Atheists & Agnostics

I really don't understand this notion that Jesus was this bubbly, cheerful guy until the Romans came around and ruined everything. This doesn't really comport with history or, more importantly, the character described in the Gospels.

The Gospels are our only source of information about the character of Jesus. While they are not contemporaneous sources (none of those exist), they were written in the first century, well before Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. And I gotta say, their portrayal of Jesus is, well, kind of a mixed bag.