Did Paul invent Christianity? Thomas Jefferson called Paul the "first corruptor of the doctrines of Jesus," and scholars from F. C. Baur to Gerd Lüdemann have argued that Paul, not Jesus, founded the religion we know today. In Part 1 of a three-part investigation, we put that claim under review.

We compare what Jesus preached in the Gospels with what Paul wrote in his letters. Jesus proclaimed the Kingdom of God, repentance and radical ethics. Paul proclaimed Christ crucified and raised. We also look at the strange chronology of the evidence: Paul's letters were written before the Gospels.

Then we ask the key question: did Paul know what Jesus actually taught? We examine every place Paul explicitly cites the Lord: divorce (1 Corinthians 7), paying missionaries (1 Corinthians 9), the Last Supper (1 Corinthians 11) and "the word of the Lord" (1 Thessalonians 4). We also look at where Paul adapts, or sets aside, those teachings.

We read the Bible in the World English Bible, steelman both sides and try to prove our own hypothesis wrong. Don't take our word for it. Verify it.

Part 2 covers the resurrection, the Law, and what actually saves you.

Scripture: Mark 1:15; Mark 10; Mark 12:29–31; Matthew 5:17–18; 1 Corinthians 7:10–15, 9:14–15, 11:23, 15:50; Galatians 5:21; 1 Thessalonians 2:12, 4:15

Short version (for Apple/Spotify previews, under 300 characters)

Did Paul invent Christianity? In Part 1 of our Jesus vs. Paul series, we compare Jesus' Kingdom of God preaching with Paul's letters and test whether Paul knew, or changed, what Jesus actually taught.

A couple of small SEO notes. Keep "Did Paul invent Christianity" in the first sentence of the description, since many platforms show only the opening line or two. And use the same "Jesus vs. Paul, Part X" pattern for Parts 2 and 3 so the series groups together in search.