Jesus the son of Mary, Myth creation?

Source:

http://rationalrevolution.net/articles/jesus_myth_history.htm

Below is a time line outlining some of the major events that relate to the development of Christianity. The dates that many of the written works were produced is uncertain, an in some cases the proposed dates of authorship range by more than 100 years, but best estimates based on scholarship are provided. The sources used for information on writings is: http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/ and http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/

Time	Events
586 BCE	Jews conquered by Babylonians
538 BCE	Jews liberated by Persian King Cyrus
538-332 BCE	Jews ruled by Persians, but fairly autonomous
332 BCE	Jews conquered by Alexander the Great. Beginning of Hellenistic period
~170 BCE	Wisdom of Jesus son of Sirach written, book of wisdom sayings influenced by both Greek and Jewish ideas
~170 BCE	Apocalypse of Weeks written, earliest known piece of apocalyptic Jewish literature
~165 BCE	Book of Daniel written (one of the last of the canonical books of the prophets)
165 BCE	Judas Maccabees defeats Greek Army
~150 BCE	Martyrdom of Isaiah written
140 BCE	Hasmonean Kingdom (Israel) established by Maccabees family
~100 BCE - 100 CE	The books of Maccabees written
63 BCE	Judea conquered by Romans
~60 BCE	Wisdom of Solomon written, contains passion narrative that is paraphrased by Mark and Matthew
44 BCE	Death of Julius Caesar – Rome moves towards military dictatorship
37 BCE	Herod declared King of the Jews by Roman authority
20 BCE - 50 CE	Jewish theologian Philo integrates Greek philosophy and Jewish theology
4 BCE- 27/33 CE	Supposed lifetime of Jesus
~0	Apocryphon of Ezekiel written
26-36	Pontius Pilate governor over Judea
36	John the Baptist killed by Herod according to Josephus
~48-64	Letters of Paul written – First mention of “Jesus Christ”
~50	Assumption of Moses written
63	Jewish revolt against Roman authority in Judea
67-70	Judea destroyed by Roman army
~75	Gospel of Mark written
~90-120	Gospel of Matthew and Gospel of Luke written
~90	Apocalypse of Abraham written
~90	Apocalypse of Adam written (independent Gnostic/Jewish salvation story)
~95	Apocalypse of John written
95-98	Josephus writes Antiquity of the Jews
~110	Gospel of John written (or completed)
109	Tacitus writes Annals, refers to Christians being persecuted in Rome in 64 CE
112	Pliny the Younger writes letter to Trajan about Christians
~120	Ascension of Isaiah written
132-135	Bar Kokhba's Revolt (2nd Jewish War) – Bar Kokhba named The Messiah by Jews
~200-300	Economic decline in Rome and period of imperial turmoil
313	Edict of Milan - Constantine allowed freedom of all religions
325	Council of Nicaea - summoned by Constantine to create official Christian (Catholic) doctrine
330	Creation of “Constantine Bible” - Unified “Old” and “New” scriptures
362	Emperor Julian “the Apostate” declares Christianity a fiction created by wicked men
~380	Theodosius declares Catholicism the official state religion of Rome
394	Battle of the Frigidus, Theodosius defeats remaining pagan armies in the Empire, all of Europe now officially Christian

The 1st century BCE and the 1st century CE were periods of immense turmoil for Jews living in Judea, and Jews living throughout the empire were likewise caught up in the politics and strife of the time as well. Some diaspora Jews were very concerned about the goings on in Judea, while others were not. Jews throughout the empire were integrating into Greek and Roman society in a variety of ways and to a variety of degrees. During this time, however, in both Judea and in the diaspora communities, many apocalyptic and Messianic works were written, in both Semitic languages and Greek, and many different Messianic movements emerged.

Indeed "Christianity", or the cult of "Jesus Christ", was just one small segment of this trend within Hellenistic Judaism. Many Jewish works of this time talk of prophecies, impending doom, and coming saviors. The Christian Bible is an even smaller sub-set of the writings about Jesus Christ.