Council of Jerusalem

2025-11-02T19:02:17Z

95.103.183.164: /* Historical background */

{{Short description|First Christian synod (c. 48–50 AD)}}
{{about|the 1st-century council of early Christianity||Jerusalem Council (disambiguation){{!}}Jerusalem Council}}
{{Infobox ecumenical council
| council_name = Council of Jerusalem
| council_date = {{circa|48–50 AD}}
| accepted_by = Most mainstream [[Christian denominations]]
| next = [[Ancient church councils (pre-ecumenical)|Ancient church councils]] and [[First Council of Nicaea]]
| presided_by = Unspecified, presumably [[James, brother of Jesus|James (brother of Jesus)]], [[Saint Peter|Peter]], and [[John the Apostle|John]]<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-Paul"/><ref name="Bokenkotter">{{cite book |last=Bokenkotter |first=Thomas |year=2004 |title=A Concise History of the Catholic Church |edition=Revised and expanded |publisher=Doubleday |pages=19–21 |isbn=0-385-50584-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DISK1e7JXA8C&pg=PA19}}</ref><ref name="Paul">{{Bibleverse|Acts|15:1-2|NRSV}}, {{Bibleverse-nb|Acts|15:6-10|NRSV}}; {{Bibleverse|Galatians|1:15-16|NRSV}}, {{Bibleverse-nb|Galatians|2:7-9|NRSV}}, {{Bibleverse|Galatians|5:2-3|NRSV}}, {{Bibleverse-nb|Galatians|5:6-12|NRSV}}, {{Bibleverse-nb|Galatians|6:12-15|NRSV}}; {{Bibleverse|Philippians|3:2-3|NRSV}}; {{Bibleverse|1 Corinthians|7:17-21|NRSV}}; {{Bibleverse|Romans|2:17-29|NRSV}}, {{Bibleverse-nb|Romans|3:9-28|NRSV}}, {{Bibleverse-nb|Romans|5:1-11|NRSV}}, {{Bibleverse|Romans|11:13|NRSV}}; {{Bibleverse|1 Timothy|2:7|NRSV}}; {{Bibleverse|2 Timothy|1:11|NRSV}}; {{Bibleverse|Titus|1:10-16|NRSV}}.</ref>
| topics = Controversy about [[Circumcision controversy in early Christianity|male circumcision]], [[Christian views on the Old Covenant]], whether keeping the [[Mosaic Law]] is necessary for the [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]] of [[Gentiles]]<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-Paul"/><ref name="Bokenkotter"/><ref name="Stendahl 1963">{{cite journal |last=Stendahl |first=Krister |author-link=Krister Stendahl |date=July 1963 |title=The Apostle Paul and the Introspective Conscience of the West |url=http://www.scotthahn.com/s/01Stendahl.pdf |url-status=live |journal=[[Harvard Theological Review]] |location=[[Cambridge]] |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] on behalf of the [[Harvard Divinity School]] |volume=56 |issue=3 |pages=199–215 |doi=10.1017/S0017816000024779 |issn=1475-4517 |jstor=1508631 |lccn=09003793 |oclc=803348474 |s2cid=170331485 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211224045859/https://static1.squarespace.com/static/569543b4bfe87360795306d6/t/5a4d41fa085229a032376713/1515012617149/01Stendahl.pdf |archive-date=24 December 2021 |access-date=12 February 2022}}</ref>
| documents = Excerpts from New Testament ([[Acts of Apostles]] and perhaps [[Epistle to the Galatians]])<ref name="Dunn 1993">{{cite journal |last=Dunn |first=James D. G. |author-link=James Dunn (theologian) |date=Autumn 1993 |title=Echoes of Intra-Jewish Polemic in Paul's Letter to the Galatians |editor-last=Reinhartz |editor-first=Adele |editor-link=Adele Reinhartz |journal=[[Journal of Biblical Literature]] |publisher=[[Society of Biblical Literature]] |volume=112 |issue=3 |pages=459–477 |doi=10.2307/3267745 |issn=0021-9231 |jstor=3267745}}</ref>
}}
[[File:Saint James the Just.jpg|thumb|right|[[James, brother of Jesus|James the Just]], whose judgment was adopted in the Apostolic Decree of {{bibleverse||Acts|15:19–29}}, {{circa|78 AD}}: "we should write to them [Gentiles] to abstain only from things polluted by [[Idolatry and Christianity|idols]] and from [[Fornication#Christianity|fornication]] and from whatever has been strangled and from [[Taboo food and drink#Blood|blood]]..." ([[NRSV]])]]
{{Bible related}}

The '''Council of Jerusalem''' or '''Apostolic Council''' is a council described in [[Acts 15|chapter 15]] of the [[Acts of the Apostles]], held in [[Early centers of Christianity#Jerusalem|Jerusalem]] {{circa|AD 48–50}}.

The council decided that [[Gentile]]s who [[Conversion to Christianity|converted to Christianity]] were not obligated to keep most of the rules prescribed to the Jews by the [[Mosaic Law]], such as [[Kashrut|Jewish dietary laws]] and other specific rituals, including the rules concerning [[Circumcision controversy in early Christianity|circumcision of males]].<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-Paul">{{cite book |editor1-last=Cross |editor1-first=F. L. |editor1-link=F. L. Cross |editor2-last=Livingstone |editor2-first=E. A. |editor2-link=Elizabeth Livingstone |chapter=Paul the Apostle |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA1243 |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |year=2005 |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |edition=3rd Revised |doi=10.1093/acref/9780192802903.001.0001 |pages=1243–45 |isbn=978-0-19-280290-3}}</ref><ref name="Bokenkotter"/><ref name="Stendahl 1963"/><ref name="Dunn 1993"/><ref name="Thiessen 2014">{{cite journal |author-last=Thiessen |author-first=Matthew |date=September 2014 |title=Paul's Argument against Gentile Circumcision in Romans 2:17-29 |editor1-last=Breytenbach |editor1-first=Cilliers |editor2-last=Thom |editor2-first=Johan |journal=[[Novum Testamentum]] |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |volume=56 |issue=4 |pages=373–391 |doi=10.1163/15685365-12341488 |eissn=1568-5365 |issn=0048-1009 |jstor=24735868}}</ref> The council did, however, retain the prohibitions on eating [[Taboo food and drink#Blood|blood]] or [[Taboo food and drink#Blood|meat containing blood]], and meat of animals that were strangled, and on [[fornication]] and [[Idolatry and Christianity|idolatry]], sometimes referred to as the '''Apostolic Decree'''.<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-Paul"/> The purpose and origin of these four prohibitions is debated.<ref name="Fitzmyer 1998"/>

Accounts of the council are found in Acts of the Apostles (chapter 15 in two different forms, the [[Acts of the Apostles#Manuscripts|Alexandrian and Western versions]]) and also possibly in [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]]'s [[Epistle to the Galatians|letter to the Galatians]] (chapter 2).<ref name="Dunn 1993"/><ref name="Thiessen 2014"/><ref name="Paul"/><ref>Whether or not {{bibleverse||Galatians|2:1–10|NRSV}} is a record of the ''Council of Jerusalem'' or a different event is not agreed. Paul writes of laying his gospel before the others "privately", not in a Council. It has been argued that Galatians was written as Paul was on his way to the Council (see [[Paul the Apostle]]). [[Raymond E. Brown]] in his ''Introduction to the New Testament'' argues that they (Acts 15 and Galatians 2) are the same event but each from a different viewpoint with its own bias.</ref> Some scholars dispute that Galatians 2 is about the Council of Jerusalem, while others have defended this identification.<ref name=":0" />

==Historical background==
{{Main|Historical background of the New Testament}}
{{Further|Biblical law in Christianity#History and background|Circumcision controversy in early Christianity#Jewish background}}

Jerusalem was the first center of the [[Christian Church]] according to the [[Book of Acts]]<ref name="Bokenkotter"/> and (according to the ''[[Catholic Encyclopedia]]'') the location of "the first Christian church".<ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08355a.htm Jerusalem (A.D. 71–1099)]: "During the first Christian centuries the church at this place was the centre of Christianity in Jerusalem, "Holy and glorious Sion, mother of all churches" (Intercession in "[[Liturgy of St. James|St. James' Liturgy]]", ed. Brightman, p. 54). Saint Mark of syriac orthodox church is also known as last supper church and believe first christian church. "</ref> The [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]] lived and taught there for some time after [[Pentecost]].<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-James">{{cite book |editor1-last=Cross |editor1-first=F. L. |editor1-link=F. L. Cross |editor2-last=Livingstone |editor2-first=E. A. |editor2-link=Elizabeth Livingstone |chapter=James, St. |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fUqcAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA862 |title=The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church |year=2005 |location=[[Oxford]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |edition=3rd Revised |doi=10.1093/acref/9780192802903.001.0001 |page=862 |isbn=978-0-19-280290-3}}</ref> [[James, brother of Jesus|James the Just, brother of Jesus]] was leader of the early Christian community in Jerusalem, and his [[Brothers of Jesus|other kinsmen]] likely held leadership positions in the surrounding area after the destruction of the city until its rebuilding as ''[[Aelia Capitolina]]'' in {{circa|AD 130}}, when all Jews were banished from Jerusalem.<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-James"/>

The apostles [[Barnabas]] and [[Paul the Apostle|Paul]] went to Jerusalem to meet with the "[[Pillars of the Church]]":<ref name="Bokenkotter"/><ref>[http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08280a.htm St. James the Less] ''Catholic Encyclopedia'': "Then we lose sight of James till St. Paul, three years after his conversion (A.D. 37), went up to Jerusalem. ... On the same occasion, the "pillars" of the Church, James, Peter, and John "gave to me (Paul) and Barnabas the [[Right hand of Christian fellowship|right hands of fellowship]]; that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision" ({{bibleverse||Galatians|2:9}})."</ref> James the Just, [[Saint Peter|Peter]], and [[John the Apostle|John]].<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-Paul"/><ref name="Bokenkotter"/> The Council of Jerusalem is generally dated to {{circa|AD 48-50}}, roughly 15 to 25 years after the [[crucifixion of Jesus]] (between AD 26 and 36). [[Acts 15]] and [[Galatians 2]] both suggest that the meeting was called to debate the legitimacy of the evangelizing mission of Barnabas and Paul to the [[Gentiles]] and the Gentile converts' freedom from most of the [[Mosaic Law]],<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-Paul"/><ref name="Bokenkotter"/> especially from the [[Circumcision controversy in early Christianity|circumcision of males]],<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-Paul"/> a practice that was considered execrable and repulsive in the [[Greco-Roman world]] during the period of [[Hellenization]] of the [[Eastern Mediterranean]],<ref name="Hodges2001">{{cite journal |last=Hodges |first=Frederick M. |year=2001 |title=The Ideal Prepuce in Ancient Greece and Rome: Male Genital Aesthetics and Their Relation to Lipodermos, Circumcision, Foreskin Restoration, and the Kynodesme |journal=[[Bulletin of the History of Medicine]] |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] |volume=75 |issue=Fall 2001 |pages=375–405 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/history/hodges2/ |format=PDF |pmid=11568485 |doi=10.1353/bhm.2001.0119 |s2cid=29580193 |access-date=3 January 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Rubin 1980">{{cite journal |last1=Rubin |first1=Jody P. |title=Celsus' Decircumcision Operation: Medical and Historical Implications |journal=[[Urology (journal)|Urology]] |publisher=[[Elsevier]] |volume=16 |issue=1 |pages=121–124 |date=July 1980 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/rubin/ |pmid=6994325 |doi=10.1016/0090-4295(80)90354-4 |access-date=3 January 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Fredriksen 2018">{{cite book |last=Fredriksen |first=Paula |author-link=Paula Fredriksen |date=2018 |title=When Christians Were Jews: The First Generation |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NW9yDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA10 |location=[[London]] |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |pages=10–11 |isbn=978-0-300-19051-9}}</ref><ref name="Schultheiss 1998">{{cite journal |last1= Schultheiss |first1= Dirk |last2= Truss |first2= Michael C. |last3= Stief |first3= Christian G. |last4= Jonas |first4= Udo |title=Uncircumcision: A Historical Review of Preputial Restoration |journal=[[Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery]] |publisher=[[Lippincott Williams & Wilkins]] |date=1998 |volume=101 |issue=7 |pages=1990–8 |url=http://www.cirp.org/library/restoration/schultheiss/ |doi= 10.1097/00006534-199806000-00037 |pmid=9623850 |access-date=13 February 2020|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/4391-circumcision#anchor4 |title=Circumcision: In Apocryphal and Rabbinical Literature |last1=Kohler |first1=Kaufmann |last2=Hirsch |first2=Emil G. |last3=Jacobs |first3=Joseph |last4=Friedenwald |first4=Aaron |last5=Broydé |first5=Isaac |author1-link=Kaufmann Kohler |author2-link=Emil G. Hirsch |author3-link=Joseph Jacobs |author5-link=Isaac Broydé |publisher=[[Kopelman Foundation]] |website=[[Jewish Encyclopedia]] |access-date=3 January 2020 |quote=Contact with Grecian life, especially at the games of the arena [which involved [[nudity]]], made this distinction obnoxious to the Hellenists, or antinationalists; and the consequence was their attempt to appear like the Greeks by [[epispasm]] ("making themselves foreskins"; I Macc. i. 15; Josephus, "Ant." xii. 5, § 1; Assumptio Mosis, viii.; I Cor. vii. 18; Tosef., Shab. xv. 9; Yeb. 72a, b; Yer. Peah i. 16b; Yeb. viii. 9a). All the more did the law-observing Jews defy the edict of [[Antiochus Epiphanes]] prohibiting circumcision (I Macc. i. 48, 60; ii. 46); and the Jewish women showed their loyalty to the Law, even at the risk of their lives, by themselves circumcising their sons.}}</ref> and was especially disdained by both [[Ancient Greece|ancient Greeks]] and [[Ancient Rome|Romans]], who instead valued the [[foreskin]] positively.<ref name="Hodges2001"/><ref name="Rubin 1980"/><ref name="Schultheiss 1998"/><ref name="Fredriksen 2018"/><ref>{{cite book |title=Approaches to Ancient Judaism, New Series: Religious and Theological Studies |year=1993 |page=149 |author=Neusner, Jacob |author-link=Jacob Neusner |publisher=Scholars Press |quote=Circumcised [[barbarians]], along with any others who revealed the ''glans penis'', were the butt of ribald [[Roman jokes|humor]]. For [[Ancient Greek art|Greek art]] portrays the foreskin, often drawn in meticulous detail, as an emblem of male beauty; and children with congenitally short foreskins were sometimes subjected to a treatment, known as ''[[epispasm]]'', that was aimed at elongation.}}</ref>

At the time, most followers of Jesus (which historians refer to as [[Jewish Christians]]) were Jewish by birth and even [[Proselyte|converts]] would have considered the [[Early Christianity|early Christians]] as a part of [[Judaism]]. According to scholars, the Jewish Christians affirmed every aspect of the contemporary [[Second Temple Judaism]] with the addition of the belief that Jesus was the [[Jewish Messiah]].<ref>McGrath, Alister E., Christianity: An Introduction. Blackwell Publishing (2006). {{ISBN|1-4051-0899-1}}. Page 174: "In effect, they [Jewish Christians] seemed to regard Christianity as an affirmation of every aspect of contemporary Judaism, with the addition of one extra belief — that Jesus was the Messiah."</ref>

==Issues and outcome==
{{Main|History of early Christianity}}
{{Further|Historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles|Antinomianism}}

The purpose of the meeting, according to Acts, was to resolve a disagreement in [[Early centers of Christianity#Antioch|Antioch]], which had wider implications than just circumcision, since circumcision is considered the "everlasting" sign of the [[Covenant of the pieces|Abrahamic covenant]] in Judaism ({{bibleverse||Genesis|17:9–14}}). The Acts say that "certain men which came down from [[Judaea]]" were preaching that {{nowrap|"[u]nless}} you are circumcised according to the custom of [[Moses]], you cannot be saved";<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|15:1–2|NRSV}}</ref> Acts states that furthermore some of the [[Pharisees]] who had become believers stated that it was "needful to circumcise [the Gentiles,] and to command [them] to keep the [[613 commandments|law of Moses]]" ([[KJV]]).<ref>{{bibleverse||Acts|15:5|KJV}}</ref>

{{See also|Supersessionism|Hellenistic Judaism|Paul the Apostle and Jewish Christianity}}

The primary issue which was addressed related to the requirement of circumcision, as the author of Acts relates, but other important matters arose as well, as the Apostolic Decree indicates.<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-Paul" /> The dispute was between those such as the followers of the "Pillars of the Church", led by James, who believed that the church must observe the [[Torah]] (i.e. the rules of traditional Judaism ({{bibleverse|Galatians|2:12|NIV}})), and Paul the Apostle, who called himself "Apostle to the Gentiles",<ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Black |editor1-first=C. Clifton |editor2-last=Smith |editor2-first=D. Moody |editor3-last=Spivey |editor3-first=Robert A. |year=2019 |orig-date=1969 |title=Anatomy of the New Testament |chapter=Paul: Apostle to the Gentiles |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3MSHDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA187 |location=[[Minneapolis]] |publisher=[[Fortress Press]] |edition=8th |pages=187–226 |doi=10.2307/j.ctvcb5b9q.17 |isbn=978-1-5064-5711-6 |s2cid=242771713 |oclc=1082543536}}</ref> who believed there was no such necessity.<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-Paul" /><ref name="Bokenkotter" /><ref name="Klutz 2002">{{cite book |author-last=Klutz |author-first=Todd |year=2002 |orig-date=2000 |chapter=Part II: Christian Origins and Development – Paul and the Development of Gentile Christianity |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6fyCAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA178 |editor-last=Esler |editor-first=Philip F. |title=The Early Christian World |location=[[New York City|New York]] and [[London]] |publisher=[[Routledge]] |edition=1st |series=Routledge Worlds |pages=178–190 |isbn=9781032199344}}</ref><ref name="Seifrid 1992">{{cite book |last=Seifrid |first=Mark A. |author-link=Mark A. Seifrid |year=1992 |chapter='Justification by Faith' and The Disposition of Paul's Argument |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KdUkuOtOw68C&pg=PA210 |title=Justification by Faith: The Origin and Development of a Central Pauline Theme |location=[[Leiden]] |publisher=[[Brill Publishers]] |series=[[Novum Testamentum|Novum Testamentum, Supplements]] |pages=210–211, 246–247 |isbn=90-04-09521-7 |issn=0167-9732}}</ref> The main concern for Paul, which he subsequently expressed in greater detail with [[Pauline epistles|his letters]] directed to the [[Early centers of Christianity|early Christian communities]] in [[Asia Minor]], was the inclusion of Gentiles into God's [[New Covenant]], sending the message that [[faith in Christ]] is sufficient for [[Salvation in Christianity|salvation]].<ref name="Cross-Livingstone 2005-Paul" /><ref name="Klutz 2002" /><ref name="Seifrid 1992" />

At the council, following advice offered by Peter ({{bibleverse|Acts|15:7–11|NIV}} and {{bibleverse|Acts|15:14|NIV}}), Barnabas and Paul gave an account of their ministry among the gentiles ({{bibleverse|Acts|15:12|NIV}}), and James quoted from the words of the prophet [[Amos (prophet)|Amos]] ({{bibleverse|Acts|15:16–17|NIV}}, quoting {{bibleverse|Amos|9:11–12|NIV}}). James added his own words<ref>[[John Gill (theologian)|Gill, J.]], [http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/acts/15.htm "Acts 15"]. Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible. Accessed 13 September 2015.</ref> to the quotation: "Known to God from eternity are all His works"<ref>{{bibleverse|Acts|15:18|NKJV}}</ref> and then submitted a proposal, which was accepted by the Church and became known as the Apostolic Decree:

{{blockquote|It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood.{{efn|According to Bruce Metzger's ''Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament'': "the Apostolic Decree [15.29, 15.20, 21.25] [...] contain many problems concerning text and exegesis"; "it is possible [...] (fornication means) marriage within the prohibited [[Levitical Degrees]] ({{bibleverse|Leviticus|18:6–18|NIV}}), which the rabbis described as "forbidden for ''porneia''", or mixed marriages with pagans ({{bibleverse|Numbers|25:1|NIV}}; also compare {{bibleverse|2Corinthians|6.14|NIV}}), or participation in pagan worship which had long been described by Old Testament prophets as spiritual adultery and which, in fact, offered opportunity in many temples for religious prostitution"; "An extensive literature exists on the text and exegesis"; [[NRSV]] has things polluted by idols, fornication, whatever has been strangled, blood; [[NIV]] has food polluted by idols, sexual immorality, meat of strangled animals, blood; [[Young's Literal Translation|Young's]] has pollutions of the idols, whoredom, strangled thing, blood; Gaus' ''[[Unvarnished New Testament]]'' has pollution of idolatrous sacrifices, unchastity, meat of strangled animals, blood; [[New American Bible|NAB]] has pollution from idols, unlawful marriage, meat of strangled animals, blood. [[Karl Josef von Hefele]]'s [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.viii.v.iv.ii.html commentary on canon II of Gangra] notes: "We further see that, at the time of the [[Synod of Gangra]], the rule of the Apostolic Synod with regard to blood and things strangled was still in force. With the [[Greek Orthodox|Greeks]], indeed, it continued always in force as their Euchologies still show. [[Theodore Balsamon|Balsamon]] also, the well-known commentator on the canons of the Middle Ages, in his commentary on the sixty-third [[Canons of the Apostles|Apostolic Canon]], expressly blames the Latins because they had ceased to observe this command. What the Latin Church, however, thought on this subject about the year 400, is shown by [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine]] in his work [[Contra Faustum]], where he states that the Apostles had given this command in order to unite the heathens and Jews in the one ark of Noah; but that then, when the barrier between Jewish and heathen converts had fallen, this command concerning things strangled and blood had lost its meaning, and was only observed by few. But still, as late as the eighth century, [[Pope Gregory III|Pope Gregory the Third]] (731) forbade the eating of blood or things strangled under threat of a penance of forty days. No one will pretend that the disciplinary enactments of any council, even though it be one of the undisputed [[Ecumenical council|Ecumenical Synods]], can be of greater and more unchanging force than the decree of that first council, held by the Holy Apostles at Jerusalem, and the fact that its decree has been obsolete for centuries in the West is proof that even Ecumenical canons may be of only temporary utility and may be repealed by disuse, like other laws."}} For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.|{{bibleverse|Acts|15:19–21|NIV}}}}

{{bibleverse||Acts|15:23–29|NIV}} sets out the content of the letter written in accordance with James' proposal. The [[Western text-type|Western version]] of Acts (see [[Acts of the Apostles#Manuscripts|Acts of the Apostles: Manuscripts]]) adds the negative form of the [[Golden Rule]] ("and whatever things ye would not have done to yourselves, do not do to another").{{efn|[[Hillel the Elder]] when asked by a Gentile to teach the whole [[Torah]] while standing on one foot cited the negative form of the Golden Rule, also cited in [[Book of Tobit|Tobit]] {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20000815221447/http://www.nccbuscc.org/nab/bible/tobit/tobit4.htm 4:15]}}. [[Jesus]] in {{bibleverse|Matthew|7:12|NIV}}, part of the [[Sermon on the Mount]], cited the positive form as summary of the "[[Torah|Law]] and [[Nevi'im|Prophets]]".}}

{{See also|Seven Laws of Noah|Christian views on the Old Covenant|Proselyte#Rules for proselytes in the Torah}}

This determined questions wider than that of circumcision, particularly dietary questions, fornication, idolatry, and blood, as well as the application of [[Biblical law]] to non-Jews. It was stated by the [[Apostles in the New Testament|apostles]] and [[Elder (Christianity)|elders]] in the council: "the [[Holy Spirit]] and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, to abstain from things sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from things strangled, and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper." (Acts 15:27–28) This Apostolic Decree was considered binding on all the other local Christian congregations in other regions.<ref>[http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/apopresby.htm "Apostolic Presbyterianism"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916135720/http://www.swrb.com/newslett/actualNLs/apopresby.htm |date=2018-09-16 }} by [[William Cunningham (theologian)|William Cunningham]] and Reg Barrow.</ref>

The author of Acts gives an account of a restatement by James and the elders in Jerusalem of the contents of the letter on the occasion of Paul's final Jerusalem visit, immediately prior to Paul's arrest at the temple, recounting: "When we had come to Jerusalem, the brothers received us gladly. On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present." (Acts 21:17–18, [[English Standard Version|ESV]]) The elders then proceed to notify Paul of what seems to have been a common concern among Jewish believers, that he was teaching [[diaspora]] Jewish converts to Christianity "to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs." They remind the assembly that, "as for the Gentiles who have believed, we have sent a letter with our judgment that they should abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality". In the view of some scholars, the reminder of James and the elders here is an expression of concern that Paul was not fully teaching the decision of the Jerusalem Council's letter to Gentiles,<ref>Robert McQueen Grant ''Augustus to Constantine: The Rise and triumph of Christianity in the Roman World''. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, p. iv. "According to Acts 21:25, the elders at Jerusalem were still concerned with observance of them when Paul last "</ref> particularly in regard to non-strangled [[kosher]] meat,<ref>Paul Barnett (2004). ''Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament''. p. 292. "He chided Paul later for his failure to require the Gentiles to observe the decree (Acts 21:25). Paul delivered the letter from the Jerusalem meeting expressing James's decree, but only to churches in Syria, Cilicia and Galatia ... Paul did not impose the food requirements for the kosher-killed meat and against the idol-sacrificed meat upon the Corinthians"</ref> which contrasts with Paul's advice to Gentiles in [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]],<ref>1 Corinthians: a new translation Volume 32 Anchor Bible William Fridell Orr, James Arthur Walther – 1976 "Paul's openness regarding dietary restrictions raises again the question of the connection with the decrees of the council at Jerusalem (Acts 15:29; Introduction, pp. 63–65). There is no hint here of an apostolic decree involving food."</ref> to "eat whatever is sold in the meat markets" (1 Corinthians 10:25).<ref>Gordon D. Fee (1987). ''The First Epistle to the Corinthians''. p. 480. "Paul's 'rule' for everyday life in Corinth is a simple one: 'Eat anything sold in the meat market{{'"}}.</ref>

==Historicity==
{{Main|Historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles}}

The description of the Apostolic Council in Acts 15, generally considered the same event described in Galatians 2,<ref>"In spite of the presence of discrepancies between these two accounts, most scholars agree that they do in fact refer to the same event.", Paget, "Jewish Christianity", in Horbury, et al., "The Cambridge History of Judaism: The Early Roman Period", volume 3, p. 744 (2008). Cambridge University Press.</ref> is considered by some scholars to be contradictory to the Galatians account.<ref>"Paul's account of the Jerusalem Council in Galatians 2 and the account of it recorded in Acts have been considered by some scholars as being in open contradiction.", Paget, "Jewish Christianity", in Horbury, et al., "The Cambridge History of Judaism: The Early Roman Period", volume 3, p. 744 (2008). Cambridge University Press.</ref> The historicity of Luke's account in Acts has been challenged<ref>"There is a very strong case against the historicity of Luke's account of the Apostolic Council", Esler, "Community and Gospel in Luke-Acts: The Social and Political Motivations of Lucan Theology", p. 97 (1989). Cambridge University Press.</ref><ref>"The historicity of Luke's account in Acts 15 has been questioned on a number of grounds.", Paget, "Jewish Christianity", in Horbury, et al., "The Cambridge History of Judaism: The Early Roman Period", volume 3, p. 744 (2008). Cambridge University Press.</ref><ref>"However, numerous scholars have challenged the historicity of the Jerusalem Council as related by Acts, Paul's presence there in the manner that Luke describes, the issue of idol-food being thrust on Paul's Gentile mission, and the historical reliability of Acts in general.", Fotopolous, "Food Offered to Idols in Roman Corinth: a socio-rhetorical reconsideration", pp. 181–182 (2003). Mohr Siebeck.</ref> and was rejected by some scholars in the mid to late 20th century.<ref>"Sahlin rejects the historicity of Acts completely (Der Messias und das Gottesvolk [1945]). Haenchen's view is that the Apostolic Council "is an imaginary construction answering to no historical reality" (The Acts of the Apostles [Engtr 1971], p. 463). Dibelius' view (Studies in the Acts of the Apostles [Engtr 1956], pp. 93–101) is that Luke's treatment is literary-theological and can make no claim to historical worth.", Mounce, "Apostolic Council", in Bromiley (ed.) "The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia", volume 1, p. 200 (rev. ed. 2001). Wm. B. Eerdmans.</ref> However, more recent scholarship inclines towards treating the Jerusalem Council and its rulings as a historical event,<ref name=":0">"There is an increasing trend among scholars toward considering the Jerusalem Council as historical event. An overwhelming majority identifies the reference to the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 with Paul's account in Gal. 2.1–10, and this accord is not just limited to the historicity of the gathering alone but extends also to the authenticity of the arguments deriving from the Jerusalem church itself.", Philip, "The Origins of Pauline Pneumatology: the Eschatological Bestowal of the Spirit", Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament 2, Reihe, p. 205 (2005). Mohr Siebeck.</ref> though this is sometimes expressed with caution.<ref>"The present writer accepts its basic historicity, i.e. that there was an event at Jerusalem concerning the matter of the entry of the Gentiles into the Christian community, but would be circumspect about going much further than that. For a robust defence of its historicity, see Bauckham, "James", and the relevant literature cited there.", Paget, "Jewish Christianity", in Horbury, et al., "The Cambridge History of Judaism: The Early Roman Period", volume 3, p. 744 (2008). Cambridge University Press.</ref> [[Bruce Metzger]]'s ''Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament'' includes a summary of current research on the topic as of about 1994:
{{blockquote|In conclusion, therefore, it appears that the least unsatisfactory solution of the complicated textual and exegetical problems of the Apostolic Decree is to regard the fourfold decree<ref name="threefour">For a clarification of "fourfold decree" vs "threefold decree", see [https://books.google.com/books?id=wo8csizDv0gC ''International Standard Bible Encyclopedia'': A-D], 1995, by Geoffrey W. Bromiley ("Apostolic Council"), [https://books.google.com/books?id=wo8csizDv0gC&dq=decree+fourfold+threefold&pg=PA202 page 202].</ref> as original (foods offered to idols, strangled meat, eating blood, and unchastity—whether ritual or moral), and to explain the two forms of the threefold decree<ref name="threefour"/> in some such way as those suggested above.<ref>Bruce M. Metzger, ''A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament'', 2nd edn, (NY: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1994), 382.</ref> An extensive literature exists on the text and exegesis of the Apostolic Decree. ... According to Jacques Dupont, "Present day scholarship is practically unanimous in considering the [[Alexandrian text-type|'Eastern' text]] of the decree as the only authentic text (in four items) and in interpreting its prescriptions in a sense not ethical but ritual" [''Les problèmes du Livre des Actes d'après les travaux récents'' (Louvain, 1950), p.70].<ref>Metzger, ''Textual Commentary'', 383n9.</ref>}}

==Origin of the Council's decision==
{{Main|Pauline epistles}}
{{Further|Pauline Christianity|Paul the Apostle and Judaism}}
{{Jewish Christianity}}

The Council of Jerusalem retained the prohibitions on eating blood, meat containing blood, and meat of animals that were strangled, and on fornication and idolatry. The resulting Apostolic Decree in Acts 15 may simply parallel the [[Seven Laws of Noah|seven Noahide laws]] found in the [[Old Testament]], and thus be a commonality rather than a differential.<ref name="Fitzmyer 1998"/><ref>{{cite journal |last=Vana |first=Liliane |date=May 2013 |title=Les lois noaẖides: Une mini-Torah pré-sinaïtique pour l'humanité et pour Israël |trans-title=The Noahid Laws: A Pre-Sinaitic Mini-Torah for Humanity and for Israel |editor-last=Trigano |editor-first=Shmuel |journal=Pardés: Études et culture juives |publisher=Éditions in Press |location=[[Paris]] |volume=52 |issue=2 |pages=211–236 |language=fr |doi=10.3917/parde.052.0211 |doi-access=free |eissn=2271-1880 |isbn=978-2-84835-260-2 |issn=0295-5652 |via=[[Cairn.info]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last=Bockmuehl |first=Markus |date=January 1995 |title=The Noachide Commandments and New Testament Ethics: with Special Reference to Acts 15 and Pauline Halakhah |journal=[[Revue Biblique]] |location=[[Leuven]] |publisher=[[Peeters Publishers]] |volume=102 |issue=1 |pages=72–101 |issn=0035-0907 |jstor=44076024}}</ref> However, modern scholars dispute the connection between Acts 15 and the seven Noahide laws.<ref name="Fitzmyer 1998"/> The Apostolic Decree may have been a [[List of events in early Christianity|major act of differentiation]] of the early Church [[Jewish roots of Christianity|from its Jewish roots]].<ref name="Baptism-JE">[http://jewishencyclopedia.com/view.jsp?artid=222&letter=B&search=Baptism Jewish Encyclopedia: Baptism]: "According to rabbinical teachings, which dominated even during the existence of the Temple (Pes. viii. 8), [[Baptism]], next to circumcision and sacrifice, was an absolutely necessary condition to be fulfilled by a [[Conversion to Judaism|proselyte to Judaism]] (Yeb. 46b, 47b; Ker. 9a; 'Ab. Zarah 57a; Shab. 135a; Yer. Kid. iii. 14, 64d). Circumcision, however, was much more important, and, like baptism, was called a "seal" (Schlatter, "Die Kirche Jerusalems," 1898, p. 70). But as circumcision was discarded by Christianity, and the sacrifices had ceased, Baptism remained the sole condition for initiation into religious life. The next ceremony, adopted shortly after the others, was the [[Laying on of hands|imposition of hands]], which, it is known, was the usage of the Jews at the ordination of a rabbi. [[Anointing]] with oil, which at first also accompanied the act of Baptism, and was analogous to the anointment of priests among the Jews, was not a necessary condition."</ref>

''[[The Jewish Encyclopedia]]'' states:

{{blockquote|For great as was the success of Barnabas and Paul in the heathen world, the authorities in Jerusalem insisted upon circumcision as the condition of admission of members into the church, until, on the initiative of Peter, and of James, the head of the Jerusalem church, it was agreed that acceptance of the Noachian Laws—namely, regarding avoidance of idolatry, fornication, and the eating of flesh cut from a living animal—should be demanded of the heathen desirous of entering the Church.}}

''The Jewish Encyclopedia'' also states:

{{blockquote|[[Jacob Emden|R. Emden]] [...] gives it as his opinion that the original intention of Jesus, and especially of Paul, was to convert only the Gentiles to the [[Seven Laws of Noah|seven moral laws of Noah]] and to let the Jews follow the Mosaic law—which explains the apparent contradictions in the New Testament regarding the [[Biblical law in Christianity|laws of Moses]] and the [[Biblical Sabbath|Sabbath]].}}

The 20th-century American Catholic priest and biblical scholar [[Joseph Fitzmyer|Joseph A. Fitzmyer]] {{Post-nominals|list=[[Society of Jesus|SJ]]}} disputes the claim that the Apostolic Decree is based on the seven Noahide laws ({{bibleverse||Gen|9}}), and instead proposes {{bibleverse||Lev|17–18}} as the basis for it.<ref name="Fitzmyer 1998">{{cite book |last=Fitzmyer |first=Joseph A. |author-link=Joseph Fitzmyer |year=1998 |title=The Acts of the Apostles: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary |location=[[New Haven, Connecticut]] |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |series=[[Anchor Bible Series|The Anchor Yale Bible Commentaries]] |volume=31 |page=Chapter V |isbn=9780300139822}}</ref> (''See also'': [[Leviticus 18]]).

==Obsolescence==

While the prohibitions of the Apostolic Decree were reiterated in the [[Apostolic Canons]]<ref>Canon 63: "If any bishop, or presbyter or deacon or anyone else on the sacerdotal list at all, eat meat in the blood of its soul, or that has been killed by a wild beast, or that has died a natural death, let him be deposed. For the Law has forbidden this. But if any layman do the same let him be excommunicated."</ref> and at the [[Council in Trullo]],<ref>Canon 67: "Divine Scripture has commanded us to ‘abstain from blood, and strangled flesh and fornication’ (Gen 9:3-4, Lev 17 & 18:3, Acts 15: 28-29). We therefore suitably penance those who on account of their dainty stomach eat the blood of any animal after they have rendered it eatable by some art. If therefore anyone from now on should attempt to eat the blood of any animal in any way whatsoever, if he be a clergyman, let him be deposed from office; but if he be a layman let him be excommunicated. "</ref> it "has been obsolete for centuries in the [[Western Christianity|West]]", according to the 19th-century German Catholic bishop [[Karl Josef von Hefele]],<ref>[[Karl Josef von Hefele]]'s [http://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf214.viii.v.iv.ii.html commentary on canon II of Gangra] notes: "We further see that, at the time of the Synod of [[Gangra]], the rule of the Apostolic Synod with regard to blood and things strangled was still in force. With the Greeks, indeed, it continued always in force as their Euchologies still show. [[Balsamon]] also, the well-known commentator on the canons of the Middle Ages, in his commentary on the sixty-third [[Canons of the Apostles|Apostolic Canon]], expressly blames the Latins because they had ceased to observe this command. What the Latin Church, however, thought on this subject about the year 400, is shown by [[Augustine of Hippo|St. Augustine]] in his work [[Contra Faustum]], where he states that the Apostles had given this command in order to unite the heathens and Jews in the one ark of Noah; but that then, when the barrier between Jewish and heathen converts had fallen, this command concerning things strangled and blood had lost its meaning, and was only observed by few. But still, as late as the eighth century, [[Pope Gregory III|Pope Gregory the Third]] (731) forbade the eating of blood or things strangled under threat of a penance of forty days. No one will pretend that the disciplinary enactments of any council, even though it be one of the undisputed [[Ecumenical council|Ecumenical Synods]], can be of greater and more unchanging force than the decree of that first council, held by the Holy Apostles at Jerusalem, and the fact that its decree has been obsolete for centuries in the West is proof that even Ecumenical canons may be of only temporary utility and may be repealed by disuse, like other laws."</ref> though it is still nominally recognized and observed by [[Eastern Orthodoxy|Eastern Orthodox Christians]].<ref>Convent of St. Elisabeth, Minsk, Belarus. [https://catalog.obitel-minsk.com/blog/2018/01/eating-food-that-has-blood-in-it Eating food that has blood in it]</ref>

The apostolic decree was defined by the [[Council of Florence]] to have been obsolete when the distinction between Jewish and gentile converts had disappeared:

{{blockquote|[The council] also declares that the apostolic prohibition, to abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled, was suited to that time when a single church was rising from Jews and gentiles, who previously lived with different ceremonies and customs. This was so that the gentiles should have some observances in common with Jews, and occasion would be offered of coming together in one worship and faith of God and a cause of dissension might be removed, since by ancient custom blood and strangled things seemed abominable to Jews, and gentiles could be thought to be returning to idolatry if they ate sacrificial food. In places, however, where the Christian religion has been promulgated to such an extent that no Jew is to be met with and all have joined the church, uniformly practicing the same rites and ceremonies of the gospel and believing that to the clean all things are clean, since the cause of that apostolic prohibition has ceased, so its effect has ceased.|''Bull of Union with the Copts, 1442''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.papalencyclicals.net//councils/ecum17.htm|title=Council of Florence, Bull of Union with the Copts|date=14 December 1431 }}</ref>}}

This reasoning was repeated in [[Pope Urban VIII]]'s Creed for Oriental converts of 1642 <ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=kLzGuC5F62IC Professio Orthodoxae Fidei ab orientalibus facienda, Congregatio De Propaganda Fide, 1642]: 18. And [I believe] also that that prohibition of the Apostles of foods sacrificed to idols, and of blood, and of what has been strangled was suited to that time, so that matter for dissension between Jews and Gentiles might be taken away. With the cause of that Apostolic prohibition coming to an end, the effect came to an end also.</ref> and [[Pope Benedict XIV]]'s encyclical ''[[Ex Quo]]'' of 1756.<ref>[https://www.papalencyclicals.net/Ben14/b14exquo.htm Ex Quo, Benedict XIV, 1756]: 62. So the Decree for the [[Jacob Baradaeus|Jacobites]] of the Council of Florence reads: "The holy Roman Church firmly believes, professes, and preaches that every creature of God is good and not to be rejected if it is taken with thanks. According to the Lord's word, a man is not defiled by what enters his mouth. The Church affirms that the distinction made by the Mosaic Law between clean and unclean foods belongs to the ceremonial laws which have passed away with the coming of the Gospel…. So it declares that no kind of food is to be condemned which human society regards as food, and no distinction is to be made between animals on the basis of gender or the manner of their death. However many things which are not forbidden may and should be given up for the health of the body, the practice of virtue, and regular Church discipline. As the Apostle says: 'All things are permitted, but not all are expedient.'</ref>

==See also==
{{Portal|Christianity}}
{{div col}}
* [[Ancient church councils (pre-ecumenical)]]
* [[Antinomianism]]
* [[Biblical law in Christianity]]
* [[Binding and loosing]]
* [[Christian ethics]]
* [[Circumcision controversy in early Christianity]]
* [[Circumcision in the Bible#In rabbinic literature]]
* [[Circumcision in the Bible]]
* [[Incident at Antioch]]
* [[Jewish Christians]]
* [[Judaizers]]
* [[Legalism (theology)]]
* [[New Perspective on Paul]]
* [[Pauline Christianity]]
{{div col end}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Badenas, Robert. ''Christ the End of the Law, Romans 10.4 in Pauline Perspective'', 1985 {{ISBN|0-905774-93-0}}
* [[Raymond E. Brown|Brown, Raymond E.]] ''An Introduction to the New Testament''. [[Anchor Bible Series]], 1997. {{ISBN|0-385-24767-2}}.
* [[F.F. Bruce|Bruce, Frederick Fyvie.]] ''Peter, Stephen, James and John: Studies in Early Non-Pauline Christianity''
* [[F.F. Bruce|Bruce, Frederick Fyvie.]] ''Men and movements in the primitive church: Studies in early non-Pauline Christianity''
* Clark, A.C. ''The Acts of the Apostles'', A critical edition with Introduction and Notes on selected passages, Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1933
* [[James Dunn (theologian)|Dunn, James D.G.]] "The Incident at Antioch ({{bibleverse|Galatians|2:11–18|NIV}})," ''[[Journal for the Study of the New Testament|JSNT]]'' 18, 1983, pg 95–122
* [[James Dunn (theologian)|Dunn, James D.G.]] ''Jesus, Paul and the Law'', {{ISBN|0-664-25095-5}}
* [[James Dunn (theologian)|Dunn, James D.G.]] ''The Theology of Paul's Letter to the Galatians'' 1993 {{ISBN|0-521-35953-8}}
* [[James Dunn (theologian)|Dunn, James D.G.]] ''The Theology of Paul the Apostle'' Eerdmans 1997 {{ISBN|0-8028-3844-8}}
* [[Bart D. Ehrman|Ehrman, Bart D.]] ''Lost Christianities: The Battle for Scripture and the Faiths We Never Knew'' 2003
* Eisenman, Robert, 1997. ''James the Brother of Jesus: The Key to Unlocking the Secrets of Early Christianity and the Dead Sea Scrolls.'' {{ISBN|0-670-86932-5}} A cultural historian's dissenting view based on contemporary texts.
* [[Jas Elsner|Elsner, Jas]]. ''Imperial Rome and Christian Triumph: Oxford History of Early Non-Pauline Christianity'' 1998 {{ISBN|0-19-284201-3}}
* Gaus, Andy. ''The [[Unvarnished New Testament]]'' 1991 {{ISBN|0-933999-99-2}}
* Keener, Craig S. Acts: An Exegetical Commentary: Volume 3, 15:1–23:35. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2014.
* Kim, Seyoon ''Paul and the New Perspective: Second Thoughts on the Origin of Paul's Gospel'' 2001 {{ISBN|0-8028-4974-1}}
*{{cite book|chapter=[[s:A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture/XCV. The Council of Jerusalem (about A. D. 50)|XCV. The Council of Jerusalem (about A. D. 50)]]|title=A Practical Commentary on Holy Scripture|year=1910|publisher=B. Herder|first=Friedrich Justus|last=Knecht}}
* [[Hyam Maccoby|Maccoby, Hyam.]] ''The Mythmaker: Paul and the Invention of Christianity''. New York: Harper & Row, 1986. {{ISBN|0-06-015582-5}}.
* [[Dennis Ronald MacDonald|MacDonald, Dennis Ronald]], 1983. ''The Legend and the Apostle: The Battle for Paul in Story and Canon'' Philadelphia: Westminster Press.
* [[Bruce Metzger|Metzger, Bruce M.]] ''A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament'' 1975 {{ISBN|3-438-06010-8}}
* Mount, Christopher N. ''Pauline Christianity: Luke-Acts and the Legacy of Paul'' 2001
* Ropes, J.H., ''The Text of Acts'', Vol. III; ''The Beginnings of Christianity: Part I: The Acts of the Apostles'', London: MacMillan & Co., Ltd., 1926
* [[E. P. Sanders|Sanders, E.P.]] ''Paul and Palestinian Judaism: A Comparison of Patterns of Religion'' 1977 {{ISBN|0-8006-1899-8}}
* [[E. P. Sanders|Sanders, E.P.]] ''Paul the Law and the Jewish People'' 1983
* [[E. P. Sanders|Sanders, E.P.]] ''Jesus and Judaism'', Fortress Press, 1987, {{ISBN|0-8006-2061-5}}
* Savelle, Charles. “A Reexamination of the Prohibitions in Acts 15.” Bibliotheca Ssacra 161 (2004): 449–68.
* Simon, Marcel. ''The Apostolic Decree and its Setting in the Ancient Church.'' Bulletin of the John Rylands Library, LII (1969–70), pp. 437–460
* Telfer, W. ''The Didache and the Apostolic Synod of Antioch'' The Journal of Theological Studies, 1939, pp. 133–146, 258–271
* Westerholm, Stephen. ''Perspectives Old and New on Paul: The "Lutheran" Paul and His Critics'' 2003 {{ISBN|0-8028-4809-5}}
* [[N. T. Wright|Wright, N.T.]] ''What Saint Paul Really Said: Was Paul of Tarsus the Real Founder of Christianity?'' 1997 {{ISBN|0-8028-4445-6}}

==External links==
{{wikisource|Bible (King James)/Acts#Chapter 15|Book of Acts, Chapter 15}}
{{Acts of the Apostles}}
{{Christian History|collapsed}}
{{Authority control}}

<references group="lower-alpha" />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Council Of Jerusalem}}
[[Category:1st-century church councils| 1]]
[[Category:1st century in Jerusalem]]
[[Category:50]]
[[Category:50s in the Roman Empire]]
[[Category:Acts of the Apostles]]
[[Category:Ancient Christian controversies]]
[[Category:Christianity in Jerusalem]]
[[Category:Christian terminology]]
[[Category:Commandments]]
[[Category:Judaism in the New Testament]]
[[Category:Biblical law]]
[[Category:Mosaic law in Christian theology]]
[[Category:James, brother of Jesus]]
[[Category:Saint Peter]]

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