Jesus is a mythological figure. Christianity is not for thinking people.

My opponent has posed the following questions: 1)Do you have any proof he doesn't exist? 2)Do you have any proof not older than 2500 years that he doesn't exist? 3)Any proof written after you were born? I will address each question as they all relate to written proof, or proof in general that Jesus did not exist. First let me re-iterate my main point. I am submitting that Jesus as he is portrayed in the bible, did not exist. As I mention in my first argument, the bible may be based on actual people and events, but is highly fictionalized. Therefore, there may have been a man named Jesus or a man with a similar name who existed at that time, but as I mentioned in my first argument, that man most certainly did not perform miracles and he was not/is not a savior. My proof for this statement can be found in modern science, and has been proven through exact studies and highly controlled experiments that prove that the "miracles" Jesus is claimed to have performed, are impossible. For example, walking on water. It is not possible to walk on water without the aid of either something under the water or something suspending the person above the water. This is due to a rather weak but important force called gravity. Gravity can be proven by controlled scientific experiments and can offer us proof that such a feat is impossible without assistance (in which case it would be a trick). Just because Jesus lived in "olden times" does not make it possible for him to walk on water. If it is not possible now, then it was not possible then. The people that lived back then were just like you and I. Just people. They were much more gullible and superstitious to be sure, but they did not possess any magical qualities that would allow them to walk on water. I think that longevity of the impossibility of such a feat is also important. What I mean is, if for thousands and thousands of years God has not appeared again to give someone the ability to perform miracles, I think it's safe to say that he wasn't doing it back then either. History is important. Humans have never been able to fly through the air on their own, and this has been true since the beginning of time, therefor we can conclude that it is impossible to fly through the air (without an airplane of course). But, if a bible chapter was suddenly "discovered" that said Jesus could also fly, I suppose people would believe it. That is just pure gullibility and superstition. It's a complete turning away from science and intellect. It would be the equivalent of people today worshiping David Blaine and calling him a savior. As a matter of fact, I'll bet he could get people to believe he really has magical powers bestowed upon him by God, because people are just that non-thinking. What makes David Blaine a magician but Jesus a savior? They appear to do the same "miracles" and no one knows how David Blaine does his. Since the bible says Jesus will come again, what makes us so sure that David Blaine is not the second coming? Well, for one, he doesn't claim to be. But what if he did? What if he said he was the second coming of Christ and he performed his "miracles" and he had people working with him to support his claim? Would Christians believe it? See, there is nothing about David Blaine that is different from Jesus, except that he does not claim to be the son of God. And while we are discussing the second coming, let us review how the bible states that Jesus will come again not in thousands of years, but before his apostles die. The bible states clearly time and again that the second coming was supposed to have happened a long, long time ago. Almost every passage that speaks of the second coming warn the apostles and the people of the time period, to keep watch for the second coming (Just one example: Mark 9:1 "I tell you the truth, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.") So...where is he? Now let us turn to the very heart of the matter... the total and complete nonsensical nature of the idea of God sending his son to earth. The very concept defies every ounce of logic one could think of. If God is God and he is the ruler of the universe, then he has no need to send his "son" to earth. He can do whatever he wants. He can give people free will and at the same time, let people know he exists. He can have humans act exactly as he wants at any time. He does not have to play a game with us by sending his son to earth and then sitting back and being amused at what happens next and delighting in some of his own creations turning against him. It makes no sense. The God of the old Testament is a vengeful God, full of rage and fury. Actually he is more like a devil. I guess this is the God who would do something like play a game with humans by seeing who accepts his son and who doesn't. If one really reads the old testament one can see this terrifying version of "God". A God who just can't wait to see people burning and screaming in the eternal fires of hell. A God who orders people to smash their own infants against the rocks. A God who orders his prophets to put to death those who don't believe in him. Leviticus 26 is a pretty good support for this argument of God being hateful for those who which to research this on their own. Just as we now view the Old Testament as metaphorical (I don't think even fundamentalists believe we should kill non believers and blind ourselves of we use a curse word), so we can see that Jesus was also mythological and metaphorical. If the God of the Old Testament is over the top, so is the story of Jesus. Now that we have touched on the silliness of God sending his son to earth, let's review human psychology. I touched on this very briefly in my first argument. Human beings have always needed something to believe in, and they have always needed to be part of a group, and to belong. It is this need that forms religions. Religion is in the brain, and as such is a creation of our own imaginations. It is a release and a relief of our troubles and worries, and it is an escape from the great unknown: death. It is really people's extreme fear of death that creates religion. Let's face it, death sucks. It sucks so badly that humans had to find a way to deny it, and this has created religions throughout history which promise that they will not die. If the story of Jesus were true, it would be wonderful. It really would. I would love to believe in it, but unfortunately, it is not true. Science and our own intellects tell us that it's not. In addition, we can point to thousands of years of evidence that proves that human beings can't walk on water, raise people from the dead, and turn water into wine. And by the way that one (water into wine) was performed by Dionysus way before Jesus appeared on the scene. I welcome my opponent to disprove my arguments and the evidence I have presented.