One of the greatest revelation from Michael Hudson’s research with the Harvard Peabody Museum archeology team is that Jesus was the leader of a debt cancellation movement in the ancient Near East who died revolting against the creditor-led oligarchic regimes.

The Greek word (ὀφειλήματα/opheilēma) had been variously translated in different versions of the Bible as “(financial) debts” or “sins”, with scholars arguing whether they meant moral failure/sins (more formally παράπτωμα/paraptōma) or financial debts owed to creditors. The problem came when Constantine made Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire, a religion centered around the Jubilee.

From the blurb of ...and forgive them their debts: Lending, Foreclosure and Redemption From Bronze Age Finance to the Jubilee Year (Tyranny of Debt) (2018):

The Real Message of Jesus: Jesus's first sermon announced that he had come to proclaim a Clean Slate debt cancellation (the Jubilee Year), as was first described in the Bible (Leviticus 25), and had been used in Babylonia since Hammurabi's dynasty. This message - more than any other religious claim - is what threatened his enemies, and is why he was put to death. This interpretation has been all but expunged from our contemporary understanding of the phrase, "...and forgive them their debts," in The Lord's Prayer. It has been changed to "...and forgive them their trespasses (or sins)," depending on the particular Christian tradition that influenced the translation from the Greek opheilēma/opheiletēs (debts/debtors).

Contrary to the message of Jesus, also found in the Old Testament of the Bible and in other ancient texts, debt repayment has become sanctified and mystified as a way of moralizing claims on borrowers, allowing creditor elites and oligarchs the leverage to take over societies and privatize personal and public assets - especially in hard times. Historically, no monarchy or government has survived takeover by creditor elites and oligarchs (viz: Rome). Perhaps most striking is that - according to a nearly complete consensus of Assyriologists and biblical scholars - the Bible is preoccupied with debt forgiveness more than with sin.

Why am I at Pompeii if I'm Greek

Wait, they are worshiping the guy that made bread and wine? Then went into a death an rebirth cycle? Are you sure they weren't confused and talking about Dionysis?

Chances are you're a follower of one of the myriad other wacky mystery cults floating around at the time anyway

Why Greek specifically and not Roman?

Also Caesar and Cicero and some of the fall of the Republic all time greats were all crowded around this time period too. It was like MCU, but less lame

I'd probably be most incredulous about the Virgin Birth part. "Wait your God didn't turn into a goose or something so he could bang Mary on the sly? You sure about that?"

Highly recommend Engels "On the History of Early Christianity" if you haven't read it.

https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1894/early-christianity/

In fairness Jews were very common in the east empire and gentile "god fearers" weren't uncommon either. They'd just be a particularly annoying gentile essene offshoot.

I've always wondered why people were so ready to convert. Like, if I was some ancient Roman and some guy came up to me offering a new god that's even better than the old ones and much easier to worship, I wouldn't just immediately fall for it. It just seems like a scam.

Around that time the Gospels were all like zines, really popular in the growing christo-punk scene back then