On the balance of probability, Jesus faked his own crucifixion, resurrection and ascension

However, I would like to add that we may conclude that God does exist but refuses to prove his existence because faith is at the core of Christianity and if he did prove that he exists Christians would no longer have to have faith and the religion would collapse, thus leaving God with nothing. Otherwise, we may conclude that God has not proved his existence because he does not in reality exist, but even though that may be the case, God and Jesus do exist in the minds of Christians, just as Santa Claus exists in the minds of small children. Either way, God 'exists'. Now, my opponents argued that the length of time a man spends on earth is not directly related to his "value" and cited the examples of Stalin and Gandhi. Stalin was responsible for many deaths: that's true, but Stalin can't compete with God when it comes to mass murder – remember, with the exception of Noah and his family, God killed every single person in the world after he had a tantrum and flooded the entire planet. And although Gandhi is revered by many but we should remember that he was actually a complete racist. Referring to black South Africans as ‘kaffirs' he wrote: "Kaffirs are as a rule uncivilised — the convicts even more so. They are troublesome, very dirty and live almost like animals. .. The kaffirs' sole ambition is to collect a certain number of cattle to buy a wife with and then pass his life in indolence and nakedness. They're loafers. .. a species of humanity almost unknown among the Indians. " [1] He also supported white rule in South Africa. This is ironic, not only because his own people were subjugated under white rule (India was part of the British Empire at the time), but also because he condemned the blacks' "nakedness" when he used to walk around wearing nothing more than a loin cloth! It is also worth noting that God didn't kill Hitler, Hitler killed himself – there is no reason to suppose that God disapproved of the Holocaust – if Hitler had gassed millions of Christians he might have been a bit upset, but Hitler's issues were with Jews not Christians. You see, the deity Christians worship is not necessarily a benevolent or kind-hearted god and the old adage that the ‘good often die young' does hold some water. Now, moving on to my opponent's rebuttals: 1. To suggest that Jewish people are typically hard-working and entrepreneurial and are often financially solvent as a result, may be to stereotype them, but it is not an offensive stereotype, and there is no reason to suppose that Jesus was any less industrious or motivated by success than the average Jew is now. 2. We cannot know what Jesus actually thought to himself but we do know that he was a man and men, by their very nature, are usually keen to have as much sex with girls as they possibly can and are also very fond of going out, getting drunk and generally having a good time. 3. Years of selfless giving and personal sacrifice with no reward, just more and more basket-cases to deal with, would test the patience of a saint – it would be quite understandable if Jesus decided that he'd done his bit – he wasn't a one man welfare state – and that it was time for people to start looking after themselves. I can't prove that, of course, but it is more than plausible. Finally, I reassert that Jesus could still be among us today. Indeed, he could be someone we are all familiar with. So who are we looking for? We know he's a Jewish male who assumed a false identity, probably by shaving off his beard. He's been around for over two thousand years so he will have aged a bit. We also know that he is very persuasive and is able to further convince people of his superior abilities by performing miracles. So who do we know that fits the bill? Well, The Blue Collar Investor weblog referred to "a true miracle maker" who is alive and well today, a man who became famous for being able to persuade people to believe in him and his schemes, he is an aging Jewish man – can you guess who it is yet? No? Well go ahead and click the link then: . http://www.thebluecollarinvestor.com... I'm not saying he is Jesus, but he could be. Whatever, the fact remains that on the balance of probability, Jesus faked his own crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. Thank you. [1] The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi. 8. p. 199.