Council of Jerusalem From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia The Council of Jerusalem (or Apostolic Conference) is a name applied by historians to an Early Christian council that was held in Jerusalem and dated to around the year 50. It is considered by Catholics and Orthodox to be a prototype and forerunner of the later Ecumenical Councils. The council decided that Gentile converts to Christianity were not obligated to keep most of the Mosaic law, including the rules concerning circumcision of males, however, the Council did retain the prohibitions against eating blood, or eating meat containing blood, or meat of animals not properly slain, and against fornication and idolatry. Descriptions of the council are found in Acts of the Apostles chapter 15 (in two different forms, the Alexandrian and Western versions) and also possibly in Paul's letter to the Galatians chapter 2.[1] Some scholars dispute that Galatians 2 is about the Council of Jerusalem (notably because Galatians 2 describes a private meeting) while other scholars dispute the historical reliability of the Acts of the Apostles. Paul was likely an eyewitness and a major person in attendance whereas the writer of Luke-Acts probably[citation needed] wrote second-hand about James the Just, whose judgment was the meeting he described in Acts 15. adopted in the Apostolic Decree of Acts 15:19-29 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/? book=%20Acts&verse=15:19- Contents 29&src=!) , c. 50 AD: "...we should write to them [Gentiles] to abstain 1 Historical background only from things polluted by idols 2 Issues and outcome and from fornication and from 2.1 James proposes writing a letter to the whatever has been strangled and Gentiles from blood..." (NRSV) 2.2 James' restatement on Paul's final Jerusalem visit Part of a series on 3 Historicity of the Council of Jerusalem 4 Interpreting the Council's decision The Bible 5 See also 6 Footnotes 7 References 8 Further reading 9 External links Biblical canon and books Tanakh Historical background (Torah · Nevi'im · Ketuvim) Old Testament (OT) See also: Circumcision controversy in early New Testament (NT) Christianity#Jewish background Hebrew Bible Deuterocanon The Council of Jerusalem is generally dated to around the Antilegomena year 50 AD, roughly twenty years after the death of Jesus of Chapters and verses Nazareth, which is dated between 26-36, (see Chronology of Apocrypha Jesus). It has not been established to have been the first (Jewish · OT · NT) council of the new community's leaders, but it is the first one of which records exists (in Galatians 2, in Acts 15, and in Development and authorship the writings of the Church Fathers). The account in Acts Authorship may or may not have been written by an eyewitness to the Jewish canon [citation needed] event, but Galatians (if it is about the Council Old Testament canon of Jerusalem) was; and both accounts suggest that the reason New Testament canon the meeting was called was to debate whether or not male Mosaic authorship Gentiles who were converting to become followers of Jesus Pauline epistles were required to become circumcised, presumably in accord Johannine works with Genesis 17:14 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/? Petrine epistles book=%20Genesis&verse=17:14&src=!) , a law from God Translations and which according to Genesis 17:13-19 manuscripts (http://bibref.hebtools.com/? Samaritan Torah book=%20Genesis&verse=17:13-19&src=!) God said would Dead Sea scrolls be eternal, and therefore always applicable, see also the Masoretic text Jewish background to the 1st century circumcision Targums · Peshitta controversy and Biblical law in Christianity. However, Septuagint · Vulgate Circumcision was considered repulsive during the period of Gothic Bible · Vetus Latina Hellenization of the Eastern Mediterranean.[2] Luther Bible · English Bibles Biblical studies At the time, most followers of Jesus (which historians refer Dating the Bible to as Jewish Christians) were Jewish by birth and even Dating the Bible to as Jewish Christians) were Jewish by birth and even Biblical criticism converts would have considered the early Christians as a part Higher criticism of Judaism. According to Alister McGrath, the Jewish Textual criticism Christians affirmed every aspect of then contemporary Canonical criticism (Second Temple) Judaism with the addition of the belief that Novum Testamentum Graece [3] Jesus was the Messiah. Unless males were circumcised, Documentary hypothesis they could not be God's People. Genesis 17:14 said "No Synoptic problem uncircumcised man will be one of my people." The meeting NT textual categories was called because, according to the NRSV translation of Historicity Acts 15:1-2, "Unless you are circumcised according to the People · Places · Names custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." However, this Internal consistency command is given considerably before Moses' time, Archeology · Artifacts stemming from the time of Abraham (see also Abrahamic Science and the Bible covenant), but it is cited as 'the custom of Moses' because Interpretation Moses is the traditional giver of the Law as a whole. Jesus Hermeneutics himself also says in John 7:22 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/? Pesher · Midrash · Pardes book=%20John&verse=7:22&src=!) that Moses gave the Allegorical interpretation people circumcision. It was hard for Gentile Christians to Literalism keep up with all the laws listed in the Jewish Scriptures, Prophecy which Christians came to call the "Old Testament", a term Perspectives linked with Supersessionism (see the proposed more neutral Gnostic · Islamic · Qur'anic [4] modern term "Hebrew Bible" for details). Christianity and Judaism Inerrancy · Infallibility Issues and outcome Criticism of the Bible Bible book The purpose of the meeting, according to Acts, was to resolve a disagreement in Antioch, which had wider implications than just circumcision, since circumcision is the "everlasting" sign of the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 17:9-14 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/? book=%20Genesis&verse=17:9-14&src=!) ). Some of the Pharisees who had become believers insisted that it was "needful to circumcise them, and to command [them] to keep the law of Moses", according to the popular KJV translation[5] while another translation[6] translates: "They have to be circumcised; we have to proclaim and keep the law of Moses". The primary issue which was addressed related to the requirement of circumcision, as the author of Acts relates, but other matters arose as well, as the Apostolic Decree indicates. The dispute was between those, such as the followers of the "Pillars of the Church," led by James, who believed, following his interpretation of the Great Commission, that the church must observe the Torah, i.e. the rules of traditional Judaism,[1] and Paul of Tarsus, who believed there was no such necessity. (See also Supersessionism, New Covenant, Antinomianism, Hellenistic Judaism, Paul of Tarsus and Judaism) James proposes writing a letter to the Gentiles At the Council, following advice said to have been offered by Simon Peter (Acts 15:7–11 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/?book=%20Acts&verse=15:7–11&src=NIV) ), James, the leader of the Jerusalem Church, gave his decision (later known as the "Apostolic Decree"): "Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood.[2] For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day" (Acts 15:19–21 (http://bibref.hebtools.com/? book=%20Acts&verse=15:19–21&src=KJV) ). The Western version of Acts (see 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").[3] This determined questions wider than that of circumcision, most particularly dietary questions but also fornication and idolatry and blood, and also the application of Biblical law to non-Jews. And this Apostolic Decree was considered binding on all the other local Christian congregations in other regions.[7] See also Biblical law directed at non-Jews, Seven Laws of Noah, Biblical law in Christianity, and the Ten Commandments in Christianity. James' restatement on Paul's final Jerusalem visit The author of Acts gives an account of a restatement by James 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, ESV) James then proceeds to express concern that Paul was teaching Diaspora Jewish converts to Christianity "to forsake Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or walk according to our customs," and secondly James reminds the assembly that "But 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 to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality." In the view of some scholars James' reminder here is an expression of concern that Paul was not fully teaching the decision of the Jerusalem Council's letter to Gentiles,[8] particularly in regard to non-strangled kosher meat,[9] which contrasts