Jesus and the Time Traveler

"The time-traveler in the book went back to Bible times to find out one thing in particular: Whether or not Jesus had really died on the cross, or whether he had been taken down while still alive, whether he had really gone on living. The hero had a stethoscope along." 260

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The time-traveler's curiosity about Jesus' death status raises and interesting question; why does it matter if Jesus had died on the cross or whether he lived? No matter what, people would have believed in Christianity. This is an example of Vonnegut's fatalistic theme throughout the novel. It didn't matter if the future technology of a stethoscope proved that Jesus' heart was still beating and his resurrection was not a complete revival of a dead person. Those who believed he was the Son of God would have deemed it a miracle anyhow and the world would still have Christianity. The knowledge gained by the time traveler would not have changed anything because the world where he comes from believes Jesus Christ is divine. As it was, "the Son of God was dead as a doornail" when the time traveler checked his heartbeat.

Why does Billy never attempt to change the past when he time-travels? Does he believe that free-will does not exist?