when you display them as fact you take it to a different level

I just replied to someone else who apparently knows you, SwampRangers. I'm just going to copy & paste my reply here. maybe you understand better by reservations when it comes to Paul.

IMO, there are many contradictions in the Bible when it comes to Paul... if you read carefully. To me Paul is nothing more than an intelligence asset working on behalf of Roman imperial interests to neutralize the most dangerous threat the empire had ever faced, Jewish fanaticism.

Let me give you an example, Paul decides to go to Damascus to destroy the Jesus movement there. But on the road to Damascus, something extraordinary happens. He sees a blinding light. He hears the voice of Jesus saying, "Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me and my people?" And at this moment, Paul has what we now call a Damascus moment, a sudden conversion, a complete reversal of belief. And Paul at this point becomes a fanatical follower of Jesus, even though he never met Jesus in life and never met any of Jesus's original disciples. This is extremely weird, but he becomes convinced that he understands Jesus's message better than anyone. And he decides he's going to spread this message to everyone throughout the Roman Empire. So what does Paul do? He starts going to synagogues around the empire telling Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. And he begins to build the structure and organization that will become Christianity. Now, at this point, they're not called Christians. They're still Jews. And the Jesus movement is considered a branch of Judaism. But Paul introduces several radical innovations. None of it makes any sense to me.

The first major innovation is Paul's teaching that Jesus is the Messiah and that through faith in Jesus, you will achieve salvation. This is very different from what Jesus himself taught. Jesus taught that it's through good works, through compassion, through love, through helping others that you achieve spiritual liberation. But Paul teaches good works don't matter. What matters is belief. Faith in Jesus as savior. If you believe, then you are saved. If you don't believe, then you are damned. No matter how good a person you are. Think about how radical this shift is. Jesus taught that everyone has the divine spark within them and through right action through cultivating that spark you achieve enlightenment, salvation, liberation. Paul is saying forget all that just believe this specific claim that Jesus is the son of God who died for your sins and you're saved. It's transactional. It's about belief, not about inner transformation.

when you display them as fact you take it to a different level

I just replied to someone else who apparently knows you, SwampRangers. I'm just going to copy & paste my reply here. maybe you understand better by reservations when it comes to Paul.

IMO, there are many contradictions in the Bible when it comes to Paul... if you read carefully. To me Paul is nothing more than an intelligence asset working on behalf of Roman imperial interests to neutralize the most dangerous threat the empire had ever faced, Jewish fanaticism.

Let me give you an example, Paul decides to go to Damascus to destroy the Jesus movement there. But on the road to Damascus, something extraordinary happens. He sees a blinding light. He hears the voice of Jesus saying, "Paul, Paul, why are you persecuting me and my people?" And at this moment, Paul has what we now call a Damascus moment, a sudden conversion, a complete reversal of belief. And Paul at this point becomes a fanatical follower of Jesus, even though he never met Jesus in life and never met any of Jesus's original disciples. This is extremely weird, but he becomes convinced that he understands Jesus's message better than anyone. And he decides he's going to spread this message to everyone throughout the Roman Empire. So what does Paul do? He starts going to synagogues around the empire telling Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. And he begins to build the structure and organization that will become Christianity. Now, at this point, they're not called Christians. They're still Jews. And the Jesus movement is considered a branch of Judaism. But Paul introduces several radical innovations. None of it makes any sense to me.

The first major innovation is Paul's teaching that Jesus is the Messiah and that through faith in Jesus, you will achieve salvation. This is very different from what Jesus himself taught. Jesus taught that it's through good works, through compassion, through love, through helping others that you achieve spiritual liberation. But Paul teaches good works don't matter. What matters is belief. Faith in Jesus as savior. If you believe, then you are saved. If you don't believe, then you are damned. No matter how good a person you are. Think about how radical this shift is. Jesus taught that everyone has the divine spark within them and through right action through cultivating that spark you achieve enlightenment, salvation, liberation. Paul is saying forget all that just believe this specific claim that Jesus is the son of God who died for your sins and you're saved. It's transactional. It's about belief, not about inner transformation.