truthofgod:

Who was Jesus? The Jews labeled him a heretic, the Muslims call him a prophet, we say that he is the Christ, the Son of God. But I am curious—what do others think? Was he just a good man, a wise teacher, a mad person, a liar? How do you explain this man?

Back to normal business around here.  “Who was Jesus?  [W]hat do others think?  Was he just a good man, a wise teacher, a mad person, a liar?”  Refer to the Historical Jesus Theories to get the gist of what others think about him and who others think he was.”How do I explain this man?”  I think historians like Carrier, Price, Thompson and others have made a great case for mythicism.  That’s how I explain him.  If you want more specifics, refer to my historicity page.  Most Jesus scholars are also Christian and that is why most people will conclude that he actually existed, but the conclusion isn’t that clear cut.  I’ve studied the case for the Messiah theory and I find it lacking; it is too consistent with the proponent’s faith and one cannot simply ignore that.  As Richard Carrier stated:  “[Christians] need Jesus to be real; I don’t need Jesus to be a myth (2012. Richard Carrier. Proving History:  Baye’s Theorem and the Quest for the Historical Jesus, p. 8).”