> Again, L. Ron Hubbard existed, as did Joseph Smith, et. al for your examples.
Did Xenu? Did the angel Moroni? Neither Hubbard nor Smith claimed to be anything other than a prophet of some type (AFAICR)... certainly not demigods like angels of the son of some god.
> It is possible that twelve guys made up Jesus and everything about him: his teaching and followers, his basic biography and the crucifixion by the Romans.
Just as one guy made up Dianetics and one other guy made up the whole book of Mormon.
> your "faith" is at least as strong as those you are debating against.
My "faith" in what? Faith in seeing a serious lack of evidence and thus not coming to a firm conclusion? That's just good science.
Your passion for your faith must be clouding your ability to communicate. Again, I'm talking about the existence of the founder. Not miracles, not their religion or anything else. The basics of the founder's existence.
Just as one guy made up Dianetics…
Again, I'm talking about... Please focus.
My "faith" in what?
Your faith that holds that this person did not exist against common sense and the scholarship of history.
Faith in seeing a serious lack of evidence and thus not coming to a firm conclusion?
Faith in holding to what you wish to be true to support your other beliefs, or you think needs to be true to support your other beliefs.
That's just good science.
No, those who study the subject objectively practice the science of their field. You disagree with their conclusions and postulate a wild conspiratorial ex nihilo theory not held by any reputable historian. It can only be faith, your desire that it be so, that moves you so strongly.
You've spent a great deal of effort here avoiding a very simple historical event. One that need not harm the rest of your views about Christianity. Yet you have fought for it tenaciously.
You don't have the same faith as Christians, but you have the same degree of faith as the strongest Christian.