The New Testament is divided into several parts:
- The Gospels
- The Act of The Apostles
- Epistles
- The Apocalypse of John (aka Revelation)
The four Gospels are truncated biographies that focus on Jesus' ministry, with two giving information about his birth and youth.
The Acts of the Apostles purport to follow the growth of Christianity following Jesus' Ascension. It focusses on Peter for about the first half and then switches the focus to Paul. It appears to be written by the author of the Gospel of Luke.
The Apocalypse of John is a prophetic book that combines symbolic description of then current rulers with future events.
The Epistles are letters purportedly from Christian leaders to various churches, addressing specific issues that arose. Some are by the man we know as the Apostle Paul, others by someone claiming to be Paul.
What's odd about what the early Church, and for that matter churches to this day, did with this information, is that the emphasis on doctrine and practice isn't what Jesus' is quoted in the Gospels as having taught, but what Paul wrote in his Epistles.
Paul, despite being generally known as the Apostle Paul, was not one of the Twelve Apostles that we are introduced to in the Gospels. He never claims to have met Jesus. In fact, in his own writings he admits to having persecuted Christians. At some point, some 15-20 years after Jesus' death he had a vision of Jesus on the road to Damascus and *poof* he changed his tune and became a Christian. Not just any Christian either. He traveled around preaching and founding churches all over the place. Then he started writing letters to these churches, addressing situations where he believed that they were deviating from what he taught them. (this was probably 20 years before the first Gospel that made it into the Bible, Mark, was written) Despite being a Johnny-come-lately he did not look to Jesus' actual companions, Peter and the boys, for information about what Jesus taught. He actually bragged about not receiving what he knew about Jesus from any human being, but by revelation from God. And what this heavenly oracle was telling him was that Gentiles could be "saved" without adhering to the Law of Moses, which was not what Peter and the others were teaching.
So, the Gospels, which are reporting events that took place mostly around 30 CE, did not start being written until around 35 years later, the first of Paul's writings had already been around for around 20 years by this time. Was the Gospel of Mark written to debunk Paul? (Matthew and Luke were written around 20 years after Mark, by which time all of Paul's Epistles were in circulation) The Gospels for the most part, especially the Synoptics (Mark, Matthew and Luke) focus on behaviors, while Paul focusses on beliefs. Not that the Pauline Epistles teach that behavior, or works, are unimportant, but the emphasis is on what a person believes.
There's a faction of Biblical scholars who believe that Jesus did not exist, and that the strongest indication of his nonexistence lies with Paul. Paul's entire theology rests upon a self-described vision, not any interaction with Jesus or his immediate circle. The argument against an historical Jesus based on Paul's writings suggests that the Twelve, if they existed, would not have a quiesced to a newcomer like Paul, especially a former enemy, taking the lead that he did while they all faded into obscurity. It's certainly plausible, but it's not a theory that I agree with.
Early Christianity, as I have recently written about, was a collection of competing Christianities, differing ideas and interpretation regarding what Jesus really taught. I don't think it's necessary to ascribe Paul's dominance to the absence of The Twelve, or of Jesus himself, despite his whole theology being based on unverifiable revelation. It's just as plausible in my opinion that the Pauline faction simply pushed out the Apostolic faction, especially if Peter and the others were adamant about remaining Jewish where Paul was opening the club up to everyone. He could have simply steamrolled over the Twelver faction, with remnants putting together the Gospels as a counterbalance and a reminder that Jesus was all about works, with the Gospels just getting absorbed by the 'faith trumps works' Paulists.
At this 2,000 year remove it's impossible to say, but for a faith supposedly based on Jesus, they have built his church, not on his most enthusiastic follower, Peter, but on Paul, the one who basically hallucinated him.
Start at The Beginning: Part I 
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