I find these type of threads ironic. The atheist who proposes such things is no different to the fundamental literalist. In fact the atheist by posting such things becomes the very thing he professes to stand against. The fundamentalist will cling to any text or any proposition that seems to point to the conclusion that every dotted i and every crossed t written about Jesus in the new testament is literally true. The atheist also already has a predetermined view and will likewise cling to any text or any proposition that seems to support the opposite view.
Maglincer, you might benefit from studying the works of Joseph Campbell who was the 20th century's foremost authority on comparative religion. Campbell understood that most of all religious belief was myth and metaphor. This, Campbell suggests, does not make religion a lie. However whilst many sacred stories cannot be taken literally they all seem to be different metaphors that contain the same eternal truths. Campbell explains that there are some aspects of ourselves that are so intangible that they even transcend our ability for thought and that these truths have been expressed through the ages in different religious metaphors.
Christianity captured the hearts and minds of so many people that it became the world's foremost religion. It could not have possibly have caught on with such mass appeal or for as long if it did not contain within it the ability to address the transcendent aspects of our being. You should look around you at the society that you get to live in and be grateful for Christianity. Our laws and society are based on the ten commandments and is tempered with the mercy and grace message of the new testament. Instead of searching for every reason why Christianity is not literally true you should perhaps look at some of those hard line Islamic societies and say to yourself "There but for the grace of God go I". How much of Jesus's life we can or cannot take as literally true I cannot say and neither do I care. The truths contained within the myths should be our greatest concern.
