Fraud of Ages
Does anyone stand to gain by maintaining a myth?
But of course, a vast global industry of religion. Was this always the case? Why YES, unquestionably after Constantine made Christianity the State religion, but no less so in the preceding centuries. Indeed, priests, shamans, witchdoctors have lived on the backs of others since people started living in groups. Given this venal motive of the "religiously inclined", we would be wise to exercise caution before buying its product and accepting its claims.
In those 2000 years did the Church ever fabricate legends and relics?
The vast Medieval forgery industry is a matter of historical record – a contributory cause of the Reformation. Before the canon of holy books was finalized in the 5th century hundreds of fanciful Jesus stories existed. Rancorous Church Councils decided which were 'sacred' and which were 'pious romances.'
Do the claims for Jesus include the suspension of the laws of physics?
Absolutely. We are not talking of a mere carpenter but a worker of miracles. Setting aside the miasma of "Faith" we require rather more evidence for a miracle than a normal activity, not less.
Yet every purported evidence for Jesus turns out to be dubious or non-existent. This includes no contemporary record of Jesus; no evidence for Nazareth in the 1st century; tampered works of non-Christian writers to insert 'evidence'; testimony of early Christians who didn't believe in a human Jesus anyway; gospels which flatly contradict each other; myriad instances of 'Jesus stories' copied from earlier legends and other cultures; and so on and so on.
We have both a motive for Christian fabrication of a myth and the evidence of centuries of myth creation. In other words, what we find "in the beginning" is the same venality and charlatanism that followed, century after century, in each becoming more vicious and ruthless.
http://jesusneverexisted.com
There thats my contribution. Any further believer threads will garner the same consequence.
Dave