"The authors of the Gospels, writing 40 to 90 years after the supposed life of Christ, never intended for their works to be read as biographies. There are no credible non-Christian references to Christ during the period in which he is said to have lived," states the film's site.
True, the writers of the Gospels were not writing history or biography but religious philosophy.
There are no credible references, but why would there be? If today we had to use a quill pen and ink that we made ourselves (and often the paper), how many of us would be in the historical record? At the time The Christ lived he was seen as nothing more than another rabble rousing itinerate preacher – hardly worthy of the effort by the ruling elite required to document him.
Let me first say that I am not a CHRISTIAN!!!, as the term is often used today.
I have no doubt that there was a man named Yeshua Ben Joseph born to Mary and Joseph, a carpenter in the area of Nazareth in Judea.
I have no doubt that he became an itinerate preacher. It would appear that he preached that simply obeying the letter of the Law was not enough, but that religion was in your heart, and not your actions alone. This was contrary to the line espoused by the ruling Jewish elite and would have aroused their ire. The Romans were having enough trouble with the people because of their numerous rebellions, and would not have looked on him with any favor – particularly if he refused to acknowledge the divinity of Caesar.
Due to political concerns it is quite reasonable to believe that the Roman governor would have appeased the Temple Priests and crucified him.
Without the intervention of Paul the Christ movement would have remained a minor Jewish sect. Paul was educated in the Greeko-Roman manner, was a Roman citizen, a bureaucrat and knew how to get things moving. Paul is not one of my favorite Christian writers, and I personally dislike much of what he interjected into Christianity – but without him the message of The Christ would not have survived.
As I look over this, and think of the origin and spread of Christianity I can find nothing that does not fit into historical perspective. I see no reason to doubt His existence. I see no reason to believe a group of power hungry people gathered together to formulate a new religion - an action that would not have generated any wealth or power for decades if not centuries.
There's no room for fence-sitting on the question of Jesus. It's as simple as this:
1. If Jesus spoke the truth, then He was/is the Son of the Living God of Abraham, Yaweh. The Messiah.
2. If Jesus was not the Son of the Living God (not to mention, God himself), then He was the greatest charlatan of all history, a man of deception, cunning, and evil.
There's no room in between. Those who say, "Jesus was a benevolent preacher" are flat out wrong. Either He was who He said He was, or He was Satan incarnate.
"Without the intervention of Paul the Christ movement would have remained a minor Jewish sect. Paul was educated in the Greeko-Roman manner, was a Roman citizen, a bureaucrat and knew how to get things moving."
Who intervened with Paul...what persuaded him to do a 180 degree turnaround? What persuaded him to trade in his comfortable life for one that would lead to scourging, stoning, shipwreck, imprisonment and ultimately beheading?
I like Gamaliel's Counsel from Acts 5.38,39
"So in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or action is of men, it will be overthrown; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them; or else you may even be found fighting against God."
"Without the intervention of Paul the Christ movement would have remained a minor Jewish sect. Paul was educated in the Greeko-Roman manner, was a Roman citizen, a bureaucrat and knew how to get things moving. Paul is not one of my favorite Christian writers, and I personally dislike much of what he interjected into Christianity – but without him the message of The Christ would not have survived."
Interesting, Paul did know his Old Testament, and he did pen most of the New Testament. Paul made the Old the basis and the foundation which Christianity has credibility. Man is the one who has played with the original text the Old and the New, but hey that was written would take place.