Posted by David Goldman on January 01, 1998 at 12:24:35:
Even if Jesus existed, which I doubt, as I have argued before, he couldn't have been Messiah (even a non-pagan-Paulist one) for a number of reasons.
1) According to the Christian religion his "father" was not of the Davidic dynasty, yea, he was not even a human...
2) Even if Joseph were his father, there is no clear evidence who Joseph is descended from at all.
3) Any connection through Mary is useless, since Mary was not descended from King Solomon, the progenitor of Messiah, and anyway the Messianic status is not transmitted through the mother, as the priestly status is not either.