Paul's Writings Underpin Western Thought

[Minimalist]

I always found this passage in Carrier's  On The Historicity of Jesus to be most amusing and enlightening.

As a psychologist once put it (about Paul's letter to fellow congregants in
Rome, whom he had not yet met and thus can't have shared his own stories
with):

Imagine for a moment that one of your friends writes you a twenty-page
letter passionately wanting to share her excitement about a new teacher.
This letter has only one topic, your friend's new teacher. [But] at the end
of her letter, you still do not know one thing about her teacher. Yet, Paul
presents the central figure of his theology this way . . . . It [seems] impossible
to imagine how Paul could avoid telling one story or parable of--or
fail to note one physical trait or personal quality of-Jesus.

Pg 514

Carrier continues...

Indeed, Paul mentions 'Jesus' or 'Christ' in his seven authentic letters at
least 280 times-and that doesn't count other references to him as only 'the
Lord' or 'Son of God'. Altogether, Paul found over three hundred occasions
to mention Jesus (by some name or title), and on at least half of those
occasions he tells us some particular fact or other about this Jesus. But (as
we'll see) not one of those facts connects Jesus with an earthly life (without
adding suppositions not in the text). His crucifixion is mentioned over
fifteen times; and his resurrection, over thirty times. But never any details.
So those could have occurred in outer space (as explained in Chapter 3). We
hear very little else.

None of which seems to stop jesus freaks from yammering on about fucking "paul."