Jesus of Nazareth
Jesus was born in Bethlehem a little before 1AD, lived for a time in Egypt, and was ultimately raised in Nazareth. It is said his birth was accompanied by a very bright star in the Western sky that led Magi (thought to be Zoroastrians) bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Gifts for royalty and death. His parents are said to be Joseph and Mary, but not long after he becomes a teen Joseph disappears from the stories, however, Mary is there throughout his life.
Famously, there is a period of time in Jesus' life that is not written down. Much speculation is made about this time supposing he traveled the world, for instance, saying he went to Iran, India, Greece, or Egypt and learned in those locations fusing their religions with Judaism. Nobody knows what he did in his 20's before he appeared again when he was about 30. When he appeared again at 30, though, his ministry would change the world. He would reform Judaism and bring that religion to everyone.
Since his crucifixion at the behest of the Sanhedrin and the hand of the Romans, he has been mocked and praised. His followers have been killed and are still being killed to this day. The entire Roman empire eventually converted to this form of Judaism, called Christianity, and it is called that because Jesus' followers believe he is the Messiah (Χριστός or Christos in Greek). Their savior and liberator. A claim, along with calling himself the Son of Man, is what led to the Sanhedrin saying he was being blasphemous and want his death.
Followers of Jesus are called Christians, and this site is about the Christian religion.
I find Christianity to be a sophisticated religion. One that takes the Judaism to the next level of refinement and detail. People who dislike it seem to either not understand it, have been susceptible to negative propaganda, have deep seeded alternate beliefs (like Rabbinic Judaism), or just do not care. I have not found someone who seems to understand the religion and does not see the beauty in it, even if they do not believe it.
The Bible
The Bible I put in a category I call "theological fiction". It's historical in that it's based on real events, at least past Genesis 11 and excluding the books that are clearly not historical like Proverbs, and it documents those events; however, it does so in a very specific way. First, is to show God's interactions within the world around us. The book of Esther is one of those books that is the prototypical example of that. God it not mentioned once in the book, but, as they say, his presence is felt. Second, is to compress or exclude events to highlight this relationship. A historian would tell the story completely differently than the Bible, but the historian is not interested in relating God's place in history. Third, is to teach lessons about the experiences we all have. There very well could be other reasons, but I'll leave it at that.
This site
The "because the Bible tells me so" argument is the worst possible argument for religion. I find it severely lacking. The Bible doesn't show you anything. There is no direct evidence in the Bible, the Bible describes the evidence others saw. God is supposed to be all around us in the world, and if that's the case then we can also experience God like the Biblical authors did. That would be evidence. What's the point otherwise? To pretend something is true to be accepted? To deny it because of hatred for it? To be born into it so you just accept it? To see it as some sort of academic, intellectual only, pursuit? Why would God give us bodies and emotions if our minds were the only way to him (or pick your heart or body instead of mind)? How could we exclude any one part of ourselves in coming to God? No, something is deeply wrong with theology today. It needs to get its understanding of God back. I hope this site provides some better insight into Christianity than you would otherwise get from people who cling to creeds Jesus didn't speak or stick to ritual Jesus never knew. The truth must be out there, God must want us to find it. No, it's not Islam, get out of here with that satanic doctrine.
In this search for truth, there is much exegesis on this site, while trying to avoid eisegesis. One question I have to ask, though, is why did religions pop up and evolve thousands of years ago but now they are static? Is there no more change - did God close the patent office? Can we learn nothing new about God? Yet, we can learn General Relativity (a property of God's creation) and Quantum Mechanics? Make it make sense. There have seriously been no new prophets in 2000 years? There was not one Jewish or Christian book worthy of being added to the Bible? Why not? How could everything worth writing have been already written? How could someone in 2000 years not write a better book? Is it an admission that the true meanings are lost to time, so nobody can write anything new? Is it an admission that the whole thing has jumped the shark? Lots of questions, so far, few answers.
In part, I have some small amount of envy for those who seem to just understand religion.