I believe that he existed, I just think he was one of many thousand outspoken jewish preachers that existed at that time.
The Romans didn\'t like that he was stirring up rebellion, so they killed him. Just like they did to hundreds or thousands of other outspoken preachers....
Back then, peeps believed that god put a baby directly in a woman\'s body. Mary
got pregnant out of wedlock, (probably at age 13 or so..)and was going to be stoned to death. Joseph married her to save her life. Since he never slept with her, the story came well after the fact (many years after Jesus died) that she was a virgin. That story fit in with some factions of christianity more than others....
Imagine back then if this happend to a local leader who promised to lead them from the hell of roman rule. In order to gain strength, you start embellishing this leader\'s exploits. (happens in every culture....)