Did historical Jesus really exist? The evidence just doesn’t add up.

[thucythucy]

239. Not particularly.

People who believe Jesus to be in any way divine hardly need some Roman bureaucrat's scribble as confirmation of their belief.

And the lack of such scribbling is easily met with the adage that has no doubt been quoted to you a number of times now: "Absence of evidence is not necessarily evidence of absence." I don't see how you can honestly refute that--and in fact you've made no effort in your replies to me here. Could be tomorrow morning or a year from now or a century from now some manuscript or inscription will be discovered documenting some portion of the man's life and death. But until every manuscript or inscription left by the Romans is unearthed and examined (and there remain tons of material not yet properly scrutinized--we find more pretty much every time there's a major building project in the heart of Rome or any other Roman era city), until every acre of land in what was ancient Palestine is sifted through for artifacts, it will be impossible to say definitely that such evidence doesn't exist. It took close to two thousand years for the Dead Sea Scrolls to be unearthed--an entire library of ancient material stashed in a cave. So your "there is no documentation" claim seems pretty feeble to me as the basis for asserting that this particular human being never actually existed.

As for people such as yourself, who obviously don't believe, I don't see why it should be an issue. Well, I guess I DO see, you want to debunk the Jesus myth and feel compelled to do so in this particular forum, and I suppose since it's Christmas time the urge is especially difficult for you to resist, hence this OP. But it doesn't make for a compelling argument, for the reasons I've cited.

My unsolicited advice to you would be to take the time you're expending on this rather pointless intellectual exercise, and use the existence of this holiday to reconnect with family and friends, whether they are believers or not. If nothing else, the Jesus story gives us a socially sanctioned excuse to take some days off, kick back, and appreciate the fact of our existence in the here and now. For me, it's nice that all the kids in my extended family have time off from school and can hang out and play and visit--which is what they'll be doing all next week. Most of the people I know who work will get some time off as well--a welcome relief from the grind.

The Romans celebrated this winter holiday, as do most cultures past and present, in some form or another, as a way to beat the mid-winter blues. It's been a well documented part of the human story for ages. So why not enjoy? That's what I plan to do. Not to mention--I love all those colored lights. Seems to me any self-described hippy would appreciate the opportunity to make the world a little more psychedelic.

And so happy holidays, peace and love and joy and good will to you and yours.

Merry Christmas, and happy New Year.

Thucy