Is it normal to believe jesus was real?

I dont think he was some kind of a magic man but probably a spiritual hippie dude who had a certain way of being that was different at the time. He questioned the leaders and believed in his own self and a higher power he called God and he taught that to the people and tried to get them to be more free spirited and loving. I'm sure he made quite the impression though and acted in some very controversial ways for that time period, hence making a large imprint and pissing the leaders off. People werent smart back then so they blew everything out of proportion and when it was time to write the tales of Jesus down the stories had been greatly exaggerated.
I cant believe that people in this day and age still takes the bible literally, when it's actually a story book. It's not like it's the man Jesus's diary or something, it contains tales told by people about this man.
Personally I dont consider myself christian because my beliefs are rather spiritual and more pagan-leaning but I respect Jesus, he was a cool dude I bet. I will never believe he performed actual magic shows like turning water into wine though. Likely at best those claims are metaphors anyway but I dont really expect religious fanatics to be smart enough to understand metaphors. They are already so dumb that they pick and choose what in their opinion is outdated beliefs in the bible, rules that no longer need to be followed, which is nothing but hypocritical.