The Jerusalem Conference & Apostolic Decree

[McCulloch]

The Jerusalem Conference & Apostolic Decree
Galatians 2:1-21 versus Acts 15:1-35
There are a number of common elements¹:

• The problem arose because some unnamed party was asking for Gentile believers to be circumcised.
• Paul and Barnabas went together to Jerusalem for the meeting.
• The main agenda for the gathering was about the mission to the Gentiles.
• James and Peter were both present there.
• The mission to the Gentiles was recognized at the meeting.

But there are a number of discrepancies and difficulties:

1. Paul in Galatians says 14 years after he had visited with Peter; he went up to Jerusalem again. And he went in response to a revelation. Yet the Paul of Acts isn't going to Jerusalem because of a revelation, but is being sent to Jerusalem by the church in Antioch to settle a dispute that arose in the Antioch church.
2. Paul in Galatians says while in Jerusalem, he revealed the gospel that he preached among the Gentiles to the leaders of the Jerusalem church in a private meeting. Yet Acts claims Paul and Barnabas reported everything to the entire assembly immediately upon entering the Jerusalem church.
3. Paul in Galatians says that circumcision became an issue of great contention in Jerusalem, for spies discovered that Titus was not circumcised. Whereas, Acts claims this is the very reason that the church in Antioch had sent Paul to Jerusalem in the first place, to receive instructions to settle a dispute concerning circumcision. The writer of Acts claims they were merely "believers" who simply wanted the Gentiles to observe what was being observed in the Jerusalem church.
4. Paul in Galatians says he stood his ground, refusing to submit to the demands that the Gentiles be circumcised. Whereas Paul in Acts, is a subordinate of the Jerusalem Church and had to wait in the assembly while the elders and apostles of the Jerusalem Church conferred together to debate this concern.
5. According to Acts it wasn't Paul who rescues the Gentile's foreskins, but was James, the leader of the Jerusalem Church. For after listening to Peter and the reports from Paul and Barnabas, James decides that he would allow the Gentiles to keep their foreskins.
6. Paul in Galatians says an agreement was reached in Jerusalem that he should take his gospel to the Gentiles, and they would go to the Jews. In this agreement, Paul explicitly says only one thing was asked of him: To remember the poor. Whereas in Acts, James decrees that although the Gentiles my keep their foreskins, they will be required to observe certain laws of Moses. Specifically, the decree of the Jerusalem Council was that Gentile converts to Christianity must:
   1. abstain from meats offered to idols,
   2. abstain from blood,
   3. abstain from things strangled, and
   4. abstain from fornication
   Nothing is said of the poor.
   Yet, in I Corinthians 8:7-8 and 10:19-29 Paul's advice actually contradict the decree as he allows "the strong" to eat food offered to idols if it does not affect "the weak" (a reference to James perhaps?). Paul clearly had no problem with eating meat offered to idols.
7. As a prelude to Peter's speech, there was according to the writer of Acts much debate about the issue of Gentile conversion without the requirement of circumcision. Yet Acts 10 already narrated the conversion of Cornelius, an uncircumcised Gentile by Peter himself! This makes the whole idea of the "debate" quite pointless and completely irrelevant.

Questions for debate:
How do Christian apologists reconcile these accounts?
Which account is more likely to be accurate?
Is there any indication in any of Paul's writings that he accepted and understood the agreement outlined in Acts?



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¹ Yet some conservative apologists have suggested that the account in Galatians 2:1-10 is not about the same event as described in Acts 15:1-29. Instead they suggest that the Galatians account was of an earlier trip by Paul to Jerusalem, recounted in Acts 11:27-29, the so-called famine relief visit.

[McCulloch]

For example: If someone believes that you must abstain from meats offered to idols then you must not eat the meat so as not to cause your brother to stumble. Does eating the meat offered to idols cause you to be away from GOD no. Everything of the world is from GOD and there is no such thing as an idol having any kind of power. If you believe that the meat has no power over you just sustainance then eat it.

This does not actually address any of the contradictions listed, but thanks for trying.

1. Did Paul go to the meeting in response to a revelation or was he asked to go by the Antioch church?
2. Did Paul present his position privately to the Jerusalem church leaders or to the entire assembly?
3. Did Paul wait to be told what to do by the Jerusalem church leaders or did he stand his ground?
4. Who made the final decision, James or Paul?
5. Was the agreement that the gentile converts should remember the poor or that they should abstain from meats offered to idols, blood, things strangled and fornication ?
6. Why would there be much debate over this issue in Acts 15 when Peter oversaw the conversion of Cornelius, an uncircumcised Gentile back in Acts 10 ?

[McCulloch]

Was the agreement that the gentile converts should remember the poor or that they should abstain from meats offered to idols, blood, things strangled and fornication ?
Explained that one already-Christianity is not like Islam where you have to keep rigid rules. Only if what you do makes another have difficulty living his faith do you need to abstain from whatever is causing the problem. Of course remember the poor-Christianity is about charity.

Galatians 2
21I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"

Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them to send to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas--Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brethren, and they sent this letter by them,

• The apostles and the brethren who are elders, to the brethren in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia who are from the Gentiles, greetings.
  Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls, it seemed good to us, having become of one mind, to select men to send to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  Therefore we have sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will also report the same things by word of mouth. For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well.
  Farewell.

So when they were sent away, they went down to Antioch; and having gathered the congregation together, they delivered the letter.
When they had read it, they rejoiced because of its encouragement.

Here is a letter, recorded in Acts, written by James and the apostles, accepted by Paul, which asks of the gentile converts three things: abstain from thing sacrificed, abstain from blood and abstain from fornication.

This contradicts Paul's own account of the agreement made at this pivotal meeting.

and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

They only asked us to remember the poor--the very thing I also was eager to do.

[arayhay]

The Jerusalem Conference & Apostolic Decree
Galatians 2:1-21 versus Acts 15:1-35
There are a number of common elements¹:

• The problem arose because some unnamed party was asking for Gentile believers to be circumcised.
• Paul and Barnabas went together to Jerusalem for the meeting.
• The main agenda for the gathering was about the mission to the Gentiles.
• James and Peter were both present there.
• The mission to the Gentiles was recognized at the meeting.

Questions for debate:
How do Christian apologists reconcile these accounts?
Which account is more likely to be accurate?
Is there any indication in any of Paul's writings that he accepted and understood the agreement outlined in Acts?

---------------------------------------------------------------
¹ Yet some conservative apologists have suggested that the account in Galatians 2:1-10 is not about the same event as described in Acts 15:1-29. Instead they suggest that the Galatians account was of an earlier trip by Paul to Jerusalem, recounted in Acts 11:27-29, the so-called famine relief visit.

There is a discrepancy that persistently goes unmentioned and unnoticed. And alters the whole context of ANYONE'S understanding of the counsel's discourse.

Scholars and lay men alike put the church in a time machine and move them from the late first century, and insert them into the book of acts. They infer that even the gospels accounts represent the early church - converts - ground zero sorta speak.

Jesus / Yeshua was an iconoclast to be sure. But He never promoted or proliferated anything other than Torah observance combined with Faith.

Deu 10:12 "And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
Deu 10:13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD, which I am commanding you today for your good? Deu 10:14 Behold, to the LORD your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it.
Deu 10:15 Yet the LORD set his heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day.
Deu 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. Deu 10:17 For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe.
Deu 10:18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.

This is just after Moses places the two NEW tablets in the Ark. The Hebrews are told to keep the commandments because they LOVE GOD with their whole heart. Then they are to circumcise the heart and stop being stubborn - faithless- they are to trust.

Yeshua could not promote anything that stood in direct contrast to anything in Torah. To do so would make Him a false Messiah. See duet.13, 17:2-7
He was not teaching a new thing. He challenged the status quo. He challenged traditional beliefs, customs and values. Abraham challenge these as well.
They 're iconoclasts.

but lets ask Abraham about faith and covenant; Gen 17:9 And God430 said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, [faithful] thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.

Gen 18:17 The LORD said, "Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do,
Gen 18:18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him?
Gen 18:19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing righteousness and justice, so that the LORD may bring to Abraham what he has promised him."
Gen 18:20 Then the LORD said, "Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave,...

The church and Christianity do not exist in Acts 15. There is no church in Jerusalem because Ekklesia does not mean church. It is used in the Septuagint for the hebrew words edah and kahal -which mean gathering.



4But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them (A)in orderly sequence, saying,
5"(B)I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw (C)a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right down to me,
6and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the [a]crawling creatures and the birds of the air.
7"I also heard a voice saying to me, 'Get up, Peter; kill and eat.'
8"But I said, 'By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.'
9"But a voice from heaven answered a second time, '(D)What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.'
10"This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky.
11"And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from (E)Caesarea.
12"(F)The Spirit told me to go with them (G)without misgivings (H)These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man's house.
13"And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, 'Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here;
14and he will speak (I)words to you by which you will be saved, you and (J)all your household.'

15"And as I began to speak, (K)the Holy Spirit fell upon them just (L)as He did upon us at the beginning.

16"And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, '(M)John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'

17"Therefore if (N)God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, (O)who was I that I could stand in God's way?"

18When they heard this, they quieted down and (P)glorified God, saying, "Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the (Q)repentance that leads to life."

Throughout both accounts, we never read that the struggle for self-definition must separate them from Judaism. If one is reading the black and not the white i.e. the anti-Semitic bias of the church fathers of the first and second century. By replacing the word church with gathering. One would see a flow of discourse within the context of A Jewish sect called THE WAY.

[Heterodoxus]

... some conservative apologists have suggested that the account in Galatians 2:1-10 is not about the same event as described in Acts 15:1-29. Instead they suggest that the Galatians account was of an earlier trip by Paul to Jerusalem, recounted in Acts 11:27-29, the so-called famine relief visit.[/size]

The several Christian commentaries I've researched all confirm different visits; i.e.:

• > if Paul's conversion indeed happened in 36-37 CE, visit #1 (Acts 15) is estimated to have occurred in 39-40 AD, or 3 years after Paul's conversion; and,
  
  > based on Paul's conversion date, the year of Paul's second visit (GAL 2) was in 50-51 CE, or 14 years after his conversion experience.

More info is available at biblos.com. The math works, and I've found nothing that disputes the date, purpose, or results of the two separate trips.

[arayhay]

... some conservative apologists have suggested that the account in Galatians 2:1-10 is not about the same event as described in Acts 15:1-29. Instead they suggest that the Galatians account was of an earlier trip by Paul to Jerusalem, recounted in Acts 11:27-29, the so-called famine relief visit.[/size]

The several Christian commentaries I've researched all confirm different visits; i.e.:

• > if Paul's conversion indeed happened in 36-37 CE, visit #1 (Acts 15) is estimated to have occurred in 39-40 AD, or 3 years after Paul's conversion; and,
  
  > based on Paul's conversion date, the year of Paul's second visit (GAL 2) was in 50-51 CE, or 14 years after his conversion experience.

More info is available at biblos.com. The math works, and I've found nothing that disputes the date, purpose, or results of the two separate trips.

What did he convert to? You mention it three times.

[Heterodoxus]

What did he convert to? You mention it three times.

His purported conversion to Christianity after he claimed to have encountered Jesus while traveling to Damascus (see Acts 1:9-22).

[arayhay]

What did he convert to? You mention it three times.

His purported conversion to Christianity after he claimed to have encountered Jesus while traveling to Damascus (see Acts 1:9-22).

Purported, where is this conversion "reported" ?

Acts 9:1-27 What is reported is an encounter between a Jew an a Jewish Messiah.

Someone should tell Paul he converted. I don't think he knows.

Act 9:1 But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest
Act 9:2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.

To the high priest.

Act 9:3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him.
Act 9:4 And falling to the ground he heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?"
Act 9:5 And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.
Act 9:6 But rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do."
Act 9:7 The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one.
Act 9:8 Saul rose from the ground, and although his eyes were opened, he saw nothing. So they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus.
Act 9:9 And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank.
Act 9:10 Now there was a disciple at Damascus named Ananias. The Lord said to him in a vision, "Ananias." And he said, "Here I am, Lord."
Act 9:11 And the Lord said to him, "Rise and go to the street called Straight, and at the house of Judas look for a man of Tarsus named Saul, for behold, he is praying,
Act 9:12 and he has seen in a vision a man named Ananias come in and lay his hands on him so that he might regain his sight."
Act 9:13 But Ananias answered, "Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much evil he has done to your saints /Tzadikim/ at Jerusalem.

righteous ones, or persons./

Act 9:14 And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on your name."
Act 9:15 But the Lord said to him, "Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.
Act 9:16 For I will show him how much he must suffer for the sake of my name."
Act 9:17 So Ananias departed and entered the house. And laying his hands on him he said, "Brother Saul, the Lord Jesus who appeared to you on the road by which you came has sent me so that you may regain your sight and be filled with the Holy Spirit."
Act 9:18 And immediately something like scales fell from his eyes, and he regained his sight. Then he rose and was baptized;
Act 9:19 and taking food, he was strengthened. For some days he was with the disciples at Damascus.
Act 9:20 And immediately he proclaimed Jesus in the synagogues, saying, "He is the Son of God."
Act 9:21 And all who heard him were amazed and said, "Is not this the man who made havoc in Jerusalem of those who called upon this name? And has he not come here for this purpose, to bring them bound before the chief priests?"
Act 9:22 But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the [ other] Jews who lived in Damascus by proving that Jesus was the Christ. /Messiah/
Act 9:23 When many days had passed, the Jews plotted to kill him,

[arayhay]

[quote="arayhay
Act 9:23 When many days had passed, the /other/ Jews plotted to kill him,[/quote]

Act 22:1 "Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you."
Act 22:2 And when they heard that he was addressing them in the Hebrew language, they became even more quiet. And he said:
Act 22:3 "I am a Jew, born in Tarsus in Cilicia, but brought up in this city, educated at the feet of Gamaliel according to the strict manner of the law Torah, of our fathers, being zealous for God as all of you are this day.
Act 22:4 I persecuted this Way to the death, binding and delivering to prison both men and women,
Act 22:5 as the high priest and the whole council of elders can bear me witness. From them I received letters to the brothers, and I journeyed toward Damascus to take those also who were there and bring them in bonds to Jerusalem to be punished.
Act 22:6 "As I was on my way and drew near to Damascus, about noon a great light from heaven suddenly shone around me.
Act 22:7 And I fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to me, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?'
Act 22:8 And I answered, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said to me, 'I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom you are persecuting.'
Act 22:9 Now those who were with me saw the light but did not understand the voice of the one who was speaking to me.
Act 22:10 And I said, 'What shall I do, Lord?' And the Lord said to me, 'Rise, and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all that is appointed for you to do.'
Act 22:11 And since I could not see because of the brightness of that light, I was led by the hand by those who were with me, and came into Damascus.
Act 22:12 "And one Ananias, a devout man according to the law, well spoken of by all the Jews who lived there,
Act 22:13 came to me, and standing by me said to me, 'Brother Saul, receive your sight.' And at that very hour I received my sight and saw him.
Act 22:14 And he said, 'The God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth;
Act 22:15 for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard.
Act 22:16 And now why do you wait? Rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.'
Act 22:17 "When I had returned to Jerusalem and was praying in the temple, I fell into a trance
Act 22:18 and saw him saying to me, 'Make haste and get out of Jerusalem quickly, because they will not accept your testimony about me.'
Act 22:19 And I said, 'Lord, they themselves know that in one synagogue after another I imprisoned and beat those who believed in you.
Act 22:20 And when the blood of Stephen your witness was being shed, I myself was standing by and approving and watching over the garments of those who killed him.'
Act 22:21 And he said to me, 'Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'"
Act 22:22 Up to this word they listened to him. Then they raised their voices and said, "Away with such a fellow from the earth! For he should not be allowed to live."

Up until he says that he is bringing Gentles into the mix, the Jewish crowd does not get upset, or take issue with his discourse.

[arayhay]

The Jerusalem Conference & Apostolic Decree
Galatians 2:1-21 versus Acts 15:1-35
There are a number of common elements¹:

• The problem arose because some unnamed party was asking for Gentile believers to be circumcised.

The problem arose because some Jews were believing that Yeshua was the messiah; see Acts 9, 22, and that His Gospel should also go to the Gentles. Later the issue of Gentle inclusion had to be addressed. In Acts 22 we can see that Paul is met with some strong opposition when he mentions Gentle inclusion by the Jews that don't believe in Yeshua. They are twice removed from the group called the way. They don't believe Yeshua is the Messiah, and they believe Gentles must be converted first to be considered covenant members. Seems to me that we should start at the beginning. not somewhere i the middle.