[ghoulslime]

There are lots and lots of larger-than-life legendary characters in the annuals of human folklore. Some of them are benevolent beings such as Johnny Appleseed and Snow White. Some of them are manly and mighty and magnificent in their machismo, such as John Henry and Paul Bunyan. Most people seem to understand, without the need for anyone else to explain it to them, that these characters were not real. They were the protagonists of tall tales, meant to entertain and elicit wonderment.

If one were to attempt to make a case for the real John Henry, who hammered himself to death in order to prove the superiority of human energy over industrial technology, where would one start? It is hardly enough to embellish the stories of John Henry with details of what size his hammer head was, and where the wood for the handle was worked, unless to establish the basis for demonstrating any assertions as to where he obtained his hammer, and who sold it to him. If there were even a single oral account from a single hardware store clerk who claimed to have sold a hammer to John Henry, then it would be a piece of evidence to consider in making a case for a real John Henry. But there is no evidence, because the story is a fib.

I have stated before on this forum, that when objective individuals remark, with accuracy, that there is no evidence for the existence of a real Jesus, I don’t mean that there is a lot of evidence that I reject because I am a militant atheist - I mean there is no evidence at all. If there were a single account of any contemporary reference to Jesus, this would constitute evidence. Not even a solitary follower remarked to another person of the day, “Why, after my thirty-seventh messiah, I think I have finally found the real messiah. His name is Jesus, and he claims to be from Nazareth!” This would not be good evidence, and certainly not evidence that said messiah was a divine magician, but it would be evidence.

I have occasionally heard atheists trying to seek a diplomatic middle ground when interacting with Christians on the subject of their zombie lord. I grant that it is difficult to find common ground with someone who insists with frantic apologies, and blood frothing down his chin, that he has found his god, and in fact engages in pseudo cannibalism for Him on a regular basis. It seems a gracious position to allow that perhaps there was a charismatic leader or teacher named Jesus, around whom the stories grew with time. So what evidence of this astounding Jesus do we have? None!

There are no contemporary references to Jesus. In a Roman province, at a time when scrupulous record keeping was the norm, not a single mention of this mind-boggling Jewish magician who claimed to be the messiah. Not a line in a Roman log. “That damn Jesus is disturbing the peace again!” Not a word from the religious authorities of the day. “That heretic Jesus is at his blasphemy again! When are we going to get around to punishing him?” There is not even a single mention of him by any of the many people who allegedly witnessed his miracles and moving speeches. Jesus H Leprechauns! One would expect at least a love letter or a poem by one of his twelve boyfriends. “When Jesus took the love of god, and pulled it from our asses, he formed it into fish and bread, and fed it to the masses!”

I am not asking for coins with Jesus on them. I am not asking for statues, or biographies, or even a single written statement by Jesus. I am asking for just ONE single contemporary reference to this alleged son of god and master of the universe. There is no evidence for building a case for a real Jesus, because there never was a real Jesus. The truth is there is more evidence for Santa Claus than for Jesus. There are many first-hand accounts of encounters with Santa. There are sugarplums and candy canes left in stockings, allegedly by Santa. This is evidence that needs to be examined for validity. There is no evidence for a real Jesus, not even bad evidence.

Jesus is the stuff of complete mythology, but you are welcome give all of your worldly possessions to me, if you truly love Him.