Atheists & Agnostics

Especially your second paragraph, and I agree. When Christianity had been officially adopted in 380 AD it had been hellenized pretty thoroughly. The stories of Jesus were chosen which favored Romans and portrayed devout Jews as problematic (they did not believe, they betrayed Jesus, etc.). This was deliberate because a new official religion needed to be accepted. Favorite holidays and traditions remained though renamed.
We now know, thanks to archaeology and other studies that many of the Bible stories could not have happened as told. No Exodus. No Noah's Ark. No Christians thrown to the lions, etc. In fact, it was the Jews captured and enslaved by Rome when they stormed Jerusalem in 70 CE and kept it under siege who were used to build the Colosseum.
To understand Jews at the time of Jesus until the fall of Jerusalem and the death of James the Just, also known as James the Righteous, it is best to study him. He was supposedly the brother of Jesus (if Jesus actually existed). James and his followers completely rejected Saul of Tarsus who became known as Paul. This is where Christianity diverts from it's Jewish foundation thanks to the agenda of Paul and his support by the Flavian court. Josephus was also supported by them. One could not roam around and publish anything without their support.