I was thinking earlier today that even if the atheists were right and Jesus Christ were either merely a legend or even an entirely fictional character, he's still probably the best thing that Western Literature, if not world literature ever produced.
Odysseus? A violent, bloody-minded, two-timing jerk. About the only thing he gets right is that he always worships the gods who favor him.
Jason (of Golden Fleece fame), betrays his wife whom he mostly just exploited anyway.
Hercules...a pretty good guy all around, until he goes crazy and murders his family...and you also have to overlook his kinky sexual escapades when he was a cross-dressed slave.
Pretty much any god or goddess in the Greco-Roman or Norse pantheon is self-serving, fickle, and cruel...and more often than not, they turn out to be rapists.
And even the Bible itself offers few characters that can compare with the holiness, sanctity, or perfection of Christ (excepting perhaps Mary). You have to look hard to find an Old Testament hero who is flawless. All of the major names have huge blemishes to their reputation. Moses was a cowardly murderer. David was an adulterer and murderer. Solomon's weakness for women reduced him to literal idolatry despite his wisdom. Noah was a the most faithful of men in his day, but also a drunkard.
Even if Jesus was fictional (which I am not saying he was), he stands apart for his perfection.
I'd wager that it would even be hard to find a figure equal to his perfection in non-Western mythologies. Krishna seems great, but I can't say I feel entirely comfortable with some of his coeducational activities. Mohamed has garnered quite a following, but Islamic texts also describe some sexual awkwardness in his history too.
The Buddha's natural rejection for materialism puts him in pretty good stead, but even he had to achieve Enlightenment after some notoriously failed attempts. Jesus might have fasted for forty days, but he did so as a means of prayer--not to try to jumpstart perfection through excessive asceticism.
I hope this doesn't sound horrible anti-ecumenical. I'm certainly not trying to knock anyone else's religion. I'm just trying to juxtapose the narrative of Christ's life with other classical texts.
And, of course, things don't get all that much better with modern literature. I don't really see anyone imagining a character who is more perfect than the Gospel accounts of Christ...and those that come closest are usually Christian allegories or parody.
I suppose this goes back to certain philosophical defenses for Christianity or at least Theism.
Perhaps it is owing to a life steeped in Christian literature and imagery--perhaps I have just been ideologically programmed from birth--but I find it impossible to imagine a character more perfect than Christ. He has the super powers of Dr. Manhattan, the self-sacrificing nature of Optimus Prime, the gentle sternness of Atticus Finch, the courage of Luke Skywalker, the moral conviction of Batman, and the heart-warming, undaunted, innocent affection of Charlie Brown.
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