The bible is a book roughly 1500 years old that has been mistranslated, edited down by the canan, and cherry picked by every one who reads it. Ask yourself this, if a guy today wrote a new religious text and said it was inspired by god would you believe him or say he's psycho unless he could prove it?Historical the bible has actually been debunked. I'm not attacking your belief but I do think there is too much much religion and not enough spirituality. The bible is suppose to be the inspired word of god so why edit it? why decide what to put in and what to take out? There are 32 books tht weren't put in the bible. Its good you have faith keep it but don't have it in that book but in the characteristics that make up a possible Jesus and every other mythological hero. To have blind faith is harder to accept. Yes blind faith can inspire you to help the needy but it can also inspire you to blow up abortion clinics or kill thousands with pronise of 72 virgins. the bible does contradict quite a bit and most of the stories were rewrites from other books such as Gilgamesh thts over 3000 years older then the bible. Even the story of Jesus is shared by hundreds of deities tht predates J...esus by many centuries. Your right there are many different authors but the inspired word was edited. We're getting closer to explaining all of creation. There's a reason why the sun is the original god cuz early man actually saw its magnificents. It gave them life, warmth, and light. You can't take the bible literally unless you take the whole thing literally, you can't cherry pick it like most ppl who read it do. Most fables have a hint of truth, but man has a habit of of sensationalizing thing. Robin Hood, King Author, Dracula, etc all created out of historical events and ppl. The bible is book put together by a comittee put together by Emperor Constantine called the Canon, for political reasons. Then he made it law and if you didn't believe you were put to death for blasphemy. So yes there are some historical figures in the bible but the "fairy tale-ish" type stories is what keeps you interested, miracles, super hero abilities etc.

My response:
Mr. D, I know we haven't met but you seem very intelligent but badly misinformed. First, the historical evidence bears out that the bible was written over a 1500-1600 year period, by over 40 different authors ...in 3 languages; Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek; on 3 continents and has more than 5000 more manuscripts than the next nearest book of antiquity, Homer's Iliad which has 600 manuscripts. And though there are many versions ( which I wouldn't read a majority of ), all of the word for word TRANSLATIONS agree. All of this is well researched and documented in the book "The New Evidence That Demands A Verdict" written by the former atheist Josh McDowell, who by the way compiled this material while attempting to disprove Christianity. And all of the debunking that is mentioned in these comments sounds like the zeitgeist movie, which holds no merit in modern scholarship. Now I will add more as time permits. I wonder which pagan religion is referred to when it is mentioned that Jesus' life is copied from? Mithra-ism, Osiris, Dionysus, Adonis or even Zeus? Well, not a one comes close which I will document soon. And talk about faith, it's not s blind faith but one that is founded on historical truths. Let me state that if a man wrote a new religious text inspired claiming it was inspired by God modern scholars and theologians would reject it as well as all true Christians should because the Canonized scriptures declare that God has spoken ...in finality and that his final revelation is in the Christ (Hebrews 1:1-3) and God also gives us the end of all things in his revelation through Jesus to John in Revelation 1-22 (see 1:1). And the 32 books that were left out of the Canon were so because they did not meet the criteria of the true writings of the apostles and first century authors inspired by God. We see these books rejected by the church fathers prior to Constantine's rule. For example, Iraneus of Lyons in Against Heresies (A.D. 175) stating the four gospels were given to us by the Word (Jesus). Irenaeus c.180

“Others again declare that Cain derived his being from the Power above, and acknowledge that Esau, Korah, the Sodomites, and all such persons, are related to themselves. On this account, they add, they have been assailed by the Creator, yet no one of them has suffered injury. For Sophia was in the habit of carrying off that which belonged to her from them to herself. They declare that Judas the traitor was thoroughly acquainted with these things, and that he alone, knowing the truth as no others did, accomplished the mystery of the betrayal; by him all things, both earthly and heavenly, were thus thrown into confusion. They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they style the Gospel of Judas.” (Against Heresies 1.31)

This was to denounce the gnostic gospels which was left out of the canon. Time and space will not permit me to write of other church fathers who predate the Canon but quote extensively from the scriptures that make up the Canon,but I will give you one more from another church father who rejected the gnostic gospels...over a hundred years before they were rejected by the church's Canon in 397 A.D.

Origen c.254
“I know a certain gospel which is called “The Gospel according to Thomas” and a “Gospel according to Matthias” and many others have we read - lest we should in any way be considered ignorant of those who imagine they possess some knowledge if they are acquainted with these. Nevertheless, among all these we have approved solely what the church has recognized, which is that only four gospels should be accepted.” (Homily on Luke 1:1)
The parallels between Gilgamesh and scripture shows that the early cultures knew of a worldwide flood and the origin of man from creation. As we see, the worldwide flood is found in many ancient cultures which attests to the veracity of scr...iptures. Now concerning Jesus and other deities that supposedly share his story, let me add: That Jesus of Nazareth is a documented figure from history as attested by his followers (New Testament) who were eyewitnesses and who died for their firm conviction that they saw their risen Lord. Nobody will die for what they know to be a lie. We also see Jesus mentioned by Josephus and Tacitus as well. Now the pagan myths were just that myths and not one myth, whether Dionysus, Osiris, Adonis or Mithra contains the resurrection of a literal body of the one who is killed, and none of them contain the virgin birth in the same context of the birth of Jesus. By the way, the most complete texts we have of these pagan myths mentioning a rising Adonis is from the second century A.D., long after the story of Christ. My friends, the proof of history debunking the bible just doesn't exist. From history, to archeology, science and even predictive prophecy, the bible is steadfast and reliable and has outlived it's pallbearers and it is an anvil that has worn out many a hammer of the agnostics, skeptics and atheist through the centuries...and it is still the # 1 best seller in all of history. It was the great Irish historian W.E.H. Lecky, who by no means was a Christian, stated:
-- “the character of Jesus has not only been the highest pattern of virtue, but the strongest incentive to its practice, and has exerted so deep an influence, that it may be truly said, that the simple record of three short years of active life has done more to regenerate and to soften mankind, than all the disquisitions of philosophers and all the exhortations of moralists.”
And here are a few more quotes:
“…if one judged a person’s greatness by historical standards…by this test Jesus stands first.”
H.G. Wells

“As the centuries pass, the evidence is accumulating that, measured by his effect on history, Jesus is the most influential life ever lived on this planet. That influence appears to be mounting.”

Kenneth Scott LaTourette

“If ever man was God, or God was man, Jesus Christ was both.”
Lord Byron

“If the life and death of Socrates were those of a sage, the life and death of Jesus were those of a God.”
J.J. Rousseau
Also, as a Christian, I do not take the bible literally, but it is to be taken at face value and for us to apply it in its proper context from Old to the New Testament revelations and commands. To the honest heart and mind who is searching for truth, God has assured that they will find Him.