Russell claims that modern Christian apologists selectively interpret the Gospels, highlighting certain doctrines while ignoring others.

“The followers of a religious teacher always depart in some respects from the doctrine of the master. Those who aim at founding a Church ought to remember this. Every Church develops an instinct of self-preservation and minimises those parts of the founder’s doctrine which do not minister to that end. But in any case what modern apologists call ‘true’ Christianity is something depending upon a very selective process. It ignores much that is to be found in the Gospels: for example, the parable of the sheep and the goats, and the doctrine that the wicked will suffer eternal torment in Hell fire. It picks out certain parts of the Sermon on the Mount, though even these it often rejects in practice. It leaves the doctrine of non-resistance, for example, to be practised only by non-Christians such as Gandhi. The precepts that it particularly favours are held to embody such a lofty morality that they must have had a divine origin. And yet these precepts were uttered for centuries by Jews before the time of Christ.”

— Bertrand Russell, The Basic Writings of Bertrand Russell (1961), Part XV: The Philosopher of Religion Religion, Essay: 64. Can Religion Cure Our Troubles? (1954), p. 581- 83

━━━

Image: Saint Peter (c. 1610–1612) by Peter Paul Rubens, depicting Peter, vested in the pallium, and holding the Keys of Heaven.

The Gospels and Acts depict Peter as the most prominent apostle, despite his threefold denial of Jesus during the alleged crucifixion. According to Christian tradition, Peter was the first disciple to encounter the Resurrected Jesus, thereby redeeming his denial and reinstating his position.

In light of Peter being the first individual to whom the Resurrected Jesus supposedly appeared, the leadership of Peter serves as a basis for apostolic succession and the institutional power of the orthodoxy, with his successors being considered the heirs of Peter, who is referred to as “The Rock” upon which the church will be built. Most Christian churches revere Peter as a major figure and the founder of the Church of Antioch and the Church of Rome, although they display considerable variation in their attitudes regarding the authority of his successors.

According to Christian tradition, Peter was crucified upside down in the reign of Emperor Nero after the Great Fire of Rome around AD 63. Christians, accused by Nero of instigating the fire, were detained, arrested, and put to death. Some were attacked by hunting dogs to amuse Roman spectators, others were executed by crucifixion squads in manners calculated to make them seem ridiculous. While accepting that an individual named Peter came to Ancient Rome from Judea and was martyred in the imperial capital, most historians agree there is no historical evidence that he held episcopal office.