*Sigh*. Of course there was an Aten in Egypt. The god Aten had existed as an aspect of the Sun for a very long time before Akhenaten decided he was 'God'. But the cases are not comparable. The stories about Jesus are stories of a living man in a recognizable historical context and the earliest of them was written within living memory of his purported lifetime. My parallel to Davy Crockett, a highly mythologized but nonetheless historical figure is more appropriate.

Exactly why is it more likely that the tao ching is a composite by several mystics than one? and even if that's true how does it prove Lao Tzu wasn't one of said mystics?

"Same place as I stand on Khufu, Imhotep, Jesus, King Scorpion, and Lao Tsu.

Show me the evidence that a person actually existed, and then we can discuss his or her birthday, life's accomplishments, and hair color."

You don't believe in Khufu or Imhotep or King Scorpion???