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I have been an atheist for several years but have had problems knowing what to make of the Jesus character everybody seems to like. I am wondering what others of the same ilk think about him and how most of the Western world belives he is the son of god

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It's important to realize that there is often a disconnect between the Jesus of the Gospels, the "historical" Jesus, and the Jesus of "Jesus is Love" (i.e. the soft Christianity held by so many nice non-fundamental Christians).

I guess you could say:

Jesus is what you want him to be.

Therein lies his appeal.