I think we both agree that Paul’s version of Christianity was very different from what the Jerusalem Church practiced. No argument there.

I also agree that Paul was adaptable. He wasn’t just reacting to rejection from Jewish audiences in Jerusalem; he was reaching out to Gentiles and Hellenized Jews who were already questioning traditional beliefs. That’s fair. His ability to connect with people looking for something new definitely helped his message spread.

But here’s the core of what I’m getting at: Paul’s ideas seem to be entirely his own. He never knew Jesus, and his message doesn’t reflect the kind of Judaism that Jesus’s family and original followers practiced. That’s not just a small detail—it’s the key point. Paul’s teachings weren’t some natural extension of what Jesus taught. They were a new interpretation, shaped by Paul’s personal experiences and his claimed revelations—not by any direct connection to what Jesus actually said or did.

So yeah, Paul’s message spread because he was smart, strategic, and knew how to adapt. And I get that understanding the nuance of his audience matters. But that doesn’t change the fact that his version of the gospel was something new—Paul’s version of the story, not Jesus’s.