Who do you think that Jesus was? Go ahead, let it fly. I know won't be offended by what you think.

For me, and I think for most Christ followers, this is the crux of the issue about God.

I can only think of 4 possibilities-- that he was either
Liar
Lunatic
Legend
Lord
Are there any other possibilities?

He was (maybe) a real person. We will say he was real. If the bible was even partly historical, I would say we could guess that he got people to follow him and was punished (right or wrong) for what he was saying (right or wrong). Again, if any of the stories were even based on a true person, I think a lot of stuff got made up and blown out of proportion after his death.

These are my quick thoughts.

Granted the western world had a lot of Christian influence, but the year 0 is based on the year of Jesus' birth, so I think we can say that Jesus was pretty influential in history. I think it's safe to say that if he was not a historical person that he could not have had the influence he has had on how we mark our western calendar. (Yes, I know that there are other calendar systems too.)

I've never heard of any but the most radical skeptics not believing that Jesus was a real person who lived. And I've never seen one piece of evidence to support the claim that he never lived.

[Quote by Donovan]Plus, if you feel Jesus is god, what is the obsession with Jesus? Just explain god. At least I think you believe they are one in the same.[/Quote]

I can't say that I totally follow what you're trying to say, but I'll make a stab at part of it. Yes, I believe that Jesus is God, so that's why I focus on him. Jesus claimed, "if you've seen me then you've seen God." He also said, "I am God." I know you don't believe the Bible, but I need to use it to explain what I believe. Jesus is "the image of the invisible God" (Colossians 1:15) and "the exact representation of His nature" (Hebrews 1:3). So I can't "just explain god" without Jesus. I believe that Jesus explains God; if you see Jesus then you see God.

B.C. = Before Christ
A.D. = Anno Domini (AKA In the year of our Lord)

'nuff said

Personally, I believe that Jesus was a man, and possibly the greatest moralist of all time. I'm sure that history has heaped a lot of things on his legacy, that didn't belong to him, but I like to believe that the most essential pieces made it through.
I also think that the Sermon on the Mount is one of the greatest teachings of all time...it's just a shame that christians (especially catholics) pay no heed to his main points and in fact, do the exact opposite.

Wayne,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Glad you're here. Do you think that Jesus was resurrected after he died? If not, what happened to him?

I will say this. I do not believe that he was resurrected after he died.
I do question whether he died on the cross though. I'd have to dust off an old theology text, but I believe in older versions of the gospels that Luke and...Matthew(?) actually present slightly different versions of the crucifixion. One was in public with the 2 other criminals...the other was held in a private garden of an associate of his, witnessed by some from a hilltop (or something like that). Forgive me for not remembering exactly, it's been a bit since I studied this in depth, but I recall reading the different stories and it was enough to cast doubt on how it went down.
If he was crucified then I'm sure he died....
However, I am open to the possibility that the crucifixion didn't go down exatly as widely believed and there may have been an opportunity for him to fake his death and essentially go into exile.

Personally, I am more a fan of the words and spirit of the man Jesus than the fantastic deeds attributed to him. I believe that you can strip away the healings of the sick, giving sight to the blind, feeding a village from a single loaf of bread, etc., etc. ad naseum, and just focus on his teachings and his spirit of humanity, forgiveness, and generosity...and that in and of itself is the mark of a truly remarkable human being, worthy of admiration but not necessarily worship.

I think Jesus was the first existential philosopher. He summed it up nicely when asked if he was the Son of God. He neither denied nor confirmed this, he merely replied, "I am."

I think that has been taken out of context to mean that he was admitting to being the Son of God, when truly (I believe) he was simply stating an existential fact...that of his existence.

^ Yes, this. Precisely.

I'm down wif Jesus, yo! Just don't try and get me to believe that he was in any way immortal or a god or son of god or ressurrected. He was just a dude like you and I, who had incredibly insightful things to say, that unfortunately have been misinterpreted and distorted through time and language.