Jesus
Historical Jesus::
Reviewing the evidence:
To give a general idea of the evidence for a historical Jesus, I will start by summarizing it into the following: hearsay accounts; writings within the religious tradition; references to the religion, believers and their beliefs; and forgeries. And none of these are contemporaneous. This is the same amount of "evidence" that exists for "historical" figures such as Hercules. Obviously we must use better criteria than this to demonstrate that a historical person existed. We use things likes official records which include but may not be limited to birth records, death records, and execution records; things written by the person such as diaries or letters; archaeological artifacts such as sculpted or other renditions of the person; coins; inscriptions; tombs; and corroborating contemporaneous accounts with detailed descriptions of the person and details about their life to give a few examples.
Since it would be too lengthy to evaluate here all the things specifically regarded as evidence, I will provide links which evaluate them. Instead of dismissing the arguments because they're being made by non-religious people, please judge the arguments on their own merits.
Issues with Research:
It appears that there is a serious problem with bias in biblical and Jesus research as most of the scholars are religious and are under great pressure to support a historical Jesus. They are not using the same standards used in other historical studies.
Idea/Symbol of Jesus::
Jesus represents an archetype, an ideal of someone who is willing to sacrifice themself for others, for the greater good. He represents forgiveness, tolerance, love, and mercy. These are all very good values to strive for. However he also espoused things which not everyone would find agreeable and are for the most part obsolete: the belief that homosexuals, rich people, unbelievers and others will go to hell, vicarious redemption, etc.
If we are to believe that Jesus was a historical person, then we must effectively reduce him to a mere man who was a lunatic with delusions of grandeur. If anything I think this does a diservice to the idea of Jesus and to Christianity and turns it into an absurd laughing stock. Christianity would really be better served being based upon a Jesus who is an ideal of how we should live. At least then it would conform more to reality and it wouldn't have to go to absurd lengths trying to convince itself and others of something for which in reality there is scant to no evidence and which attempts to turn everything we know about reality on its head. Deception, gullibility, and irrationality would no longer be necessary.
Do we really need to believe in a flesh and blood Jesus? Jesus appeals to people because they already possess his ideology. They do not need a holy book or a flesh and blood person to live their life according to their values, those values were there all along. So instead of trying to defend and follow a literal Jesus who would have essentially just have been a mad man, live like the ideal that you hold so dear. Then it will have meaning and you can avoid the lunacy. You don't need a historical Jesus, you don't need the Bible, you don't need Yahweh, all you need is yourself. You are your moral guide and have been all along. You give your life meaning and purpose, you have all along. Stop turning yourself into a joke easily ridiculed and shown to be in error and liberate yourself.
Christians would save themselves a lot of grief if only they would realize that the bible is a book of parables and allegories with the intent of illustrating moral lessons rather than doing all sorts of mental gymnastics in the attempt to justify it historically and scientifically. It's not a history book, it's not a science book: it's a book representing morals people had in the bronze age-some perhaps progressive for that time and location, some now defunct. What moderates are really doing is cherry picking a few things they already agree with with from the bible and combining it with the (secular) ethics they learned from modern culture.
