I thought this was posted by Bernardo for a second. Did you copy his name on purpose, Banardo?
Anyway, yes, Jesus existed and he was a great man who did a lot of good. He wasn't, however, a God. In my oppinion, it's a big case of urban legends and myths being passed on by word of mouth. It has become a little out of hand, but if it helps people, it helps.
Jesus was an historical figure - he really existed, but was just a man who had a philosophy and had students/disciples... a teacher. After he died, his more radical students began asserting that he was the promised messiah and turned him into a religious figure.
I believe that he was a real person as there are references to him in other texts from his era.
However, I think that the son of god bit and the virgin birth is a little far fetched.
And the part of Jesus being born from a virgin. The jewish word for young women and virgin is the same but it has alot more punch with virgin instead of jesus was born of a young women and a carpenter. And of course Josef agreed when she said that god made me pregnant he didn't want to admit to her parents he dipped his staff in the family ink before the wedding
Just got a great image in my mind. Imagine we could go back 2,000-odd years and take with us the technology of today?
Trisha: Now then, Mary, we asked you if you've ever had sexual intercourse with another man while you were seeing God. You told the lie detector 'no', but the lie detector said... you were lying. Audience: *Shock gasps, jeering and booing.
Trisha: Join us next time on Trisha when we'll be finding out if anyone had tampered with the water Jesus walked on...
Apparently there is documetation of a carpenter by the name of "Joshua bar Josef" born in Bethlehem at about the right time. Augustus also has a little mention of a religio/political hot potato in his letters to Pilate.
In terms of doctrine, JC wasn't saying much that Plato hadn't said a few hundred years earlier.