Why are Paul's writings in the Bible?

[Bucky Ball]

The only surviving form of Christianity is Paulism, which is attributed to the aftermath of the Jewish-Roman war of 66-70.  Apologists try to explain why James and Matthew contradict Paul, not why Paul contradicts James and Matthew.

I call it Paulianity. 
The letters of Paul were not collected until the very end of the First Century. Until they were collected, the authentic letters were merely in the possession of local communities. 
When the call for "collection" went out, some communities sent in combo jobs, fakes, forgeries and whatever. There are (at least) 3 identifiable philosophies in the letters. 
It's a giant fricking mess. 

Paul was an Apocalyptic Jew, who is said to have "converted". He claimed and named himself as having apostolic status. His views actually remained the same.
He is also said to have "sat" at the feet of Gamaliel (a Hebrew expert of the time). Yet not one Jewish historian at the time mentions that a student of Gamaliel the Great (a hugely prestigious position) had "converted". Paul remained an Apocalyptic Jew, with one exception, .. he "came to see" that his (mythological Jesus), who lived in the heavens, was the messiah.

The Greek word used in Luke which says "this child shall be responsible for the *rise* and fall of many in Israel" is the same as Paul uses in talking about the resurrection, which is a "status" change not a physical resurrection. The Apocalyptic Jews thought Jewish heroes were "exalted" (not raised from the dead). "Exaltation" was a feature of Jewish Apocalypticism.
I haven't read it, but Ehrman wrote a book on the subject : "How Jesus became a god, the exaltation of a Jewish preacher from Galilee". There's also another good book on the subject, by a ("progressive") Christian seminary profesor of New Testament, Dr. Bernard Brandon Scott, entitled "The Trouble With Resurrection".