A passage from The God Delusion.

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Why did he fail to convert even one person who could read and write? He knew he was on the most important mission in the history of the planet and he didn't bother to make sure people would get his message straight.

[Munch]

Maybe scholars couldn't figure out how to write a character who had to deal with teen anxiety coupled with the fact his mom lived with a guy that wasn't his dad.

[Hydra009]

The missing parts of his life bothered me even as a little kid.  How could chroniclers leave that out?  It's not like he didn't become important and not worth following until he was an adult.  From the moment of his birth, the Bible makes it clear that Baby Jesus was destined for greatness.  Men of distinction came from great distances bearing gifts.  They followed miracles in the night sky to find him.

What happens after that?  Historians said, "Oh fuck it, I've got more important things to do than follow some pimple faced adolescent around for 20 years, even if he is the savior of mankind!"  ???

There are actually stories about Jesus's childhood in the apocrypha.

[PickelledEggs]

The missing parts of his life bothered me even as a little kid.  How could chroniclers leave that out?  It's not like he didn't become important and not worth following until he was an adult.  From the moment of his birth, the Bible makes it clear that Baby Jesus was destined for greatness.  Men of distinction came from great distances bearing gifts.  They followed miracles in the night sky to find him.

What happens after that?  Historians said, "Oh fuck it, I've got more important things to do than follow some pimple faced adolescent around for 20 years, even if he is the savior of mankind!"  ???

God hates pimples. It's as simple as that.

[Brian37]

I read that book, page number or chapter number please.

Doesn't matter even if he did exist, it would merely mean a man started a new religion which later got successfully marketed. It would not make a human have magical super powers or make the God of the bible real.

[stromboli]

Famous line from my brother when I handed him a copy of "Mormonism: Shadow or Reality"

"I'm not going to read that- it will hurt my testimony." 

    

[Youssuf Ramadan]

There are actually stories about Jesus's childhood in the apocrypha.

... but nothing about his early adult life?  There are some childhood stories in other gospels, Philip for one IIRC, that are even more ridiculous than anything in the standard gospels.... playing tricks on his friends, getting the even with his 'parents' for telling him off etc...

[ApostateLois]

Maybe scholars couldn't figure out how to write a character who had to deal with teen anxiety coupled with the fact his mom lived with a guy that wasn't his dad.

You have to realize that the concept of a "teenager" is a modern one. In the past, and in some countries still, a child was only a child until he/she reached puberty, usually around the age of 12 to 14. At that point, there were various rituals and rites performed to announce that the child had become a man or a woman; upon passing these trials, they officially entered the world of adulthood. Thus, a person was either a child or an adult. There was nothing in-between. Life was short and hard and people were expected to begin reproducing as soon as possible so they could raise sons to carry on the family name. At the age of 12, Jesus was almost entering manhood.