"If christianity is ruling the world, why does this belief system need so many defenders? If the message is so strong and true, why is it that christians are so afraid of anyone who points out the cracks and incongruities, or merely doesn't believe the story?"

spud"

I agree generally with your post.  Those who don't believe that Jesus walked the planet often put all who do into one bucket and my belief is that there are as many different views of Christianity as there are Christians.  Even in the mega churches of which I was raised, no two people believed alike.  The bible and particularly the New Testament are filled with cracks and contradictions but in that regard it's like 9/11 - you can't deny that it happened, although how and who really caused it may still be open to question.  I like the post a few days ago made by someone else regarding the fact that Christianity exploded in the first and second centuries and without something of a spiritual 9/11 magnitude behind it, it makes perfect sense to believe that Jesus had a body and walked like you and I.  

I should probably take this to an original posting thread and maybe I will but by using the same scriptures as the fundamentalists I come to a very different view of my Christianity than they do - and they will call me a New Ager which is great because that's what Jesus was.  They and many others deny both the wide diversity of Gnostic and Coptic churches and writings that were wiped out by the church of Rome.  Missing from all discussions (and I've mentioned it once or twice in the eons of postings here) is that you and everyone else on the planet is a bright eternal spirit and we are all in our own way regardless of belief system looking for that light.  Some look outside and some look inside as Jesus taught.  But the bottom line is that Jesus message was to people as spirit and he has been misinterpreted as delivering a body message.

Again is that there are as many different views as there are Christians and those who don't believe in Jesus teachings lump them all together.  I for one don't for a minute think he's going to return in body and rule the world as others do, he said he would return in his generation - and he did, as spirit.  If you don't believe it then ask him - it's that simple.