Romans 1-16, First Corinthians 1-16, Second Corinthians 1-13

The letters begin with the longest and perhaps best of them, Letter of Paul to the Romans.  It's one he wrote before actually going to Rome, whereas most of the others address a community he's already visited.  The term "barbarian" is referenced.  Fun fact!  "Barbarian" is a term the Romans came up with to describe peoples whose languages they considered unintelligible, so that they sounded like they were talking nonsense (in other words, "bar bar bar bar," or what we today would interpret perhaps as "blah blah blah blah," which means that if we have coined the term, it would be "blahblahian" or perhaps "blahblahing" like Viking).

Among Paul's goals for Christianity he sees as giving honor and thanks to God.  He says, "God has no partiality," which is quite a development for a former Jew.  Paul explains Jesus basically as the reverse Adam.  Perhaps earlier when I was discussing how Adam is seen that way it was indeed an argument that traces all the way back to Letter to the Romans.  He also tends to explain faith, in this letters, in philosophical terms, an intellectual argument that happens to include a concept of a divine being.  It's a giant leap forward from the dogma constantly featured in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament.  His talk of living by the spirit rather than the flesh is basically an argument to rise above petty, harmful impulses.  It's no different from, say, Buddhist ideals (before you consider that a sacrilege, keep in mind that although Buddhism came from Hinduism, it is a philosophy rather than religion).  If you want to talk religion based from the Bible to a skeptic, perhaps Romans would be a good place to start.

Paul also affirms Jesus's "love thy neighbor" commandment, the famous Golden Rule, which is a running theme throughout the letters, emphasizing how it truly has become the most important of them all.  One of his dominant themes is the purity of faith, which is something that can sometimes be lost in discussions on religion.  If you think about it, faith is something a sports fan has when they support their favorite team even if they're dreadful.

Romans was written before Paul traveled to Jerusalem as outlined in Acts of the Apostles.  He states that he hopes to stop by on his way to Spain.  A ton of names are referenced throughout the letters, representing a lot of lost early notable Christians, although among them is the famous Timothy.  There's a Lucius who could be Luke, although that name specifically begins to appear in other letters.

The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians begins with the line, "Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus."  A lot of material in these letters finds him in a defensive mode, which is probably weird for modern Christians to consider, given how prominent Paul is in Christian history, arguably the second most important figure of the New Testament after Jesus.  In his own time, Paul was actually a lot like the rejected prophets of the Old Testament, and even Jesus.  I guess it only figures.

The letter is an appeal against dissension, another common theme that was also referenced in Romans.  Although, of course, in the gospels Jesus himself says it's perfectly fine that people aren't completely uniform in how they represent him.  People being people, the first Christians immediately disagree with that stance.  (Although the Jesus argument might have been snuck in by someone to present that very argument.)

Peter, referenced here and in several other mentions initially as Cephas, becomes the first prominent apostle of the gospels and Acts to appear in Paul's letters.

Paul tends to be modest in this letter.  He makes a point of the message itself being wise rather than specifically how it's delivered.  This perspective might also exist because Paul is frustrated with himself.

Continuing with the argument that Paul is surprisingly philosophical, he says understanding thrives best in the spiritual individual, presumably because they're given to reflection rather than gut instinct.

"We have become, and are now, as the refuse of the world, the offscouring of all things."  Good line.

Paul has sent Timothy ahead of him to try and correct a few matters.

"Shun immorality."  Notice, "shun" rather than condemn it.  Although even that is another point that opposes Jesus's teachings in the gospels, where he openly associates with sinners.

"We know...'there is no God but one'" sounds like a template to the later central pillar of Islam.

"If to others I am not an apostle, at least I am to you."  This is an example of what he was thinking in the opening line.  The apostles as outlined in Acts were those who witnessed the resurrected Jesus and had followed him his whole ministry.  Paul clearly doesn't fit the latter objective, but it's incredibly hard to argue that he didn't become one of the leading witnesses.

Barnabas is referenced.  Surprisingly, he doesn't turn up too often, despite his prominence in relation to Paul in Acts.

Paul expounds on the idea that a perfect Christian lives in imitation of Christ.  The later Thomas a Kempis writes a famous Christian work based on this concept.

One of the famous lines from Paul's letters: "When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child; when I became a man I gave up childish ways."

Paul discusses how Jesus died and came back, and how Peter experienced this, and then James experienced it (unclear as to which one, but probably the ambiguous one from Acts), and then Paul himself.  He circles back to the Adam argument.

Ephesus and Galatia are referenced.

The letter is also an admonishment to bad behavior among the Corinthians.

Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians references Timothy right from the start.  It discusses recent troubles Paul has experienced.  He feels bad about his last visit.  In fact, this whole letter is also a way of him apologizing for the tone of the last letter.

He speaks of Moses and the Old Testament as a veil that Jesus lifted, another clever argument on his part.  He calls Jesus an act of reconciliation (which ties back in with Adam).

Titus is referenced for the first time.

Paul admits that Corinth has been an excellent example for the cause.  He talks his own biographical material (not for the last time).