Excuse this minor intrusion. You posited, “If you would hold post-Resurrection men to have a greater influence on your theology than Jesus Christ...” What was the purpose of Jesus sending the Holy Spirit at Pentecost? Do you not believe that is was by the inspiration of God in them that the disciples turned Apostles preached the Gospel of Grace? Jesus spoke as one man prior to Pentecost. Following, He spoke through many men. I don’t believe Protestants hold these men to be of greater influence because they are preaching and writing by His inspiration via The Holy Spirit. Did He not tell them when they marveled at the miracles He did that they would do greater, more? They didn’t do these by their own power rather the Power of God in them and through them.
He doesn’t believe in Paul.
Jesus went back up to Heaven and let us work out our own future, with His help if we asked for it.
What I am objecting to is the obvious changing of the Gospel messages by misinterpretation of Pauline epistles. It is not Peter who is misconstrued, it is normally Paul. But why?
Because Paul had the most difficult, straying churches and he had to be most strict with them. He had a very difficult hand and he played it as well as any man could have. But you Protestants deify him and misinterpret him to the point where a Calvin could completely change the Gospel message and millions of people fall for it.
I don’t believe in Paul? You guys are only trying to justify your rather shaky beliefs built on a very shaky foundation. I think of Paul as the second greatest of all Apostles, as does the Church. We understand Paul and understand his works. We do not cherry pick them out of context and apply them to the general situation where he meant them specifically.
I appreciate your candor in post 5980 where you say that you cannot reconcile James with Paul. Neither could Luther - he wanted to axe James. But do you see? You are attempting to assume the role of the Magisterium which dictated the content of the Bible.
Either you accept the Bible’s contents and its interpretation which was dictated by the Magisterium, or you reject them all. You cannot cherry pick the Magisterium’s decisions with any more accuracy than you can cherry pick the Bible’s passages.
When you select a misinterpretation of Paul over huge swathes of the Gospels, then you, not Paul, are in error.