Who was John the Baptiste?

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Interesting, you see my position is actually pretty much in line with modern Biblical scholarship, which of course, literalist Christianity resents because it feels its firm and exclusive padlock on the truth being slowly wrenched away.

Two points need to be made here:

1. "Modern Biblical scholarship" in the sense of liberal points of view is typically does not have a majority consensus among scholars and sometimes is on the fringe.

2. "Literalist" Christianity, or orthodoxy, does not resent any "exclusive padlock on the truth being slowly wrenched away," rather, it recognizes that "Christian" liberalism is attempting to change the very foundations of Christianity so that it is no longer Christianity. Most/all liberal scholarship is heretical.

- Jesus was baptized by John, as was mandatory for any of his followers

Mark 1:4-5, "4 John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins."

Was all the country of Judea following John? No. So there is no reason to believe that Jesus was a follower of John.

- John has no idea Jesus is to be the Christ

Mark 1:7-9, "7 And he was preaching, and saying, 'After me One is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to stoop down and untie the thong of His sandals. 8 'I baptized you with water; but He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.' 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan."

First, John knew that someone greater than him was coming. Second, Mark makes the obvious connection that it is Jesus. There is no reason to believe that John didn't know Jesus to be the Christ, although it is possible that he didn't. However, being family and all, John probably knew that there was something different and significant about Jesus.

- Jesus has a spiritual experience while being baptized

I do not see the point.

- After John is placed in prison, Jesus preaches the same message as John

Mark 1:14-15, "14 Now after John had been taken into custody, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God, 15 and saying, 'The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.'"

That is not the same message as John.

- John later sends people to ask Jesus if he is "the one who is to come"

Many people including the disciples doubted Jesus throughout his ministry. It doesn't mean they didn't believe that he was the Christ.

NOTE: The Gospel of Mark is aware of no birth narrative (neither is Paul)

Interesting how the EARLIEST documents in Christianity, and especially Paul's, the only pre-revolution documents, have absolutely NO IDEA of the virgin birth. How can this be?

You are fallaciously concluding that there was no virgin birth since there is no mention of it in Mark's gospel or Paul's letters. However, this may simply be because it was common knowledge; it does not follow that the virgin birth was made up as a later story.

These are some of the most archetypical mythological symbols of the ancient world. Most specifically the idea of a virgin birth, which existed with such pre-Christian cults as mithranism and religions such as Zoroastrianism.

Ever heard of general revelation? It is spoken of in Romans 1. And here, too, you are fallacioulsy concluding that because some of the events in the accounts of Jesus's life were previously seen in pre-Christian cults, that it follows that some of the NT authors borrowed these.

However, there is no reason to believe these events were not true of Jesus. The one single reason to believe otherwise is personal bias; to undermine Christianity and the Bible.