Quote Originally Posted by thir View Post
Assuming that Jesus existed, how did a mulitute of people get fed by 2 fish and 5 loaves? Was it because coming from afar, those who could brought food, and they shared it?
Even if he DID exist, why are there no reports of his so-called miracles from people other than his followers? There were thousands who supposedly saw them, but no one bothered to write them down?

Why did the crowd cry 'hosiana' on the entrance to Jerusalem, and 'crucify him' a few days later? Was it two different crowds, that of Barabas's followers, assuming he was a freedom fighter, and those of Jesus?
Again, you are assuming that the reports in the gospels are true. And they don't even agree with each other!

Why did Judas betray him? Was he disappointed as some explanations would have it, that Jesus could not save them from the Romans? And why the kiss? There must have been many people who knew him by sight.
If I recall (and I'm too lazy to look it up right now) the gospel of Judas claims that he was selected by Jesus to betray him, to fulfill prophecy. And the kiss is a major problem. If Jesus was so famous, why did one of his own have to identify him? Hell, if some of the Christians around here are to be believed, he would have been the only white guy in the whole damned country!

Why did he get crucified? Did he get caught in an uprising at the same time?
WAS he crucified? The descriptions of his crucifixion in the gospels are very different from standard Roman practice. Crucifixion was intended to be a humiliating, slow, painful death by suffocation, followed by an ignominious disposal of the body. He should have been on the cross for days, struggling for each breath, not allowed to die in mere hours. His followers and/or family would NOT have been permitted to take his body for burial.

How did he resurrect? Was he never crucified? Or did he not die?
Again, the only evidence for his resurrection comes from his followers. Not exactly uninvolved witnesses. There are no extant accounts from the Romans or the Jewish temple of his existence, much less his execution. The ONLY evidence we have for his existence are texts written at least 30 to 50 years after his death (Matthew), or even longer (Luke, John, Mark). And remember these are the four texts which the RCC decided, hundreds of years later, were good enough to include in their dogma. Other texts were tossed aside and ordered destroyed! How many of those would contradict the gospels as we know them?

What did the Romans want with Palestine anyway? There cannot have been a lot to tax??
The Middle East has always been a major crossroads between the riches of India and the Mediterranean. And the Romans taxed EVERYTHING! I just saw a program the other day about an outpost on the Red Sea that handled shipments of spices and goods from India. People traveling TO the fort had to pay a tax! The equivalent of $25 for the wife of a soldier, hundreds for merchants, taxes on donkeys hauling goods, and if memory serves, the equivalent of $2500 for a prostitute! The Romans got plenty of money out of Palestine, believe me!