Is there any more evidence Jesus existed than there is Hercules existed?

Question

Jesus is just a myth and never existed.

All reliable evidence points to Jesus Christ being just a myth. There is no reliable evidence that Jesus even existed, and significant evidence that he didn't. The evidence is in the Bible, the other religions of the time, and the lack of writings about Jesus by historians of the time.

The story of Jesus can be shown to be just a myth cobbled together out of prophesy and stories from the Old Testament and previous gods and myths -- created in the 40's and 50's by Paul of Tarsus (who exhibited symptoms of epilepsy and had delusions of Christ talking to him), the other apostles, the unknown authors of the gospels in the 70's or later, and many other people. The reliable evidence for this is overwhelming.

Paul and the other epistle writers don't know any biographical details of Jesus' life, or even the time of his earthly existence. They don't refer to Bethlehem, Nazareth, Galilee, Calvary or Golgotha — or any pilgrimages to what should have been holy sites of Jesus' life. They also don't mention any miracles that Jesus was supposed to have worked, his virgin birth, his trial, the empty tomb, his moral teachings. To them Jesus was largely a sky-god, who existed in the spiritual past.

If Jesus had actually existed, Paul would have written about his life, disciples, and teachings. Paul did not write about any of this. Paul wrote (in Romans 16:25-26, Galatians 1:16) that he knew Jesus through revelation, which is another term for fantasy. We can also tell that people were accusing Paul of lying, because he attempted to defend himself in Romans 3:5-8.

If Jesus had actually existed, the gospels would have been written in first person format. Instead, they were written in third person fiction format like a Harry Potter story, with Matthew and Luke extensively plagiarizing from Mark.

If Jesus had actually existed, at least one of the approximately 30 local historians of the first century would have written about him. No historian of the first century (including Josephus and Philo of Alexandria) wrote about him or his disciples.

Therefore Jesus didn't exist.

The Jesus story also shows extensive similarities to other myths of the time (especially Dionysus, Mithra, and Horus). Some early Christians attributed this to Satan who went back in time and created the religions that "copied" Christianity.

Jesus is worshiped on Sunday because he is a sun god, like Mithra, Zeus/Jupiter, Horus, Attis, Dionysus, Adonis, Tammuz, Hercules, Perseus, Bacchus, Apollo, Helios, and Sol Invictus -- whose birthdays are also on the old winter solstice of December 25, when the sun is “reborn.”

There were more than a dozen other deities and saviors who were resurrected after violent deaths -- Mithra, Osiris/Serapis, Inanna/Ishtar, Horus, Perseus, Bacchus, Attis, Hermes, Adonis, Hercules/Heracles, Tammuz, Asclepius, and Prometheus. Christianity just told the story the best, and managed to get control of the government under Constantine.

For much more evidence, see the links.
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Source(s):
http://www.godlessgeeks.com/JesusExist.h…
http://www.stellarhousepublishing.com/or…
http://ffrf.org/legacy/about/bybarker/ri…
http://www.jesusneverexisted.com/source.…
http://www.godlessgeeks.com/WhyAtheism.h…
http://www.nobeliefs.com/exist.htm

Answer 1

Hercules is more likely to be real.

Answer 2

Flavius Josephus was a Jewish priest at the time of the Jewish Revolt of A.D. 66. He was captured by the Romans, imprisoned, set free and then retired to Rome where he wrote a history of the Jewish Revolt called the Jewish War. Later he wrote Antiquities as a history of the Jews. It is in Antiquities that he mentions Christ. The mention is called the "Testimonium Flavianum" (Ant. 18.63-64; see below). Josephus was born in Jerusalem around 37 A.D. He died around the year 101.



The problem with the copies of Antiquities is that they appear to have been rewritten in favor of Jesus and some say too favorable to have been written by a Jew. Add to this that the Christians were the ones who kept and made the copies of the Josephus documents throughout history and you have a shadow of doubt cast upon the quotes.



However, all is not lost. First of all, there is no proof that such insertions into the text were ever made. They may be authentic. The "Testimonium" is found in every copy of Josephus in existence. Second, Josephus mentions many other biblically-relevant occurrences that are not in dispute (see outline below). This adds validity to the claim that Josephus knew about Jesus and wrote about Him, since he also wrote about other New Testament things. Nevertheless, though there may be some Christian insertions into the text, we can still reconstruct what may have been the original writing.



Two researchers (Edwin Yamauchi and John P. Meier)1 have constructed a copy of the "Testimonium" with the probable insertions in brackets and underlined. The following paragraph is Yamauchi's:



“About this time there lived Jesus, a wise man [if indeed one ought to call him a man.] For he was one who wrought surprising feats and was a teacher of such people as accept the truth gladly. He won over many Jews and many of the Greeks. [He was the Christ.] When Pilate, upon hearing him accused by men of the highest standing amongst us, had condemned him to be crucified, those who had in the first place come to love him did not give up their affection for him. [On the third day he appeared to them restored to life, for the prophets of God had prophesied these and countless other marvelous things about him.] And the tribe of the Christians, so called after him, has still to this day not disappeared.”



Though this may be a correct assessment of the "Testimonium," we should note that an Arabic version (10th Century) of the "Testimonium" (translated into English) is in basic agreement with the existing Josephus account:



"At this time there was a wise man who was called Jesus. And his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous. And many people from among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples. Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. And those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them after his crucifixion and that he was alive; accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah concerning whom the prophets have recounted wonders."To summarize, the "Testimonium Flavianum" cannot be so easily dismissed as pure Christian interpolation (insertion into the text). Though it seems probable that interpolation did occur, we cannot be sure what was added. Also, the Arabic version contains very similar information as the Greek one regarding Jesus in His resurrection.



Even if both versions have been tampered with, the core of them both mention Jesus as an historical figure who was able to perform many surprising feats, was crucified, and that there were followers of Jesus who were still in existence at the time of its writing.

Answer 3

Wow. Thanks for quoting me. BTW, the links didn't complete. See the links below.



I see that Most Rev. Dr. Doc Holiday, D.D. claims that the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus wrote about Jesus. Here's how it's easy to tell that this is false:



* Despite the fact that Josephus' writings were widely read, no Christian or scholar before Eusebius refers to it, especially not the Christian scholar Origen, whose library Eusebius used.

* Origen even wrote that Josephus did not believe in Jesus Christ.

* If the pious Jew Josephus had truly thought that Jesus was the Messiah, he would have become a Christian.

* It's unlikely that Josephus would have referred to the accusing Jews as “the principal men among us.”

* There never was a “tribe of Christians.”

* Copies of Josephus' works existed, that lacked either reference to Jesus.

* The style of the text is radically different from the rest of his writings.

* The text is completely out of context with the paragraphs around it, and interrupts their story line. The next paragraph begins, "About the same time also another sad calamity put the Jews into disorder..." This refers to the previous paragraph, where Pilate had his soldiers massacre a large crowd of Jews in Jerusalem.

* Josephus wrote extensively about many minor people of the time. A single paragraph and sentence for the Messiah is impossible.



With the two references removed from Josephus' writings, he becomes strong negative evidence for Jesus. If Jesus had existed, Josephus would have written extensively about him.

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Answer 4

There is much more evidence for Hercules. The various places He performed His labors are real places that can be visited. The place in Gibraltor that He broke open to allow the Mediterranean to flow into the Atlantic are still called the Pillars of Hercules. People believed in Him for thousands of years.

Answer 5

God is not a religion or a belief but a person (not a man) whom you get to know personally and then trust. I know Jesus simply because I know the One whom He introduced us too. I don't worship what I believe but whom I know. If you know Hercules and not just believe in him then worship him but don't live on assumptions. I don't think you believe in Hercules but just another one of your attempts at being logic but completely based on assumption.



Illusion is that which appears, seems real, but then disappears like a mirage but Truth (reality) is that which is and has been always. Self is a delusion that mixes and dilutes Truth (reality) with illusion. Time is a word we use to describe illusion and its nature while Life is Truth and is always. Life is already Eternal but it is the deluded mind that mixes Life and time and then lives by the philosophy of "lifetime". We have been given time in order to make a decision of which we want more Truth which brings us the nature of the Truth or more illusion which brings us the nature of illusion. Death is the result of the nature of illusion. We must reap what we sow. God simply doesn't want us to wait til we die but to realize the Truth now and humble the time created and therefore illusory self identity for the sake of the Truth which is the imagless Spirit of Life our loving Father whom Jesus came to introduce us to and to teach us how to humble the self.

Answer 6

Only difference between Jesus and Hercules is that people made the biggest holiday in the US for a man that probably didn't even exist.

~Atheist Peace~

Answer 7

your just being a hater here, as if you actually did some research you would know the New testament is Letters from history proving Jesus was there and did all that.



Are you a wuss? Then take my challenge, all of you !!!

I challenge you to , CHALLENGE JESUS TO PROVE TO YOU THAT HE IS REAL !!



ASK HIM, TELL HIM, TO PROVE TO YOU HE IS REAL......

He will.

A simple thing to do and yet almost all of you are too chicken to do it.

Answer 8

Blasphemy! Hercules does exist.

Answer 9

your wall of text consisits of the following format



"If Jesus existed then"..... some non-sequitor assumption with no evidence to support it



not too convincing



but at least you got to tickle the ears of everyone that wants to believe he never existed

Answer 10

Very interesting question, hope we will get some good answers

Answer 11

I'm Hercules. I just can't prove it yet.

Answer 12

I agree that it does seem unlikely that any such person actually existed.