[MarkBsnr]

My belief is that they were writing stories, loosely based on facts, rich in metaphor, written in a style of the times. You are welcome to believe otherwise, of course.

Do you believe that they made up the quotes from Jesus?

[sand lake bar]

Quotes from Jesus? Since the Gospels were written many years after his time, indeed they could only be handed-down paraphrasings at best. Regardless, I interpret the words symbolically, metaphorically, not literally.