By now, I'm fairly convinced that the Pauline christianity is not the same as the way taught by Jesus. The book of James seems to conflict with Paul. The teachings of Paul conflict with the gospel accounts of what Jesus taught. Even the letters of Paul seem to be justifying why Paul disagrees with Peter and James.
Okay. So Paul is a false prophet who propagated a Hellenistic version of Judaism to gentiles using Jesus as the focal point of the Greek idea of a risen savior. I'm fine with that, because my focus is on the teachings of Jesus (Love unconditionally. Encourage diversity. Be a humble servant.) and not on the deification status of someone and how that belief is the only means of salvation. (Deification? Salvation? What did these ideas have to do with the teachings of Jesus?)
So, here is where I have to wonder. The letters of Paul are early enough in the written works about Jesus that they are likely to have influenced later writings... such as the gospels. It is reasonably likely that the gospels were written in areas outside of Jerusalem or the communities directly associated with the original apostles picked by Jesus. (for example, the Ebonites.)
How then, can we be certain of separating the teachings of Jesus from something edited by the influence of Pauline thought? What WAS the teachings of Jesus?
The book of James appears to be more in line with a strong Jewish influence. Assuming Jesus was a Jew, his teachings would be jewish in nature. James, assuming James wrote said book (or was written by one of James' followers) is more likely to be in line with the teachings of Jesus than something from a person who never met Jesus.
Sorting out the wheat from the chaff becomes a complex endeavor.
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