Atheists: Was Jesus an honest, sincere and loving man whose death was exploited by those he left behind?

Question

I find if I take away the intolerant 'quotes' that suggest his divinity and just focus on the rest of the things he said, Jesus was a wise and loving man trying to help people treat each other better.

Is it not possible that this is who he was, and the claims to divinity were inserted by others later as a means of exploiting the legacy Jesus left behind?

Wouldn't be the first time people have put words in the mouth of a dead man to exploit his fame for their own purposes.

Answer 1

Matthew chapter sixteen is mostly a late fake, third or fourth century.

That is just the tip of the iceberg.

Hundreds of Gospels still exist that weren't included in the Bible.

All of it, including the Big Four, is first and second century political propaganda.

It's not like there was nothing else going on in Judea. The were engaged in a rebellion against the Romans, and often against each other. The stories were modified and recycled as propaganda tools after the Temple was destroyed and the Jews were evicted from the region, mostly to continue the rebellion.

Answer 2

I get what you are thinking. INteresting isn't it that he wouldn't profess to being the son of god when death was looming over his head , yet he called himself the son of man.


Yes. I find no reason to deny Jesus, nor more than I do Buddah or John Lennon.

Anyone in history who told us to give peace a chance.

Humans do have a tendency to exploit the dead for their own purposes. It's all through history.

Answer 3

I am not an atheist, but why would anyone have any interest or strong feelings about him if he was merely those things?

I think he is either divine or he's a raving lunatic.

I don't really think there's an in-between. An "honest, sincere man" wouldn't say he was God if he wasn't.

Answer 4

I think that you might agree with the late John Lennon who said, "people fall head over heels for the teacher and miss the message."

I agree with the both of you. People take the easy way and believe in the supernatural aspects and then believe that their soul is saved. If he actually taught those things concerning the treatment of the least of thy brethren, I don't think he was so concerned as to our belief in his divinity.

Answer 5

Thomas Jefferson believed the same thing which is how he came to create The Jefferson Bible.

I think Jesus was a well known wise-man of his time period who was probably radical enough to piss off the mainstream so they felt the need to get rid of him. In order to solidify a new religion, they needed a martyr and had one ready made and then put him on a pedestal.

Answer 6

This is obviously written by someone who has never felt the kind of peace only to be gotten from having a personal relationship with Jesus. I know that there is a "higher power", and that Jesus was/is the Son of God not only because of the Bible, but also because of the feeling I've had since I became a christian. I challenge anyone who believes that Jesus was not divine, to ask him to reveal himself to them, and see if their mind is not changed.

Answer 7

I think Jesus, if he existed, exploited an existing prophecy of a messiah. He and his followers set up all the signs just right so it would seem that HE was that messiah.

But he was just a guy.

Answer 8

He was a Jew who cared about other Jews. When these ancient clowns said "Thou shall not kill" they meant thou shall not kill...other Jews. He would laugh at the thought of "salvation" (whatever that means) for Gentiles.

Answer 9

Same thing could be said about Muhammad, you know.

Answer 10

cause of his virtual upbringing, he was only another symbol of a religious faction with strings attached, no more, no less, ...