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Jesus Christ | |
|---|---|
 Jesus's true appearance is unknown, but westerners prefer to portray him as white despite him being from Western Asia. | |
| Born | 6 to 4 BCE Herodian Kingdom, Roman Empire |
| Died | CE 30 or 33 (aged 33–38) Jerusalem, Judaea, Roman Empire |
| Cause of death | Crucifixion |
| Known for | Central figure of Christianity Major prophet in Islam and Druze Faith |
Jesus Christ (6 to 4 BCE – 30 or 33 CE) also known as Jesus of Nazereth, was a first century Jewish religious leader who is the central figure of Christianity, who they believe to be the son of God. Despite claiming him as their founder the Christian church follows very few of Jesus' actual teachings preferring to invoke his name as an authority figure when carrying out their own agenda. It is entirely possible that Jesus is mythological but regardless of whether there was a person called Jesus the details of his life were certainly fabricated given that the stories in the Bible contain numerous claims that were not scientifically possible.[1]
Historical vs. mythological[edit | edit source]
There are two schools of thought among historians regarding Jesus: the historical and the mythological. The historical school does not necessarily believe that the scientifically impossible things attributed to Jesus actually happened, but rather, they argue that Jesus was a normal human being that later generations of Christians portrayed as a godlike figure. Meanwhile, the mythological school argues that Jesus was originally seen as a deity like Osiris and Tammuz that later generations of Christians portrayed as a historical person. One of the areas of contention between these historians is whether the references to Jesus in the works of Flavius Josephus and Tacitus, two ancient historians, were actually written by them or interpolated by Christians.[2]
The only complete accounts of Jesus' life can be found in the Bible, and these accounts were likely not written by eyewitnesses given they were written long after his death and later twisted even more as the writers saw fit. These writings alone make it difficult to say either one way or the other whether Jesus existed given that this apparent holy book is the only account, there are not even any birth or death records of Jesus. If there was a person named Jesus who was a Jewish preacher then the conflicting accounts in the Bible are still unlikely to be an accurate biography given they describe impossible events such as miracles, a virgin birth and coming back from the dead.[1]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Valerie Tarico (2015-12-15). "Here are 5 reasons to suspect Jesus never existed" Rawstory.
- ↑ "Christ," in Great Soviet Encyclopedia: A Translation of the Third Edition (New York: Macmillan, 1974–1983), vol. 28, p. 159.