Hello James, thanks for responding.

You said:

“Stories of magic and the supernatural detract from the truth of the Gospel — what Jesus of Nazareth taught about how humans can best live with each other.”

My friend, why do you think they killed Jesus?

Do you think they killed Jesus because He taught humans how to best live with each other? How would that enrage those in power so much that they crucified Him?

In every ounce of evidence — both within the Bible and in the evidence outside of it — Jesus is killed for claiming to be God and for performing supernatural works.

You can’t remove the supernatural from Jesus.

The earliest testimony about Jesus — as recorded by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15 — was only a few years removed from Jesus’ life. It records the overtly supernatural: that Jesus died on the Cross for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again three days later, in fulfillment of the Scriptures:

[3] For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, [4] that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, [5] and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. [6] Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:3–6 ESV)

Paul is so adamant about the historical veracity of it that he hinges all of Christianity on Jesus’ real, historical Resurrection:

“if Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain… [17] And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins. [18] Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished. [19] If in Christ we have hope in this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied. (1 Corinthians 15:14, 17–19 ESV)

Do you see Paul’s point?

Everything about Christianity — including how we treat each other — hinges on the Resurrection.

Paul doesn’t say that Jesus’ morality survives, even if Jesus does not. Such an idea is foolish.

Jesus claimed to be God constantly. If He wasn’t, then He would be a mad man. Why should we follow the moralistic teachings of a mad man?

If Jesus wasn’t God, at best He’s a liar, and at worst crazy. There is no moral benefit in following such a person’s teaching.

But the fact of the matter that you’ve already hit on is this: Jesus’ teachings aren’t the ramblings of a mad man.

They are brilliant. They are beautiful. They are love-soaked. They make sense. They change the world when people live them out.

Words like that don’t come from a mad man or a liar.

Words like that come from Someone who knows what He’s talking about.

And that Someone claimed to be God in the flesh.