Your mysticism must creep into your ability to do historical work? There was no Christian mysticism in the beginning, the only evidence is from the latter half of the 2nd century when gnostics appropriated some Christian teachings and terminology, but were not part of the Christian community as handed down by all the apostles. And the "Pauline" system was completely in alignment with the first church in Jerusalem, the leaders (of whom Jesus' own brother was one) all agreed that Paul accurately taught and applied their same gospel to the Gentiles.