text: One of the most troubling things to me when I was trying to be a believer was that more than half of the New Testament was written by Paul, the only apostle who never knew Jesus.  He'd been a tax collector, and the other Apostles didn't trust him.  The only witness to his claimed epiphany on the Road to Demascus was Annanais, who spent the rest of his life making a living on Paul's road show.  Do yourself a favor and google the contradictions between the precepts of Jesus and the teaching of Paul.  Jefferson referred to Paul in his letter to Dr. Benjamin Rush as "the great corruptor of the Christian religion."  Jefferson said he was "dedicated to the precepts of Jesus' teachings, and thought him to have had the most perfect of human qualities, while never professing any other."  Jefferson also didn't believe that the resurrection happened.  His "Jefferson Bible" includes only the quotes attributed to Jesus that were consistent with his character.  It's a very short book.