Socrates taught for 40 years, Plato for 50, Aristotle for 40, and Jesus for only 3. Yet the influence of Christ's 3-year ministry infinitely transcends the impact left by the combined 130 years of teaching from these men who were among the greatest philosophers of all antiquity.

I don't really have any doubts that the man existed even though a strong case can be made that he didn't. But, this is certainly an interesting thought, no? I think it's probably a good case study in the evolution of social behavior. The words supposedly spoken by Jesus were obviously drastically different than the existing messages of the day. But, why did it catch on so quickly? I'm an atheist by the way, but I love entertaining the other side's arguments and play devils advocate (pun intended). It helps me even more to empathize with believers and ultimately enables me to strike a chord with them when I make my points. I'm curious to hear any of your thoughts.

*Edit: This was not my saying. This came straight from a theist friends' facebook.