Apart from stories which were deemed unacceptable the Early Church
the authentic epistles of Paul are the oldest information
that we have about the birth of the Christian religion.
There we see a rather different doctrine to that of the Gospels.
Instead of a message based on the basics of living a good life,
we meet the need to look to heaven as a final destination,
and to study the criteria by which we may reach there.
Paul was a Pharisee and that is reflected in his thoughts.
Jesus was not and often found Pharisees difficult.
However it seems that it was Paul's churchmanship
which was more attractive to early bishops
than the lack of it from Jesus.
Perhaps the main concern is not the letters
but the theology of those who directed
what should be included in the Bible.
Their ideas do not seem to follow,
always, where Jesus leads us.
