re: #238 Dr Lizardo

To be brutally objective, if Jesus existed, and if he was executed by the Romans as a troublemaker - which should be obvious, as the alleged sign posted on the crucifix read Iēsus Nazarēnus, Rēx Iūdaeōrum, and I’m pretty sure the Sanhedrin didn’t that up there - then why doesn’t Pontius Pilate mention him in some letter to the Emperor? Pilate was the governor, after all.

Or could it be something as simple as a centurion saw him making a fuss at the Temple, and had him sentenced to death on the spot? A Centurion - a commander of 100 men - certainly had that authority, thereby forgoing any trial before Pilate. And why would Jesus, who was not a Roman citizen, after all, merit a trial before Pilate?

There’s tons of unanswered questions. When I’m being ruthlessly logical, I’d say the following: I believe the incident at the Temple with the vendors very likely happened, a Centurion was called, and he sent Jesus off to be executed as a troublemaker at the Temple during Passover. He may have found a translator, questioned Jesus, and thus the whole INRI thing as a way of mocking said troublemaker.

I’m in that boat as well. It’s entirely possible there was a political rebel named Jesus in Jerusalem who got executed by the Romans for his troublemaking. I think that the Jesus in the Bible is the recipient of one of the biggest profile overhauls in human history.

The Jesus with magic powers that everyone know today? Quite frankly, a fictional Bronze Age superhero.

I read somewhere once that the Romans were master historians. They documented Spartacus and the slave rebellion. Why wouldn’t a Roman historian note a single man who supposedly caused that much chaos in their world?