Do you believe that jesus existed historically?

47 Comments

I think he probably did exist, but I don't think it's a stupid thing at all to believe that he didn't. I've heard some good arguments for why he didn't exist.

I realise that just because you're not a Christian doesn't mean you're an atheist, but the choices were convoluted enough without adding in those extra options. So for the purposes of the question, 'atheist' just means that you don't believe in the Christian god.

Yes - I'm a Christian 18
Yes - I'm an atheist 7
Maybe - I'm a Christian 0
Maybe - I'm an atheist 3
Not the Biblical Jesus, but a Jesus that bears no real resemblance to him anymore - I'm a Christian 0
Not the Biblical Jesus, but a Jesus that bears no real resemblance to him anymore - I'm an atheist 10
No - I'm a Christian 2
No - I'm an atheist 3
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Comments ( 47 )
  • Lestat565
    4 years ago

    Just because a guy named Jesus existed doesn’t mean that he was the son of god or that god even exists. A guy named Jesus probably did exist. But that would prove nothing.

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    • JellyBeanBandit
      4 years ago

      I know, I'm not saying he was or that it proves anything. I'm just interested in the historical side of it.

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    • Holzman_67
      4 years ago

      Yeah Jesus stole the hubcaps from my car that sunnabitch

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      • leggs91200
        4 years ago

        Kind of low, but that is how he rolls.
        Get it? "rolls"?

        HAAAAAAAAAAAAA HAHA HA HA HA HA

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  • WeirdGuyFromTheSouth
    4 years ago

    Theres not even a debate whether jesus existed or not. The debate is whether or not he was the messiah.

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    • Boojum
      4 years ago

      It's not surprising you believe there's no debate about this, but the historicity of the Yeshua ben Yosef of the Christian scriptures is not a proven fact. That's not discussed much, since the question cuts straight to the heart of the West's dominant religion and there's no way to prove a negative, so it's basically a pointless exercise that will cause grave offence to many religious nuts.

      What can be said is that there is zero unbiased contemporary or near-contemporary historical evidence of a guy who supposedly wandered around Israel raising the dead, walking on water, and performing other acts that violate the basic laws of physics and biology.

      It can also be said that the story of Jesus in the Bible has much in common with the mythological tales that surround other god-men and which predate the period when Jesus supposedly existed.

      There's just about as much chance that the Jesus of the Bible existed as there is that Robin Hood and King Arthur were real people. Both of those characters are legends who are _possibly_ based on real men (or a confused combination of men), but it's also impossible to prove that they never existed. What can be said is that the historical and archaeological evidence for both of them is minimal and non-conclusive, so it's very unlikely that even if they did exist, they probably didn't do anything like what the tales say they did.

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      • Ummitsstillme
        4 years ago

        How do you explain the following and the extreme devotion towards someone that is just an historical figure like robin hood?

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        • Boojum
          4 years ago

          Us naked, upright monkeys have always lived in a pretty damn scary world where lots of invisible forces seem to conspire to thwart our desires and kill us at whim. It's always comforting to know that someone bigger and stronger is on our side, whether that's a parent, the biggest kid in the school playground, or some invisible, all-powerful deity.

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          • Ummitsstillme
            4 years ago

            I understand the need for a higher power, i meant specifically the ideas that were documented before move able type and are the foundation of much of the wests beliefs

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        • [Old Memory]
          4 years ago

          Indoctrination. Dogma. Control.

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        • karmasAbich
          4 years ago

          Exactly

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      • WeirdGuyFromTheSouth
        4 years ago

        Im not very religious. I do believe something intelligent had to be responsible for making us tho. Doesnt have to be a god it could be a alien or a giant bowl of poo. I've always heard there are historical documents to prove he existed. Apparently Rabbis of his time documented him and called him a magician or something like that. I honestly didnt know there was an argument that he never existed as a human.

        It seems less likely to me that people would have converted to this religion in that time if he never existed. Of course likelihood isnt 'proof'. So maybe you're right. Ill look into it.

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        • Boojum
          4 years ago

          People have genuinely believed in a multitude of gods in every culture throughout human history. Belief in a deity no more makes him or her real than believing that the world is flat makes it so.

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          • WeirdGuyFromTheSouth
            4 years ago

            I agree, but I'm saying whatever happened during that time really shook up the world. I don't know how that could have happened if the man didnt even exist and was not really crucified. Its more likely Jesus did exist even if he were a nutcase and didnt really perform miracles. Jim Jones acquired a huge cult following too before the mass suicide at Jonestown. Do you think Jones could have aquired such a big following had he never existed? There were tons of people that converted to Christianity in Jesus' time. Jesus had an army of followers through his life. Its hard for me to put it into words but I hope that makes sense. Jesus was written about and documented outside the bible also.

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            • Boojum
              4 years ago

              Where was Jesus written about contemporaneously by someone who wasn't a member of his cult and so didn't have a vested interest in persuading others to believe as he did?

              The earliest credible mention of the Jesus sect in Judaism is dated to around 100 CE.

              Just like all religions, Christianity is a meme. The Jesus sect developed and spread because its tenets happened to resonate with a particular group of people living in a particular place at a particular time. The religion was successful because those tenets were flexible enough to be used by people to further its spread, often by very violent means.

              Those in power loved Christianity because it's an ideal religion for slaves and the down-trodden: be nice to each other, render unto Caesar, accept that it's the will of God that your life is shitty, and trust that you'll get your reward in heaven.

              As for the existence of the Jesus sect in Judaism proving the historical existence of someone resembling the Jesus described in the gospels, that just doesn't wash. Look into the history of the gospels - including the ones that didn't make the cut because they didn't tell a story that was consistent with the line that the early leaders of the cult wanted to follow. None of the gospels were written by eyewitnesses. They're just tales that were passed around by word of mouth until someone decided to write them down, and everyone knows how stories get embellished and altered as they spread.

              There were loads of charismatic Jewish religious figures active in the centuries either side of the time when Jesus was supposedly born. That's not surprising, given that a group of people who believed they were specially chosen by Jahweh to do great things had suddenly been conquered by an irresistible power that accepted a whole pantheon of gods (not including the one that spoke from a flaming bush and used his finger to write on stone tablets).

              Maybe there was someone who bore some resemblance to the Jesus of the gospels, but it's also possible that what he's described as saying and doing is a mish-mash of the teachings of more than one person.

              What is certain is that the supposedly infallible gospels get one of the few verifiable historical events they mention wrong. The census mentioned in Luke is known to have happened in 6 BCE, but it's also stated that it occurred under the reign of Herod the Great, and it's known for a fact that he died nine years before that. If the author of Luke got something as simple as that wrong, it's daft to assume that he got anything else right.

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      • Whatcouldpossiblygowrong
        4 years ago

        I suggest you watch the film "The Case for Christ". Tho, I respect your opinion bro.

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    • donteatstuffoffthesidewalk
      4 years ago

      he built my hotrod

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXCh9OhDiCI

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    • CoffeeTime
      4 years ago

      Are you a Jew?

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      • WeirdGuyFromTheSouth
        4 years ago

        No

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  • ArthurArmadeus
    4 years ago

    Historically it is kinda documented Jesus existed. There are Roman Arrest records and death certificates for Jesus by crucifixion around the right time. So a nomadic Jesus that was giving teachings and proclaiming himself the child of God was definitely around, but that doesn't prove that he was actually the son of god. I mean there are people that proclaim their from deity's or old lineage's or the true ruler of whatever. There's always gonna be a dingbat or two running around. But hey man ya never know. I'm more agnostic than anything. I listen to reason, but I always gotta wonder... what if?

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  • karmasAbich
    4 years ago

    I have faith that he both existed and is God, the son of God, and the Holy Spirit. 🙏

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  • chuy
    4 years ago

    Yes

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  • donteatstuffoffthesidewalk
    4 years ago

    jesus was gay

    he hung round with 12 dudes was buff and was into bondage

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    • karmasAbich
      4 years ago

      Ur into penis and no ones calling you a gay. RUDE

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      • donteatstuffoffthesidewalk
        4 years ago

        maybe in 2000 years theyll come around

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        • karmasAbich
          4 years ago

          Touché...🤔

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  • Doesnormalmatter
    4 years ago

    Where is the option for not giving a fuck whether he existed or not. If he wasn't known for his made up religious bull shit nobody would care. He is just another old dead guy to me mate! Fuck them God damn cocksucking Christians!!!!!!

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  • mrblueeyes75
    4 years ago

    I sure he existed but I really doubt he was anything besides a ordinary average down to earth working for his father shoeing camels

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  • jjhg
    4 years ago

    Historically, the bible is a very unreliable source and i honestly just don't believe in it in general. i believe in science (the big bang was how the world was created, etc.) and proven facts. I'm not going to put my absolute faith and belief in something which has not been proven by science of solid primary sources. So no I do not believe jesus existed in the way which he created everything. there may have been someone named jesus who was great at the time, but i do not believe e he was able to just create life, water, light, etc. as he pleases.

    (not tying to disrespect any christians, just my opinion)

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  • Vvaas
    4 years ago

    I DONT KNOW

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  • SmokeEverything
    4 years ago

    Shamans take psychedellics to find the truth for themselves. You should try it.

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  • bigbudchonga
    4 years ago

    I think it's somewhere between "Not the Biblical Jesus, but a Jesus that bears no real resemblance to him anymore" and yes. Personally the miracles and that seem like mythology, but I'm studying Ancient History and Classical Archaeology, and there was most certainly a Jew around at that time who was a preacher, and he must have done something quite incredible, whether it was being a great orator or whatever is a guess, but he was good enough at what he did to spawn a new religion which gained a lot of supplicants in a short time.

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  • IrishPotato
    4 years ago

    No

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  • thejenski
    4 years ago

    proving someone never existed especially thousands of years ago is next to impossible if not impossible,however trying to disprove the existence of someone when many credible sources of that particular time validates their existence is ridiculous,youll need a time machine to do that,besides that; just because there are few facts that do not seem to add up about some one today doesn't mean they didn't exist,In short theres no way to prove someone never existed unless we went back into history,certainly no way,we can only have doubts

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  • [Old Memory]
    4 years ago

    On sure he was real but not the son of any God. There were many sons of God in that era. He just had the best publisist.

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  • notsaying4life
    4 years ago

    too much prove exists to back Jesus' existence but did he actually do all that was claimed by his followers

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  • Doesnormalmatter
    4 years ago

    Also mate, you can un-check a box below the poll choice text boxes that makes it so the choice options aren't in random order anymore.

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    • JellyBeanBandit
      4 years ago

      Wow, why didn't I see that before? Ok, my bad, I apologise to the creator of this website. Still though it shouldn't really be checked by default imo.

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      • Doesnormalmatter
        4 years ago

        Yes I know it's kinda silly that it is automatically checked.

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  • LloydAsher
    4 years ago

    Jesus was documented in censuses and other real historical documents. The cool thing about the Roman empire was they kept records about everything.

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    • Ellenna
      4 years ago

      I'd love to see details of these "real historical documents" or do you mean Dan Brown?

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      • LloydAsher
        4 years ago

        Historical Roman writers if the second century wrote about jesus and his followers. Pliny the Younger, Epistolarum ad Traianum Imperatorem cum eiusdem Responsis liber X, 96; Tacitus, Anales XV, 44; Suetonius, The life of Claudius. just like 99.9% of peasentry humanity from that long ago archeological evidence was hard to come by especially because this is in the middle east with all the past and current conflict. Using writers from this time helps with a fresher perspective of that time.

        Hell there could of been a papyrus scroll about jesus's actual life in the library of Alexandria but alas due to the political unrest of the 450s its entirely possible of its destruction.

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    • Doesnormalmatter
      4 years ago

      Just because he exusted doenst mean he wasn't a scam artist mate!

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      • LloydAsher
        4 years ago

        Hey man with the amount of accidental ingestion of lead and use of hallucinogenic drugs, in thier point of view he could really be the son of God.

        Either way Jesus is the primary reason why christianity doesnt suck like Islam.

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        • Doesnormalmatter
          4 years ago

          You probably right mate that Islam. Is worse. But Christians still suck dick and they fucked up my childhood so they are the worst from my point of view.

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          • RoseIsabella
            4 years ago

            ... and you're free have that opinion, but other people who have not had the same life experiences as yourself, are free to feel otherwise if they so choose based upon their life experiences.

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            • Doesnormalmatter
              4 years ago

              Yes I know. I busted wanted to really say FUCK Christians a few more times. All religious people are in some way bad tho, but yes Islam is probably the worst.

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