Let's pretend Jesus is real

[Blindgreed1]

In this thread we will discuss the historical Yeshua aka Jesus, assuming for the sake of debate that he actually existed. For this purpose we will be addressing the actual man as he would have existed, in what context and under what constructions of that society, in order to support my original point that religion exists to keep the ruling classes in power and control the vast majority of the populace through threat and vague promise.

For the sake of distinction I will refer to this man as Yeshua, which is the name most historians actually ascribe to him. Participants may call him what they wish, I think we all know who we are talking about.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yeshua

In defense of a historical Christ, as opposed to the hysterical white hippie we know today, I offer the brief mentions of both Tacitus and Josephus, non Christian contemporary figures who referred to a leader of a problematic cult who was killed by the Romans and who was called "the Christ."

http://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily...sus-exist/

These external references serve to validate that at some point closely corresponding with Biblical reference, a minor prophet/rabbi rose to prominence, led a select group of zealots who named themselves "christians", and was ultimately killed for reasons we will discuss later.

I believe there is enough historical evidence to prove that he did in fact exist so the thread title is a bit misleading, the question is, was he the son of god and everyone's lord and savior? Clearly to Jews he wasn't/isn't as well as Muslims, Hindu and every other religion on earth that isn't Christianity. As far as the wealth and control aspects of Dono's theory, I'd have to say that there are people out there who fit Dono's theory so perfectly that they may have well consulted Dono in making the mold. On the other hand, there are surely people out there who are the exact opposite and truly believe they are answering the call of the lord to lead their flock. I think there are people in this world that have a need to believe just the same way there are people who don't. If I were to say that Noah's Ark was actually the best way primitive man could describe aliens extracting DNA to preserve animals and humans prior to a predictable catastrophe, some would say it's logical while others would deem me blasphemous, but does anyone truly believe in their heart that some dude made a boat and filled it with all of the earths species 2 by 2? I think you might need your head examined by a professional if you do.