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not to hijack the thread, but...
could this question not be asked about any significant religious figure?
What about Moses? Was he a real person?
Muhammad?
Paul?
Is historical proof necessary for the message to be valid?
If the writings of the faithful are the basis for all belief in a certain religion, subsequent followers naturally add their belief systems as they adopt the faith.
Did Adam and Eve exist? No contemporaries existed...
Did Jesus' birth and death actually occur on the now-accepted dates, or were these dates co-opted to coincide with pre-existing festivals/holidays?
To study religion soley with a historian's eye requires the closing of the other eye... the eye that attempts to study the faith and its effect on the faithful.
I now return you to the original thread.
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Always question authority... it'll keep the bastards on their toes!
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