Does anyone think that there wasn't a man we now know as Jesus?

Question

You don't have to think of him as a God, or the Son of God, or a prophet......or maybe at least a rabbi, or carpenter....just was there a man we now call Jesus Christ in your opinion.

Feel free to keep your love/hate for Jesus brief, cheers.

Quoting historian's heresay isn't proof.

Answer 1

On balance, I would guess that there was a Jesus, based on available evidence. It's easier, I think, to imagine a situation where there was a person around which all this mythological stuff circled.

Unorthodox Galilean itinerant preacher, killed for sedition against Rome? Sounds plausible, and it would explain the rest of the stuff that got tacked on later.

The more I read Josephus, the more I think his comments on Jesus were added on or edited heavily at a much later date. It sounds pretty casual for a Jew who said that Jesus was the Messiah, as well as sounding very like the common Christian language to praise Jesus.

Answer 2

In the gospels, particularly Mark, Jesus often does a curious thing, ordering his disciples NOT to speak about a miracle he has just performed. Scholars call this the "Messianic secret". No explanation is ever given, and it is certainly revealed in the gospel itself. It is doubtful Jesus was being humble since it would only serve to make his message more obscure. But it would serve as an explanation if the people being evangelized were wondering why they had never heard of Jesus before.

It is possible that the Jesus movement was an artificial construction, made up as a synthesis of Jewish messianism and pagan mystery cults, initially preached as a simple message of transcendence using "Christ's" death and resurrection as a symbol. As questions arose, the story would be expanded and embellished into the gospels, to the point that the story of Jesus finally became real enough for literalists to take over the religion.

Or he could have been real, the human basis for the legend, or even the genuine article. I really don't know.

Answer 3

How do we know Jesus existed? We cannot know for sure. But there is a reasonable amount of evidence to suggest that he did, at least as a man. Some of the gospels are written as early as 70 CE. that's only 40 years.

In my opinion, there had to be at least a normal guy named Jesus.

edit: three were a few ppl in the bible mentioned that we didn't know existed until relatively recently, like Pilate. So if Pilate, a Roman official could have evaded history's eyes, then it stands to reason some poor carpenter could too.

Answer 4

The Jewish historian Josephus wrote of Jesus, not from a religious nor a follower point of view, but pretty much as reporter would write a news story today. And many of the things that listed in the Bible was accredited to Him as miracles, and also is much recorded about Him by the record keepers of the Emperor Augustus Caesar. Again not written from a religious point of view but was written as an observer to a man that no one knew what to make of Him. So yes, He eixsted and still exist and is who He say He is.

Answer 5

Jesus is a real historical person. Given the evidence, there is no way to get around that fact.

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Historicity of Jesus
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia



This article is about the veracity of Jesus' existence. For historical reconstructions of Jesus, see Historical Jesus.
For detailed mythicist views, see Jesus as myth.
The historicity of Jesus concerns the historical authenticity of Jesus of Nazareth. Scholars draw a distinction between Jesus as reconstructed through historical methods and the Christ of faith as understood through theological tradition. The historical figure of Jesus is of central importance to many religions, but especially Christianity and Islam, in which the historical details of Jesus’ life are essential.

Most scholars in the fields of biblical studies and history agree that Jesus was a Jewish teacher from Galilee who was regarded as a healer, was baptized by John the Baptist, was accused of sedition against the Roman Empire, and on the orders of Roman Governor Pontius Pilate was sentenced to death by crucifixion.[1] A small minority [2]argue that Jesus never existed as a historical figure, but merely as a metaphorical or mythical figure syncretized from various non-Abrahamic deities and heroes.[3]

The four canonical Gospels and the writings of Paul of the New Testament are among the earliest known documents relating to Jesus' life. Some scholars also hypothesize the existence of early texts such as the Signs Gospel and the Q document. There are arguments that the Gospel of Thomas is likewise an early text. Many later texts provide valuable historical information as well.

Scholarly opinions on the historicity of the New Testament accounts are diverse. They range from the view that they are inerrant descriptions of the life of Jesus,[4] to the view that they provide no historical information about his life.[5] As with all historical sources, scholars ask: to what extent did the authors' motivations shape the texts, what sources were available to them, how soon after the events described did they write, and whether or not these factors lead to inaccuracies such as exaggerations or inventions.

Answer 6

I don't think there was an actual person walking around named Jesus . I think he is a mythical legendary character, like William Tell or King Arthur. The legends were no doubt based on some wandering philosopher mystics, of which there were many, in Palestine. The religion of Christianity was cobbled together from various pagan beliefs and eventually a new canon with a new god was created.

If there was an actual living breathing "Jesus", he was just a man whom I neither love nor hate.

Answer 7

I think that there were lots of guys with the name of Jesus; it was a popular name at the time of the myth creation. One of those guys named Jesus might have been a carpenter, it was a common trade. Do I believe his mom was a virgin? Not a chance. Do I believe that Jesus had sex with his mom to beget himself but he actually existed before Mary had him and so was the holy ghost around too like three pees in a pod. Is that notion ever stupid, irrational, illogical.
As an atheist, Mohamed makes sense. He dreamed up all his stuff as a reaction to a Christian religion that turned from monotheism to polytheism to help Emperor Constantine consolidate his power by peddling a more palatable religion that simple monotheism.
I don't hate Jesus, he probably did nice carpentry work and had a happy family with an average number of kids.
I fear his fan club, a nasty violent lot.

Answer 8

Yes,it's a fact that Jesus existed.

"3.3 Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day."
~Josephus

"Nero fastened the guilt [of starting the blaze] and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius [14-37] at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular"
~Tacitus

Answer 9

Must have have existed, otherwise it wont have lasted till this day, there must have been and is somethign speacial about Jesus, something MUST have happend during that time to make it big as it is now, if there were other people running around claiming to be the messiah then y just Jesus around and not the others, if this was small thing then it wud not even existed a decade affter the Jesus's time.

Answer 10

A man possible, son of god no, there has to be a god for that. If he existed he was cult leader like Jimmy Jones, Sun Young Moon, or David Koresh ( not sure of the spelling for him) . False miracles, paid off the Romans and faked a death on the cross. Might have worked with the Romans to solve the Jewish problem.