My skepticism isn't for any of the people/prophets. My skepticism relates in part to Greek Mythology. All of their beliefs were passed down from generation to generation using story telling and song. They are excellent stories, and their morals are just. But I'd hazard a guess that there was some creative embellishment as time went on.
The first known mention of Jesus Christ was in the New Testament, which was penned in 95AD. The estimations on Jesus' death was 35AD. So, for 60 years, all of the stories were passed down through story and song. There is a large possibility of embellishment before pen hit paper.
Since the New Testament was penned (in either Greek or Aramaic), it has been re-written and translated many times, as well as being modified by the authorities from time to time. I believe the last two re-writes that involved changes were 1977 and 1995. But that all depends on which version of the bible you subscribe to.
My point is not to deny any of the events. It's to question those who quote the scripture verbatim. Celebrate the faith, not the book.
Actually, no.
We know exactly what the original authors wrote in the original Greek. Anyone can go back and check the 5600 manuscripts dating back to the first generation. They all agree. Nothing got changed other than minor typos easily corrected by "ANDing" all the copies together.
The only New Testament book written as late as 95 AD was Revelation. Others, like the book of Acts were written in the early 60's. More than half of the New Testament is comprised of letters written prior to Peter and Paul's deaths in 67 AD. All of the New Testament was written by people who had first hand experience with the events and had spent their lives traveling and telling their experiences until it undoubtedly became rote memory. It was not passed verbally from person to person before being written down.
One exception might be the writings of Dr. Luke who traveled with Paul serving as a historian and "investigative reporter" who interviewed a lot of eyewitnesses to compile his accounts.
Finally Jesus explicitly promised them supernatural ability to recall everything perfectly:
Where can I go to check the manuscripts? Are they on display?
They are generally found in museums and monasteries all over the world.
For example Saint Catherine's Monastery in the Sinai (source of the Codex Sinaiticus), or Saint Sabbas Monastery outside Bethlehem. Every year, several New Testament manuscripts handwritten in the original Greek format are discovered. The latest substantial find was in 2008, when 47 new manuscripts were discovered in Albania;
Thank you @stan. I will do some research.