The Gospel of Jesus was of Hope of a better life, and of Divine Justice.
. He spoke of Unconditional Grace and of Love for All.
He spoke to the needs of a people living under tyranny.

Paul changed the perspective of Christ's message with new ideas,
a theology which pointed to the place of Jesus in ancient prophecy.
He thereby created a new religion outside Judaism
and so no longer a threat to it.

The new religion largely ignored the radical message that Jesus had promoted
for a message about him, and his role in the forgiveness of our sin,
The promotion of the Kingdom of God was replaced by salvation.
Care for others was replaced by concern for self
and a thirst for personal position and power.

Paul's letters and the book of Acts tell of his endeavours,
of how he convinced the Christian leaders in Jerusalem
and struggled with them as they visited his patch.
He, an educated man, provided a reason for their loss;
explained why their leader died as he did, what it meant.
He rewrote "the Gospel" of Christ to become one about Christ,
discarding the desires of the underclass for those of the elite.

The emerging church matched his ideas to those of others,
as they contended with the established religions of the ancient world,
remodelling as necessary to adapt their message to fit their needs;
absorbing aspects of other philosophies and structures, maybe.

So the new religion absorbed h aspects of the old religions
so as to meet the religious needs of a new environment.
These were principles without hard edges.
They were still to come!