Was Jesus a real person?

There is significant debate still going on about whether or not Jesus really existed. The debate is far more vigerous than say whether or not evolution is real.

That said, the "Jesus never existed" camp is relatively small primarily because their best argument (so little independent information about him) doesn't prove anything.

A far more solid position is that there was a guy named Jesus who walked around modern Israel 2000 years ago but almost everything we "know" about him is more myth (as in a narrative story) than historical fact. It's perfectly possible (and arguably quite probable) that the NT stories about Jesus are based on a real person who didn't do 95% of what is attributed to him. You could then argue that although a Jesus esisted, he wasn't who most think he was and thus in a way the traditional Jesus never really existed.

Kind of like Saint Nicolas/Santa Claus or _____/Robin Hood.