Circumcision controversy in early Christianity

This section of text is the last time Peter is mentioned in Acts and from this point forward Paul becomes the central figure for the remainder of the book. A. Issues: There were many issues throughout the book of Acts, however, this particular section of the text illustrates the issues regarding circumcision and the implementation of doctrine to follow in order to ensure obedience to God’s will. There was a great chasm forming between the Jewish followers and the gentile converts regarding important issues of obedience and holiness. These issues needed clarification and written instructions to ensure that the people would not be deceived by false teachers bent on the division of the church. B. People Involved: This section records the involvement of Paul and Barnabas engaging in a debate with a group of men teaching that salvation requires circumcision. As a result, Paul decides to take the question to the apostles for clarification and to ensure unification within the church. When he arrives in Jerusalem he is welcomed by the church, the apostles, and elders along with members of the Pharisees. They all convened to hear the account of Paul and…

This where we find the fact that Calpurnius is not and will not be a heavy supporter of the gladiator games. Although, Antipas is very pleased to hear that Luke will attend the games. The reason Calpurnius cannot attend the games is because he had a recent passing of a family member. This is only the first two collections of letters between the noblemen the rest of the collection are between the apostle Luke and Antipas and Luke will slowly convert Antipas into a Christian. Antipas being a smart…

This source is Acts of the Apostles (21:31- 28:31), from the New Testament. It is a religious work that is a written account of what occurred in the decades after the emergence of Jesus as a player in history. It appears to be a work produced around the late first century, (Richard Pervo, 14) in the years after jesus’s death. The source discusses events that occurred to Paul after Jesus had died. It seems to be written by Luke (Richard Pervo, 13-14), this source is a compilation of Paul’s…

The book of Acts has always been a favourite to read. It gives a detailed picture of the origin of the early church, the spread of the gospel into the world which in turn was the beginning of the Christian faith. The authorship of the book of Acts has always been debated and tested, but it is generally agreed that the author of Acts is the same person who wrote the third gospel. It is commonly known that Acts is a sequel to the third gospel, referred to as the ‘first book’. The author is…

For example, why do we believe in the trinity the way that we do. The early Christian leaders formed most of our traditions and beliefs. Also, how can we defend our belief if we do not understand the history of our faith? For example, a non-believer may ask why did the early Christian forced and killed those who would not convert. If we do not know the history, then we would not be able to answer the question. Also, we know that Church history is important because the book of Acts is about…

Robert Louis Wilken is the William R. Kenan Professor of the History of Christianity at the University of Virginia. He has written numerous works including The Christians as the Romans Saw Them and The Land Called Holy: Palestine in Christian History and Thought. In this particular work, Wilken set out to narrate the development of early Christian thought in the first centuries of the church with specific intentions to show how the Christian intellectual tradition came about, or as the author…

Christ as Good Shepard, mosaic Mausoleum of Galla , Placidia, Ravenna, Italy, ca 425: Saint Apollinare amid Sheep, apse mosaic, Ravenna Italy, ca.533-549: Christ as Pantokrator, dome mosaic, Church of the Dormition, Daphni, Greece, ca. 1090-1100 After the death of Jesus, early christians had difficulty spreading there teachings to the Hebrews of Israel. Frustrated by the lack of growth the Apostle Paul decided to expand Christianity beyond the borders of Israel. Paul decided to focus his…

Women’s roles in Christianity are an excellent example of the unevenness of women’s contributions to history. Women were the last disciples at the cross and the first at the empty tomb. They remained integral to the work of the church in its early centuries. Traditional Christianity believed that the statements attributed to St. Paul in I Timothy 2 that women were created second, sinned first, and should keep silence. Women traditionalists believed and accepted these teachings as true. Jesus’…

CThe conflicting elements had caused a significant rupture in the forming of the Christian church. Forinstance,” the doctrine of Docetism. Docetism has long been believed to have been integral to the teachings of the early Christian belief system of several the Gnostic schools however,the doctrine of these schools was to refute that God, in the form of Christ, had taken human form and were allowed to suffer and die on the cross. The doctrine suggested that, human body is composed of matter,…

Recently Christians’ persecution has been on the rise, at the same time the churches seem to be going back to their roots. According to the World Watch List, which is produced by the Open Doors USA (2016), a non-denominational mission supporting persecuted Christians in over 60 countries, persecution of Christians worldwide is on a rising trend. In the Bible, the early Christians through their house churches demonstrated to the world God’s plan for the salvation of the world. According to Filson…