Was Jesus a real person?

[SNOWBALL138]

Its hard to believe that Josephus, and the the the authors of the gospels simply made up the existence of Jesus. Whether the stories told about him are true or not is a different question.

Around the same time, it was written that someone named Appolonius (not of Nazareth) did a lot of the same stuff that Jesus did, so both stories might have a common third origin.

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Whether the stories told about him are true or not is a different question.

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Between the gospels (Matthew, Mark , Luke and John) "there is enough of a discrepancy to show that there could have been no previous concert among them; and at the same time such substantial agreement as to show that they were all independant narrators of the same great transaction."

The writers had nothing to gain from putting this out there, but they faced persecution because of it. They seem to have written down what they saw and put it out there because they believed it.

there is also reason to believe that Jesus' biographies were reliably preserved for us to read today. This is why it is understood that Jesus was a real person and did the things that are attributed to Him.

The case for christ, written by Lee Strobel, is full of evidence supporting the belief that Jesus was a real person.
He was an atheist too.

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Between the gospels (Matthew, Mark , Luke and John) "there is enough of a discrepancy to show that there could have been no previous concert among them; and at the same time such substantial agreement as to show that they were all independant narrators of the same great transaction."

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All this means is that they drew upon the same common source material and/or oral tradition. I'm sure you could look up all the early stories about King Arthur and discover something very similar. It's important to realize that these gospels were written 30+ years after the fact. This is more than enough time for legends to grow. In fact, the oldest gospel (Mark) is the simplest and the newest (John) is the most complex. Just what you'd expect of a growing legend.

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The writers had nothing to gain from putting this out there, but they faced persecution because of it. They seem to have written down what they saw and put it out there because they believed it.

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We know they didn't write down what they saw because the gospel writers weren't witnesses. They were recording an oral tradition deacdes (up to almost a century for John) after these events were supposed to have taken place.

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The case for christ, written by Lee Strobel, is full of evidence supporting the belief that Jesus was a real person.

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Lee Strobel is one of the worst writers out there. I suggest that anyone who reads any of his books google any of the numerous rebuttals available online.
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He was an atheist too.

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Not when he wrote that book he wasn't.

[hashi92]

heres something i googled.

A second major difficulty associated with the Resurrection lies in the contradictory accounts in the four gospels of what occurred. The following represent some of the major disagreements surrounding the events connected with the Resurrection:

A. At what time in the morning did the women visit the tomb?- At the rising of the sun (Mark 16:2) vs. when it was yet dark (John 20:1)

B. Who came?- Mary Magdalene alone (John 20:1) vs. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary (Matt. 28:1) vs. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome (Mark 16:1) vs. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James and other women (Luke 24:10)

C. Was the tomb opened or closed when they arrived? - Open (Luke 24:2) vs. closed (Matt 28:1-2)

D. Whom did they see at the tomb?- The angel (Matt. 28:2) vs. a young man (Mark 16:5) vs. two men (Luke 24:4) vs. two angels (John 20:11-12)

E. Were these men or angels inside or outside the tomb? -Outside (Matt. 28.2) vs. inside (Mark 16:5, Luke 24:3-4, John 20:11-12).

F. Were they standing or sitting? - Standing (Luke 24:4) vs. sitting (Matt. 28:2, Mark 16:5, John 20:12).

G. Did Mary Magdalene know Jesus when he first appeared to her?-Yes, she did (Matt. 28:9) vs. no she did not (John 20:14)

[hashi92]

oh yeah the above was copy and pasted.
i do not take credit for writing the above.
sorry if copy and pasting offends anyone

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We have those like phil153 who say he doubts Jesus was a real person

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Here's what I said:

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I question whether he ever existed. Without the bible, there would not be enough evidence for a historian to consider him a real historical character.

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The ONLY evidence of his existence is a ancient religious text, appended to another very dubious book (Adam and the apple, people turning into pillars of salt, floods that cover the earth, etc). That's all I'm saying.

While it is unlikely, given the timeframe involved , that Jesus was totally made up, it's definitely possible.

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then we have folk of David S.’s caliber

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lol

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Use David’s theory about those smarter than you and what they think to arrive at your answer.

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There's a good chance I'm smarter than Sklansky. Does that mean I'm right?

[The Dude]

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The ONLY evidence of his existence is a ancient religious text

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This is simply untrue. Jospehus, a Jewish historian, wrote of Jesus' existence in several separate, entirely secular, documents and letters.

I am sure Jesus was a real person and I am an atheist. Yet, I would suspect that there were quite a few Jesus at the time and place. Unfortunately none attributed with the so cherished xtians virtues or qualities.

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This is simply untrue. Jospehus, a Jewish historian, wrote of Jesus' existence in several separate, entirely secular, documents and letters.

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Please read about this some more, then get back to me.

[SNOWBALL138]

I'd ask you to elaborate but I'm afraid of what you might say.