There are also a set of minor characters in the Gospels that I have been wondering about. They include Lazarus, Salome, John the Baptist, Magdalene, and Simon Magus.
I wouldn't call John the Baptist a 'minor' character. But if you're wondering about them, why don't you read the Bible again to find out more about them?
Also, what was Peter's problem with Magdalene?
If you knew the answer, would it make any difference?
Don't forget the 3 wise men whom some claim to be Persian but could just as easily be Egyptian.
There's nothing in the Bible that says there were three wise men; only that there were wise men from the East, countries not specified. Tradition gives a name to three men, probably because they were bearing three gifts; gold, frankincense and myrrh. But the Bible mentions only wise men from the East.
Where did the multitude that Jesus fed come from just after John's death?
They came from their homes. (Ask a silly question.....)
There are a lot of hints and gaps, which is probably what Mohammed seized upon to promulgate his own version of religion, not to mention the Cathars, Manichaeans, and who knows what other heresies and Gnostics.
There is a big problem these days, and we better get our Christianity straight or this Pagan religion of bin Laden is going to be in our face for some time to come.
There is a big problem these days, but the problem isn't with 'hints and gaps'. It is with unbelief in God and people thinking they know more than God how the world should work. You seem to think that if Christianity made more intellectual sense, it would hold up better against Islam. You could poke just as many, if not more, holes in Islamic theology and history as you could Christianity and Judaism.
The difference, of course, being that the Christians and Jews won't issue a fatwa against you.
Well, then, there is your assignment.
Did you know they have the skull of Magdalene in France?