What would it take?

[JairCrawford]

Well, yes and no. I believe the letters from Paul to be Inspired, and great spiritual meaning can be gained from them, but the red letters are directly from Jesus, so they are of a higher priority.

Are "inspired" writings authoritative? I personally think one can gain great "spiritual meaning" from reading Walt Whitman. Specifically on their authority, how important do you regard Paul's epistles? Just curious.

Good question. And the best simple answer I can give is, it's sorta in between. Paul was an apostle, which means he had authority as an apostle in his area of influence. (On a side note I am of the persuasion that we still have Apostolic fathers operating today. It's  what some people call the New Apostolic Reformation. It's associated with revivalists groups and miracles and the prophetic). So Paul did have spiritual authority, but he was also still a mortal man.

So from a spiritual perspective, his writings are very important because it was revealed to him and the apostles how the gifts of the Spirit work. He also had a vast understanding of Grace from his experience on Damascus road. Also very important understandings. But we can also see him fall to the cultural regulations of the time as well, for instance when he orders women to be silent in the church in his letters. Jesus never taught any women to be silent over men regardless of the culture.

In conclusion, I believe Paul's writings are included in the canon rightfully so because he received so much useful insight on spiritual matters. But you can also tell from his writings that he's still a man, and not perfect.