People miss the point of the Bible it doesn't matter if there was a Jesus or a Moses. The ideas that are inherant in the bible pre-date the bible itself. Its fictional but what is important about it is what he says about us. As there is no proof any of it happened other then it being self referential. To think that none of it is made up (I'd say all of it is) to suit a purpose is like saying the sun rises in the South. Anyone who wants to believe that in order to prove your love to God you have to almost murder your son (Abraham) or that their was a great flood and Moses walked the desert or the great plagues of Eygpt actually happened when there is no evidence to confirm it other then the book itself..this despite the Eygptians being famous chroniclers or that what happened in the Garden before the death of Jesus was factual...everyone was asleep according to the story itself ..how could sleeping people tell us about the doubts of Jesus in the Garden??..
..anyone that doesn't at least think it some of it (it not all) could be made up is just fooling themselves. Why did it all happen in what we now call the Middle East?? Because they wrote about what they new.

What is more its not just the fear of death that keeps us believing in God its the desire to be more important then we are. We don't like the thought we are insignificant its a predisposition of our intellect to want to be more then we are and look for reasons to justify the desire.

The God described in the Bible and every other book of worship is not a very nice person embued with all the worst human qualities and the worst one of all is that you have to accept and believe in him or else be doomed. That is not unconditional love as so many people seem to think he embodies but conditional love. Whats more in the bible he not only tells you what how to act but what you can think about. Take the 10 commandments do you think humanity would of gotten very far if we indeed didn't covert our neighbors stuff??? Where would human drive come from???

The fascinatiing thing is that Jesus himself (a person we have no idea if he existed or is the comnbination of various 'prophets that walked the earth about 200 years ago) told people to be like little Children. Bible thumpers and so forth think this means just be accepting and not question what you are taught (see the doco Jesus Camp and listen to thecommentary about the little boy in the film with doubts and what happens to people with doubts in that world). However anyone with kids knows that kids do nothing but question and take things apart to see how they work. Just accepting what is written as anyone who believes in God does even if they deny it, is a person not following the actual instructions of the person they claim to follow. Questioning something would in fact deepen your understanding of it.

Anyone can make up a Chruch or something to believe in and people will follow (see link below, OK its a video that mocks belief but its funny) . All you have to do is claim you are part of a long line of prophets including Abarham, Moses, Jesus and so on..as is the case with most churches formed in the last 200 years from the Bahai's to the kormons and people will follow so deep is the desire to believe we are more then we are and the desire to ask Whats it all About Alfie?? Maybe the truth is a very simple thing. We are part of the environment, we evolved and thats all there is. We go back into the earth and become part of the worlds life cycle and so we are more important then we think we are..the mystic world is slowly going..which is why so many crazies are trying to hold onto it..there is nothing wrong with the mystical per se but in believing it you also have to admit there is no freakin proof of it either.. And if what you believe is worth believing why discount anything anyone who challenges your belief says. I chalk that up to fear..fear that there is no God and then fear we aren't very important and ultimately our fear of death. Its very simple

Anyone that thinks religion hasn't been used and isn't used to control people is just not very smart and clearly doesn't read the news.