He ruled over Judea when Jesus was born. Mysteries of the Bible s3e2: Herod the Great
Nearly everything we know of Herod’s life comes from a Jewish historian named Josephus who lived a century after Herod’s death. ibid.
What mad drive for power could bring a King to kill his own kin? ibid.
He continues to build as if driven by an obsession. ibid.
The Slaughter of the Innocents – even Josephus ... makes no mention of this crime. ibid.
According to most scholars the Gospels as presented in the New Testament are not first-hand eye-witness accounts. Mysteries of the Bible s3e10: The Lost Years of Jesus
Could Jesus have travelled to India and encountered the teachings of Buddha? ibid.
Some scholars find striking similarities between Jesus and Buddha. ibid.
In 1887 Notovitch, a Russian journalist, travelled to Hemis, an isolated Buddhist monastery high in the Himalayan mountains of northern India. In his book The Unknown Life of Jesus Christ Notovitch claims that there he was shown secret manuscripts which detailed the life of a wandering prophet named Esa. ibid.
Did Jesus travel to England? And does the cup from the last supper – the Holy Grail – hold the key which could unlock the secrets of his missing years? ibid.
Did Jesus spend his lost years in the wilderness with a fanatically religious apocalyptic sect? ibid.
If Jesus were involved in revolution, this could explain why a gap exists in our knowledge of his life. ibid.
The New Testament makes no mention of angels being present at the manger or the birth of Jesus. Mysteries of the Bible s4e3: Biblical Angels
Were women present too? Mysteries of the Bible s4e4: The Last Supper
Why did Jesus deliberately affront the most powerful authorities in the land? ibid.
The motives for Judas’s betrayal have long baffled historians. ibid.
A fourteen-year-old Jewish peasant girl, a virgin named Mary, is said to have miraculously given birth to the saviour of her people. There is scant evidence of Mary’s remarkable life. Mysteries of the Bible s4e10: Mary of Nazareth
According to the Infancy Gospel [of James] Mary’s conception in her mother’s womb is physically ordinary. But God makes a special provision: Mary will be born without ordinary sin. ibid.
Instead of being overwhelmed by the stunning impact of Gabriel’s words, that she would bear the Son of God out of wedlock, Mary responds to this momentous prediction with a single telling question: How can this be? ibid.
Once more an angel intervenes on Mary’s behalf: this night he speaks to Joseph in a dream. ibid.
Was Jesus born in Bethlehem or in Nazareth? ibid.
Historians have never found a shred of evidence that a Roman census was conducted precisely at the time the Christian Bible records Jesus’ birth. ibid.
Is it possible that Mary and Joseph were never married at all? ibid.
Mysteriously, the Christian Bible provides no details whatsoever about her days spent in Egypt with her husband and the infant Jesus. ibid.
Here a dream was born. A dream as old as this promised land. And here the Bible says the dream will become a reality. Here the Messiah will appear. Mysteries of the Bible s5e1: Messiah
The birthplace of not just one but a number of messiahs. ibid.
Did Jesus ask Judas to hand him over for trial so that scripture could be fulfilled? Mysteries of the Bible: Judas s5e3: The Ultimate Betrayal
Jesus Christ is perhaps the most famous man ever to walk this planet. You’d think we’d know everything there is to know about him. But that’s very far from the truth. His life is still shrouded in mystery. Full of bizarre events and unanswered questions. The Jesus Mysteries, National Geographic 2014
A nativity story obscured and sanitised by myth and legend. ibid.
‘And come up with a cutesy little picture.’ ibid. Professor Helen Bond
‘It’s his death that ultimately matters.’ ibid. Bart Ehrman
It is wholly wrong to blame Marx for what was done in his name, as it is to blame Jesus for what was done in his. Tony Benn
God had a son, and he said, ‘Jesus, I’m sending you on a suicide mission. But don’t worry. They can’t kill you ’cause you’re really me.’ Bill Maher, ABC television
I think Jesus was probably an awkward teenager. Bill Maher, Religulous, 2008
No-one who wrote about Jesus ever met him. ibid.
Written in 1280 B.C. the Egyptian Book of the Dead describes a god Horus. Horus is the son of the god Osiris. Born to a virgin mother. He was baptised in a river by Anup the Baptiser. Who was later beheaded. Like Jesus, Horus was tempted while alone in the desert. Healed the sick. The blind. Cast out demons. And walked on water. He raised Asar from the dead (Asar translates to Lazarus). Oh yeah, he also had twelve disciples. Yes, Horus was crucified first. And after three days, two women announced Horus, the saviour of humanity, had been resurrected. ibid.
… When their imaginary friend comes back for the Rapture: Oh I was in the bathroom and the Rapture came … Here’s a frightening statistic: one out of four Americans believe that Jesus will return to Earth in their lifetime. See that’s religion. Ego masquerading as humility. Jesus is coming back: of course he’s going to want to meet me. ‘Hi, Jesus, Bob Flemstein, big fan, I know you’re crazy busy with the Rapture and everything but can you just sign ...’ Bill Maher: But I’m Not Wrong, Sky Comedy 2021
But he has kids? What is this – Bonanza? He has a son? God had a son. And he said to him, Jesus, I’m sending you down to Earth on a suicide mission. But don’t worry, they can’t kill you, because you’re really me. ibid.
Speculating about Jesus, thinking about Jesus, is always going to have a fantastic appeal. Joan Taylor, author & historian
The stars move still, time runs, the clock will strike,
The devil will come, and Faustus must be damned.
O I’ll leap up to my God: who pulls me down?
See, see, where Christ’s blood streams in the firmament,
One drop would save my soul, half a drop, ah my Christ. Christopher Marlowe, Doctor Faustus, 1604
Christ is not God. Not the saviour of the world. But a mere man. A sinful man. And an abominable idol. All who worship him are abominable idolaters. And Christ did not rise again from death to life. Nor did he ascend into heaven. Matthew Hammond
There simply is no demonstrable evidence from the Nazareth site that dates to the time of Jesus Christ and to Hellenistic times. James Randi, Archaeology v The Bible
Once the evidence is weighted there are very high odds that the figure known as Jesus did not exist. Peter Joseph, Zeitgeist, 2007
cf.
We have around 42 sources for Jesus within 150 years of his life. Keith Thompson, Zeitgeist Debunked, 2008
Theosophists and freemasonry as part of their esoteric doctrine taught that Jesus was the sun-god, the sun in the sky, and that he was based on the age of Pisces in the sky. Keith Thompson, Aquarius: The Age of Evil, 2010
The powerful but misguided esoteric movements of today such as Freemasonry and the Illuminati hold to the belief that the Jesus of Christianity is in reality a representation of the Sun or astrological personification, and that Christianity is a later distortion or forgery that plagiarized from previous cults. This is why you see so many attacks upon Christianity in our day. Keith Thompson, Where the Rabbit Hole Ends
Jesus gets barely a mention in Josephus. He had much more to say about a travelling preacher who according to the Gospels prepared the way for Jesus. Gerry Adams, The Bible: A History: Jesus, Channel 4 2010
Let each of us study to improve ourselves to God through Jesus Christ. Thunderbolt & Lightfoot 1974 starring Jeff Bridges & Clint Eastwood & Geoffrey Lewis & Catherine Bach & Garey Busey & Jack Dodgson & Gene Elman & Burton Gilliam & Roy Jenson & Claudia Lennear & Vic Tayback & Dub Taylor & Bill McKinney & Gregorey Walcott et al, director Michael Cimino, Clint as preacher
Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man for he was a doer of wonderful works. A teacher of such men as received the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews