a little bit about the difference between history and mythology.

Answer 3

Most atheists I know believe there was a Jesus Christ. The matter of belief is that his works have no physical evidence remaining other than the Bible, whereas former rulers have blood lineages, the results of former empires, records of wars, and even personal artifacts remaining.

I have met very, very few people that believe Jesus of Nazareth was not a real person. The questions have only been regarding his actions, deeds, and nature where no evidence beyond words and beliefs remain.

The very nature of Christianity as a religion of faith would suggest that this is not necessarily a bad thing, that to prove Jesus scientifically removes the element of faith.

Answer 4

I can believe that a man named Jesus lived. The evidence of it is a bit shaky, really, but not entirely unbelievable. None of the contemporary writers outside his small circle of believers, whereas a great many documents mention Caesar, Henry V and Charlemagne. I am willing to stipulate that a man named Jesus existed in Judeah in the period around the 1st Century CE.

So?

Answer 5

Sure, but there is way, way, way more documentation for them than Christ. There are no outside sources that are eyewitness accounts of Christ at all. The Bible authors don't even identify themselves. No outside accounts period till about 70 years later and that was a couple of minor mentions. All three of the other figure have stacks of documentation.

None of your paintings was from anywhere close to the time, nor were they from someone that saw the person. The same is not true of the others.

But hey I think the odds are there was a person with that name. He wasn't the son of God though.

Answer 6

Caesar posed for busts and statues. We know what he looked like. All imagery of Jesus is speculation only.

Caesar wrote several books about the Gallic Wars. They can be checked out from any library. Jesus wrote nothing.

Caesar met many other easily verifiable people and even had children with Cleopatra. Jesus was virgin myth from beginning to end.

Many learned men who were contemporaries of Caesar wrote of him, and even more after his death. His adopted son became the leader of Rome. Jesus is known only through Paul, who admits to never meeting him, and some fictitious biographies, the majority of which were too ridiculous to be included in the Canon of the Bible, and all of which are filled with nonsensical supernatural stories and little else.

I could go on, but I see no need.

Answer 7

We have many many sources for the existence of these men, not just one. There is no question that a man named Jesus lived but what we take issue with is his claim of divinity. I believe there was a Jesus, just not a Christ.

Answer 8

There is corroborating evidence of Caesar's life, from multiple literary sources written during his life. We have works written by him, too. The statues of him were commissioned during his life.

All of the writings about Jesus were written after his death, by people who were born after his death. We don't have anything written directly by Jesus; we don't have anything written about Jesus by anyone alive during Jesus' time. And all of those paintings and sculptures? All done way after the death of Jesus.

Besides, no one is trying to kill each other for whether or not Caesar was an emperor in Rome.

Answer 9

Let's break down your question, shall we?

"If you believe that human beings lived before you were born, why can't you believe in an invisible man in the sky whose omnipotence is only equaled by Christians' ability to justify ignoring inconvenient parts of the bible?"

How about this paraphrase:

"If you have a picture of your great-grandfather who you never met, how can you not believe in Santa Clause when he stands on the street corner ringing a bell every December?"

If this is what passes as Christian logic, it's not surprising we haven't cured cancer yet.

Answer 10

1. they aren't fictional people.

2. i don't think any of them are gods, even though many kings and Roman Emperors stated they were.

their claims are no more valid than jesus' is. they are all dead. so is jesus.

get over it!

also -- take note. many many many people who lived at the same time as these other REAL hsitorical figures wrote about them. eyewitness accounts. jesus was said to have moved a lot of people, really shook things up. funny, nobody living at the same time ever wrote about him or painted pictures of him. all the writing occurred long after his death. Oops.