Do you believe the story of Jesus is true? Based off your reading and film, why or why not? Are your opinions scholarly or theological/personal?
I personally believe that there was a historical Jesus who was a Jewish teacher. I base this belief off of the scriptures of Christianity and Islam. Some of the stories of his life do seem to correspond to actual historical events and records, like the census taken by the Romans. Even the star that was shining above his birth seems to possibly have been an actual event. I do not know how much of his story is truth and how much it is religious syncretism or straight out fabrication. The film "Did Jesus Die on Cross" suggested that while we perceive the gospels as historical biographies, they were not actually so. The gospels are religious holy texts designed to illustrate the meaning and importance of Jesus not to provide historical evidence. The writers of the gospels were more concerned with the theological importance of Jesus and the cult of Christianity than with being extremely factual and investigative. It is also difficult to accept the gospels as historical evidence because these gospels were not written until 14 - 100 years after the death of Jesus and were originally anonymous gospels without a known author. Although this anonymity may be due to the persecution faced by early Christians, when one is evaluating a religion from a scholarly point of view this timeline is important.
In addition to pointing out the motives of the gospels as well as the frame of time they were written in, it is also important to note the inconsistencies that exist from gospel to gospel. Some of the details are relatively minute, like how many people Jesus fed with the fish and loaves to even the hour of which he died. If the story of Jesus was a true historical event, and if the gospels were historical biographies, why would these inconsistencies exist? To me it may stand to reason that the writers may have embellished their stories and ideas. My personal belief is that Jesus was a man who became deified, much like the Buddha (who was simply a man who became enlightened) somehow becomes a deity like figure in certain forms of Buddhism. Having a deity at the center of one's religion may inspire more converts than a wise teacher.
My views are based off scholarly inquiry. I cannot say for certain what happened because I was not there and because I have not read much historical evidence to support the claims the gospel makes. I do believe he existed and I do believe he was an important teacher and figure in the Palestine area. According to Wikipedia most scholars agree that Jesus existed, that he was baptized by John the Baptist and that he was crucified by the Romans when he was in his 30's. I don't deny the life or divinity of Jesus because I can simply don't know. I have no personal or theological views that would sway me in either direction. Regardless of my personal beliefs, the figure of Jesus is an important theological and historical figure. His life, death and Resurrection have created the largest religion in the world. This religion has waged wars and helped others all in the name of God.
One final interesting point from the film is how Jesus' teachings appear to have a Buddhist influence, such as the meek inheriting the earth and how a rich man cannot get to heaven. Could Jesus simply have been an enlightened being, a Buddha? It is very interesting to see these two philosophies compared.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historicity_of_Jesus
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