Did Jesus Exist? Court to Decide
How nice to see this headline concerning a court case brought by a former seminary student in Italy. The entire story is printed below.
I think that too often we atheist, in trying to find some middle ground with believers, will become too agreeable with some aspects of the believers superstitions. Take the existence of Christ for example. If you weigh the actual historical evidence of the existence of this biblical character you will find that the evidence does not support his existence. It is really that simple. The evidence doesn't support the existence of Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood or Santa Claus either. There is, in fact, a measure that you put to the existence of characters in literature, yet Jesus seems to be exempt from these test by not only believers but many atheists.
Why is it that we (atheists) should even entertain the notion that Jesus did in fact exist? Further, why should we acknowledge that he was a 'great teacher' or a 'good role model'? The evidence does not support any of these claims, yet I hear many atheists who will say such things in an effort to accomadate believers.
I think that it is time that we all face the FACTS that Jesus is no more an historically accurate character than Bilbo Baggins. It is not our job to make believers comfortable or to stretch our credulity to make some common ground. For anyone interested, I would strongly suggest watching The God Who Wasn't There , a very personal documentary concerning the actual existence of Jesus Christ.
Did Jesus exist? Italian court to decide
By Phil StewartWed Jan 4, 10:28 PM ET
Forget the U.S. debate over intelligent design versus evolution.
An Italian court is tackling Jesus -- and whether the Roman Catholic Church may be breaking the law by teaching that he existed 2,000 years ago.
The case pits against each other two men in their 70s, who are from the same central Italian town and even went to the same seminary school in their teenage years.
The defendant, Enrico Righi, went on to become a priest writing for the parish newspaper. The plaintiff, Luigi Cascioli, became a vocal atheist who, after years of legal wrangling, is set to get his day in court later this month.
"I started this lawsuit because I wanted to deal the final blow against the Church, the bearer of obscurantism and regression," Cascioli told Reuters.
Cascioli says Righi, and by extension the whole Church, broke two Italian laws. The first is "Abuso di Credulita Popolare" (Abuse of Popular Belief) meant to protect people against being swindled or conned. The second crime, he says, is "Sostituzione di Persona", or impersonation.
"The Church constructed Christ upon the personality of John of Gamala," Cascioli claimed, referring to the 1st century Jew who fought against the Roman army.
A court in Viterbo will hear from Righi, who has yet to be indicted, at a January 27 preliminary hearing meant to determine whether the case has enough merit to go forward.
"In my book, The Fable of Christ, I present proof Jesus did not exist as a historic figure. He must now refute this by showing proof of Christ's existence," Cascioli said.
Speaking to Reuters, Righi, 76, sounded frustrated by the case and baffled as to why Cascioli -- who, like him, came from the town of Bagnoregio -- singled him out in his crusade against the Church.
"We're both from Bagnoregio, both of us. We were in seminary together. Then he took a different path and we didn't see each other anymore," Righi said.
"Since I'm a priest, and I write in the parish newspaper, he is now suing me because I 'trick' the people."
Righi claims there is plenty of evidence to support the existence of Jesus, including historical texts.