Jesus was invented?

[Sigurd]

...Most importantly, if the Flavians invented Christianity, who was Tacitus describing in the reign of Nero?

Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind. Mockery of every sort was added to their deaths. Covered with the skins of beasts, they were torn by dogs and perished, or were nailed to crosses, or were doomed to the flames and burnt, to serve as a nightly illumination, when daylight had expired.

Nero offered his gardens for the spectacle, and was exhibiting a show in the circus, while he mingled with the people in the dress of a charioteer or stood aloft on a car. Hence, even for criminals who deserved extreme and exemplary punishment, there arose a feeling of compassion; for it was not, as it seemed, for the public good, but to glut one man's cruelty, that they were being destroyed.

(Apologies for the Perseus translation).

Any document with no original should be regarded as suspicious. Tacitus who describes a cult that was "dealt with" doesn't necessarily refer to the Christians. It has been argued that the word was tampered with. In some very early versions the word Christianos (the Christians) looks suspiciously tampered with (Photoshoping of that time). The word was most likely Chrestianos (the good).
http://www.textexcavation.com/docume...hrestianos.pdf

As such, again, a believer will have to rely on faith and faith alone. Any "evidence" will be scrutinized and found wanting (current status).

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Jesus was on the Grassy Knoll with the Comedian.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

The idea that Jesus was invented, or that he was multiple people (the "theory" doing the rounds last year) is pretty silly.

If for no other reason than that there were LOTS of "Messiahs" knocking around, much easier to pick one to base your story off than invent a new one.

Whether he was born "Joshua" or did everything in the Gospels is a separate question, but the claim he was "invented" does not hold up to Ockham's Razor.

[Fragony]

If for no other reason than that there were LOTS of "Messiahs" knocking around, much easier to pick one to base your story off than invent a new one.

Not so weird if you want to pacify a region. Consider the confusion over the 'sword of Christ', it's ambiguity can mean a whole lot of things. Could it have been the sword of the messias originally? I think that's possible.

[Philippus Flavius Homovallumus]

Not so weird if you want to pacify a region. Consider the confusion over the 'sword of Christ', it's ambiguity can mean a whole lot of things. Could it have been the sword of the messias originally? I think that's possible.

Still silly to invent one.

Oh - and if Titus' route across Judea maps closely to that taken by Jesus, it would be because Jesus was following the route of Joshua in his conquest, from the Old Testament

[Fragony]

Still silly to invent one.

Oh - and if Titus' route across Judea maps closely to that taken by Jesus, it would be because Jesus was following the route of Joshua in his conquest, from the Old Testament

It causes a lot of confusions on the period of Carolingian's deus bellum, and the bible was rewritten after it after all. Maybe not an 'invention' of the Romans, I wouldn't know, but what's new to propaganda, roman senate kinda became the vatican we know today