This is a very easy question to answer if you step outside of modern society as we know it. Back in around 200 BC, polytheism in a process known as Hellenization was making its way into the Jewish communities of the Old World so that by the time Jesus was born, even the Jews were split into sects. There was the Sadduccees who were good friends with the Romans and who believed only in the Five Books of Moses (Pentateuch), and therefore not in an after life. There was the Pharissee who not only believed in the Pentateuch, but in the Writings and the Prophets as well. Then there were the minority Zealots who were the equivalent the radicals of today who were basically Jewish terrorists. By the time Jesus came on the scene, there was the Jesus Movement.

There were actually many more sects of Judaism in that day, but after Jesus left the scene, a self-proclaimed apostle, former persecuter of the Jesus Movement, came onto the scene. This man took the Jesus Movement that was having little or no affect on the Gentile world, except for the Gentile who entered the Jewish Abrahamic Covenant. The problem was that in order to succeed in converting people to his new religion, he had to have a modern day Mithras and an Isis which was easy to find followers for in a Hellenized world because in Judaism there was only one God, El, a Semitic word that is shared with the Arabic name "Allah." Jews were opposed to polytheism, particularly idol worship.

Paul's focus, although in conflict with the Jerusalem administration of 12 Apostles that was led by James, the brother of Jesus by the time Paul came onto the scene. There was a lot of conflict between the Jesus Movement and the Christology of Paul's new religion that was in no way authorized by the Jesus Movement administration in Jerusalem. The Proto-Orthodox religion of Paul won over the Jesus Movement by virtue of terrorism and the use of literature that was predominantly forgeries. 27 of these became known as the New Testament. Of the 27 books/letters of the New Testament only seven are authenticated as having actually been written by Paul. The rest are proven forgeries or anonymous. In spite of the conflicts between the Administration in Jerusalem and Paul, Paul and his spiritual descendants forged ahead, formed the Catholic Church and the rest is history.

In answer to your question now, after all the background, Paul was able to persuade people of his day that Jesus was the reincarnation of Mithra and Mother Mary was the reincarnation of Isis, thus recreating in the name of Jesus a new polytheistic religion based on a mythical Jesus. After Paul was gone, his spiritual descendants used terrorism and lies, as well as mythology, which were common in those days, to persuade people to convert. Christian Americans, true representatives of the Great Satan, have not changed one bit.

Because many non-Christians are willing to stand up to these terrorists who terrorize non-Christians in the name of Jesus, they cry that they are being persecuted for Jesus' sake as soon as they lose against those they terrorize. Paul's persuasiveness is no different than how the Great Satan works today, especially American Christians who exploit others like those children in Haiti after the quake. Followers of Paul are found in American politics and are guilty of terrorizing non-Christians just as much as the followers of Paul who eventually started and built the Roman Catholic Church.

The descendants of the Jesus Movement split around 600 A.D. Half of them joined the Rabbinical Jews, while the other half joined the Muslims because they found the fulfillment of Bible Prophecy in Islam that Christians attribute to Jesus which by virtue of context and history does not apply to Jesus at all. Paul's influence continues to this day because most religions of today are polytheistic or cults of mythology like Christianity is.