It never happened.

[Guest Guest]

Most historians of ancient history have now concluded that the object of Christian worship is "historicized mythology." In other words, Jesus wasn't a real person. He never lived. Like King Arthur, the stories about him are only legends. Read it, study it, and decide for yourself.

I mean really decide. Not based on what you want to believe but based on the evidence. If you think about it, it never made sense that there was this grand spectacle at his birth, and everyone knew that the Son of God had been born and was walking among them - yet somehow he gets lost for about thirty years. The story never did make any sense, and now that historians have better tools to collect and analyze ancient writings, the evidence for the existence of "Jesus" is lacking. In fact, it's pretty much absent altogether.

You know it's a myth.

[Guest Guest]

Why do you feel it's necessary to spend so much time studying and analyzing something that doesn't matter to you? Why does it bother you some some people find comfort and strength in the belief in Jesus in their lives?

You are obviously well educated so you should use your time more wisely and study and analyze something that matters to you.

[Guest Guest]

Why do you feel it's necessary to spend so much time studying and analyzing something that doesn't matter to you? Why does it bother you some some people find comfort and strength in the belief in Jesus in their lives?

You are obviously well educated so you should use your time more wisely and study and analyze something that matters to you.

It does matter, because it affects our culture. Only about half of the American population accepts evolution of species, even though it is the organizing principle for modern biology. This is directly traceable to theism, and in particular in the United States, the Christian myths. Similarly, most Americans reject and even make fun of the Big Bang, even though the world's leading scientists agree that the Big Bang is the best explanation we have for the beginning of the universe. Again, the reason is that people wish to believe that God created the world.

It also matters because there is a constant push from the religious right to turn the USA into a theocracy. Until the early 1960s, children in public schools were forced to sit through Christian prayers, even if they were not Christians. We have made considerable progress since then but "conservatives" would like to turn back the clock and make the USA "a Christian nation" instead of a nation in which the right to worship is personal and individual, and every religious view is treated with equal respect.

So when you say it doesn't matter, you're only partly correct. What people believe or try to convince themselves they believe in the privacy of their own hearts and minds is none of my business. Tragically, however, theism, and in particular the Christian narrative have spilled over into our public life, and resulted in a large percentage of our population being scientifically illiterate. Most biology teachers do not teach evolution properly, for fear of offending some people in their religious sentiments. So I care for that reason. If we have a scientifically illiterate population, every American will pay a heavy price.

You, too seem like an intelligent person. It would be nice to have an intelligent discussion on KOTW for a change. What do you think of my response?

[Guest Guest]

Why do you feel it's necessary to spend so much time studying and analyzing something that doesn't matter to you? Why does it bother you some some people find comfort and strength in the belief in Jesus in their lives?

You are obviously well educated so you should use your time more wisely and study and analyze something that matters to you.

Why do you care what she/he spends her/his time on, or what bothers him/her?

Sounds like the truth bothers YOU.

[Guest Guest]

Why do you care what she/he spends her/his time on, or what bothers him/her?

Sounds like the truth bothers YOU.

Whose truth?

[Guest Guest]

Here is where the story really came from. The story is not fact. It's myth.

[Guest Guest]

Whose truth?

Taken literally, the story is either fact or fiction. There is only one truth about it. And the truth appears to be that it is an amalgamation of other ancient myths, from which it is derived.