I think Jesus was a historical figure. There are many different theories about who Jesus really was, what he really did, and what he really taught.
Here is a link to various proponents of different historical Jesus theories. The only two authors I have read are Geza Vermes and Bart Ehrman. Both their theories seem plausible to me.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html
My motivation for this thread (responding to the first part of your question) was frustration in dealing with my Christian mother and a Christian coworker. My 70 year old mother would be very stressed to learn that I'm atheist, so I must pretend to be a doubting Christian for her sake.
Starting this discussion won't help me, but I thought it might help other atheists. Hopefully some Christian reads this and considers the possibility that his/her friends or family might not believe the same things yet might not want to debate or argue religion. If one Christian decides to cut back just a little bit on the "have a blessed day", "will you pray for so and so", "God is good", etc. then that will help Christians get along better with others IMO.
EDIT: Also, after having spent the last several years reading as much as possible about early Christianity, I am relieved to have reached the stage that I don't think it matters. I'm no longer fighting to kill my faith in Christianity - it's dead. My interest in Christianity was a symptom of psychosis (religiosity). Now that I've recovered, I don't really feel like explaining and defending my dismissal of Christianity. I understand everybody's intentions are good, but I'm burned-out on religion.