Response #2 To 'unconvinced'
Claims to divinity are, as you say, "so common in our history." Since millions can be found to believe in each of the major religions, as well as atheism or agnosticism, one's personal reasons for believing anything are quite idiosyncratic and are really not a proof of anything. I will quote Baha'u'llah on the subject of just how one comes to believe in Him and His teachings:
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The essence of these words is this: they that tread the path of faith, they that thirst for the wine of certitude, must cleanse themselves of all that is earthly - their ears from idle talk, their minds from vain imaginings, their hearts from worldly affections, their eyes from that which perisheth. They should put their trust in God, and, holding fast unto Him, follow in His way. Then will they be made worthy of the effulgent glories of the sun of divine knowledge and understanding, and become the recipients of a grace that is infinite and unseen, inasmuch as man can never hope to attain unto the knowledge of the All-Glorious, can never quaff from the stream of divine knowledge and wisdom, can never enter the abode of immortality, nor partake of the cup of divine nearness and favour, unless and until he ceases to regard the words and deeds of mortal men as a standard for the true understanding and recognition of God and His Prophets.
Consider the past. How many, both high and low, have, at all times, yearningly awaited the advent of the Manifestations of God in the sanctified persons of His chosen Ones. How often have they expected His coming, how frequently have they prayed that the breeze of divine mercy might blow, and the promised
(Baha'u'llah: The Kitab-i-Iqan, Pages: 3-4)
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The concept of 'return' is embedded in the scriptures of many faiths but since you are an atheist it is unlikely that this topic interests you very much. So I shall finish responding to your other questions.
If 20,000 die for a religion I would say it has been "tried." You are right though, time is a good test of truth. The problem of course is that contradictory truths have exists for millennia. Atheism has existed beside theism probably since homo sapiens sapiens 35,000 years ago. Most people in the west would not die for their beliefs, but would shed them as quick as a wink if faced with death in the name of their beliefs. I leave this with you and look forward to future communications on these vast themes of belief and unbelief.-Ron Price, Tasmania. 8)