Kindest Regards, Penguin, and welcome to CR!
Good questions!
Did Jesus Christ really exist and what proof is there to back it up?
Wil and Q have provided a pretty good summary. There is a passage in the histories of Josephus that notes Jesus (as a rebel, as I recall). Where exactly I do not recall, and I am being too lazy to look it up just now. Wil's point that so many texts, canonical and non-canonical, make reference to him, gives us a reasonable idea that some great teacher by the name of Jesus did in fact live.
What did Jesus Christ originally look like in the ancient times? (race and skin colour) and why is he portrayed as being a good looking white man with a beard?
Well, considering he was born into a Jewish household, to a Jewish mother and father, I would reasonably think he looked Jewish.
What is the oldest painting, statue or any other image of Jesus Christ?
One must remember that the earliest days of Christianity, Christians were considered, well, wierdos. With the Roman destruction of the Temple and persecution of the Jews, ending with the expulsion from the Holy Land after the Bar Kochba revolt, everything Jewish became suspect. Mind you, at this time Christianity was deemed a sub-sect of Judaism proper, and was persecuted along with the Jews. So the Christians, who already had a foothold outside of Palestine courtesy of Paul, laid low and grew, for a time, in the diaspora. At some point the Roman emperor (forget now which one) decided to place the blame for some national catastrophy on the Christians, who he was as a threat to the political establishment. So the Christians ended up getting thrown to the lions, and butchered for sport in the Coloseum. There were what, 4 or 5 major persecutions of the Christians in a manner like this over a couple of hundred years, yet surprisingly the faith still grew!
It wasn't until Constantine enlisted the aid of Christians from Britain in aiding him to gain the Roman throne, that Christianity was officially allowed, and even to some extent adopted as the new state religion. There was some resistance by those of the old guard, including Constantine's successor Julian (apostate), but by and large Christianity was here to stay from the time of Constantine. Constantine was also responsible for bringing together the assorted books and Christian scholars of the time, and arguably for political reasons sorted through the collection and weeded out those texts and ideas that were deemed detrimental to Rome. Presto! Roman Catholism was born!
Oh, this missed your point. Because Christianity was so presecuted, there really weren't any paintings or images made (besides the commandment about images!) It wasn't until Constantine that such things were even allowed. If I recall correctly, the earliest images only date to around 250 ad, = or -, a little before Constantine in 312-313 ad. I don't know why Alexandria Egypt comes to mind here, and I could be way off base.
What was Jesus Christ’s crime exactly for being crucified?
I think it was said well by the others. The Jews executed him for blasphemy. The Roman governor disagreed, and made it known that if Jesus was to be executed, it would be for threatening the Jewish political establishment. Hence the sign, "King of the Jews."
If God and Jesus Christ (who loves us) exist then why do they allow the human race to be so barbaric and inflict so much suffering each other? Could it be that they are waiting for us to destroy ourselves completely upon which there would be a second coming of some description?
This is an ongoing question for a lot of us. Some people just don't seem to get it. Not that all should be Christians, but the core message of Love each other and Love G-d are central to most all of the great world faiths, in some form or other. Sadly, this lesson is lost on far too many.
Since more bad things happen in the world than good things is this proof that that evil prevails and Satan is more powerful than anything?
I disagree there is more bad than good. Good is everywhere, all around us. From the boy scout helping the little old lady cross the street, to a gentleman holding a door open for a mother pushing a stroller, to relief workers getting their hands and lives dirty cleaning up assorted messes and natural disasters.
But these things don't make it into the newspapers and television.
Did Mary and Joseph have any more children after Jesus and what happened to there blood line?
Yes, there were others, although the only one named as such is James, who wrote the book of *tah-dah* James. He was also the regional leader of the Christian headquarters at Jerusalem prior to the Roman invasion and destruction of the Temple. It is said, although it escapes me where (not in the Bible), that James was thrown to his death by Roman soldiers from the roof of the Temple.
There was a bone box found a couple of years ago said to be that of James the brother of Jesus. Most scholars have concluded it was a forgery.
What do Easter eggs symbolize in Christianity?
Nothing. In the process of converting Rome from the long entrenched Paganism to Christianity at the time of Constantine and after, certain concessions were made to keep peace in the empire. Some Pagan symbology made its way into Christianity. A similar question can be asked of Christmas, which when one looks at the Gospel account there is no way Jesus was born on December 25 if the shepherds were in the field with their flocks. It was too cold, even in Palestine. But the symbology of rebirth seemed appropriate for those with the power to make things happen, to concede a popular Roman holiday and change the trappings into something more palatable to Christianity. Same thing with Easter.
Who wrote the old and new testaments?
Oh my! The authors traditionally ascribed? The alleged authors? The "real" authors? Some scholars claim some books have multiple sources, therefore multiple authors.
Like Q said, we don't know. Not for certain. Not if we are truthful to ourselves on the matter.
What is heaven and hell? Could we all be in hell now and death is the awakening to heaven?
I don't know. I think heaven is being with G-d, and hell is being totally removed from G-d.
Somewhere around here is a pretty good thread about hell. In the Old Testament, the word used is Sheol, meaning the grave. In the New Testament there are three words used. Hades, meaning the grave (pretty much the same as the OT Hebrew). Gehenna, reference to a burning trash pit in a valley outside of Jerusalem where criminal bodies were sometimes burned. And Tartaros, only used once in one of Peter's epistles, that is reference to a dungeon where the Nephilim are chained in darkness, awaiting their fate.
Hope this helps.
