Ghost of a flea

That's kind of ironic, isn't it? I thought you didn't value the epistles of Paul at all, or at least not count their influence as heavily as the Gospels from the other more prominent apostles?

Yep, irony is in the air. I have wrestled with Romans and II Corinthians more than any other part of the New Testament so there is something to it nonetheless. I suppose I see the work of Christians in emulating Paul's struggle if not reaching the same conclusions. Do as I do, not as I say?

That said, Romans 14:13-15 are arguably the most important bits of scripture to me outside the Gospels. Romans chapter 1 is the only bit that is usually quoted and it seems to me people have to read the whole letter to have any sense of the argument Paul strives to make rather than reify the straw men he sets up at the beginning of the letter only to knock them down as he makes his case.