Do atheists know the full history of atheism and how it has been used throughout history?

Very likely, there was a real Jesus, one itinerant, self-schooled rabbi among many. He might have even been executed on some trumped up charges because he annoyed the local authorities. His disciples might have been devastated by the abrupt loss of their teacher.

To preserve his legacy, they might have started embellishing his reputation with more clearly portrayed stories of healings and prescient statements. OR, they could have made Jesus up in their imaginations. Maybe they were worldly Jewish intellectuals who saw Judaism becoming a dead end if wasn't somehow adapted to the gentile world, so they concocted a simple story about a man-god coming to make all things right.

They could even borrow myths from other religions to attract more people. Either way, with "Jesus" out of the way, these "apostles" had complete control of the Jesus story and message. They spread the word to others, who spread the word to others, although the faith didn't make it all that far out until Paul converted.

But if you read the New Testament in the rough order that the books were written, you might notice a peculiar progression. Paul's letters are the earliest, since he died before the first gospel was written. His biographical details of Jesus are non-existent.

All he says is the Jesus died and was raised. (Note the passive tense. Apparently Christians then believed Jesus became divine DURING his resurrection.) Next, Mark writes his short, stark gospel.

Jesus runs from place to place, performing miracles, then telling his disciples NOT to talk about them. (It's as if people had been complaining, "Why have we never heard of this guy?") But we are also introduced to Jesus' baptism, when the Spirit of God came upon Jesus. His divinity was moved up to the beginning of his ministry.

Questions apparently continued, so two more evangelists produced gospels. Matthew made every effort to cast Jesus as the prophesied Jewish messiah, while Luke made the Gentile case that "Jesus was savior of the word". But each one told a story about the incarnation and birth of Jesus, indicating that he had been divine for his entire life.

The stories didn't match, but people seemed to be satisfied. Matthew also took a step against the people who were suggesting that Jesus' disciples stole his body, by incorporating the rumors into his gospel and explaining how it was impossible. Twenty or more years passed.

People were speculating about what the relationship was between Jesus and his divine Father, and just what Jesus was: man, god, god+man, god over man, something in between? And what was Jesus BEFORE his conception? After much theologizing, it was "John's" turn to write.

His gospel was barely recognizable against the others. Jesus was suddenly the Son of God, present at the creation, and talking constantly about his divinity. Clearly the biography of Jesus developed over time, not all at once.

Does that make it a hoax? Not necessarily, but it is curious. There are lines in some of the later letters of the New Testament, and among the Church fathers, that respond directly to the accusations of pagan philosophers.

So the fact that the New Testament looks as if it were unchallenged in its day does not mean it wasn't. It just means that the critics were not in control of the Christian pens. You can read the critics' opinions in their own works.

Well, at least in the ones that survived the great purge that followed the legalization and mainstreaming of Christianity in the Fourth Century. How did Christianity get itself legalized? Through its message of compassion, service and acceptance of all classes in society.

Despite persecution, many people saw this as a much better system than the Roman Pantheon. Constantine legalized Christianity simply because Christian "outlaws" were becoming the majority. But Christianity soon became Romanized, and the message changed frim compassion to obedience.

And with the Emperor behind them, critics had no chance.

I think you're making an incorrect assumption here which is the basis of all your questions. Your assumption: Atheists had control over what other people believed in. I don't think this is the case.

That being said, I don't think they "let" anything happen. Once a large quantity of people start believing in one thing because they want to, an authority figure can't simply say "no, you're wrong, believe in this instead." Atheists have also been the minority for a very long time.

Before Christianity and Judaism there was Polytheism. People needed something to believe in then, because they didn't understand many things that nature did on its' own.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.