Christ Myth Theory: Did Jesus ever really exist?

[mango]

Christ Myth Theory: Did Jesus ever really exist?

I know its a contentious subject and two of the major monotheistic religions base alot of their philosophy and teachings around Jesus Christ - but the evidence that he ever really existed is sketchy at best.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christ_myth_theory

The Christ myth theory (also known as the Jesus myth theory and the nonexistence hypothesis) is the idea that Jesus of Nazareth was not a historical person, but is a fictional or mythological character created by the Early Christian community.

Some proponents argue that events or sayings associated with the figure of Jesus in the New Testament may have been drawn from one or more individuals who actually existed, but that those individuals were not in any sense the founder of Christianity.

Those who argue that Jesus existed say he was born a Jew between 7 and 4 BCE—according to the gospels of Matthew and Luke, he was born during the reign of Herod the Great, who died in March 4 BCE—and died around 30 CE, during the administration of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Iudaea province.

Biblical scholar L. Michael White, not himself a Christ-myth theorist, writes that, so far as is known, Jesus did not write anything, nor did anyone who had personal knowledge of him.

There is no archeological evidence of his existence.

There are no contemporaneous accounts of his life or death: no eyewitness accounts, or any other kind of first-hand record.

All the accounts of Jesus come from decades or centuries later; the gospels themselves all come from later times, though they may contain earlier sources or oral traditions.

White writes that the earliest writings that survive are the letters of Paul of Tarsus, and they were written 20–30 years after the dates given for Jesus's death. Paul was not a companion of Jesus; nor does he ever claim to have seen Jesus.

Also, the relationship of Paul of Tarsus and Judaism is still disputed today.

:doh:

Food for thought.

 

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