# Acts Chapter 15
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## Summarrium
Paul and Barnabas return to Jerusalem to settle a dispute around the significance of circumcision. Peter is clear that the Holy spirit has made no distinction between Jew and Gentile and there should be no such distinction introduced by the Church. Paul and Barnabas offer their own testimony of the signs and wonders performed amongst the gentiles.

The apostles and the elders send Paul and Barnabas to Antioch to make clear the decision of the first council of Jerusalem. That there is no distinction between Jew and Gentile, but of the moral concern to abstain from what is sacrificed to idol's, strangled, and from sexual immorality. After this Paul and Barnabas desire to return to former churches and fall out over if Mark should accompany them, with the two ultimately parting company.

## Meditatio
I think it's interesting the way that Acts plays down the disharmony that characterises this passage. We need to be honest here this is a major theological crisis, one which requires the leaders of the Church to be recalled to Jerusalem to resolve. Whilst it may be perfectly acceptable in this day an age for the protest[^1] to continue the fractal fragmentation of the Church, in Acts clearly this was unthinkable.

There is clearly a desire within the early church that we have lost to remain together. Paul speaks so often in his epistles about maintaining the unity of the faith[^2]. Yet the reality of 'practice' in Christianity is essentially that there is still an underlying issue of humanity. Things are not as clear and distinct as people would like. Indeed the chapter points out the relational approach to knowledge and belief.

Verse 2 tells us there is '...no small dissension and debate' and verse 6 in the council that there was '...much debate'. In each case if the answer, which may seem obvious to us, was obvious it didn't appear that way at the time. The question about how to address doctrinal issues is a trickyone. Many wish to lock in definitions as though languge and abstractions have the power 'freeze'  what words and ideas mean. We are lives in process as is our knowledge and relationship to God.

My favourite verse is 39 speaking of the falling out of Paul and Barnabas. '...and there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other'. There is something earthy here in the presentation of friends falling out. Despite their fevent love for each other, campaigning for the acceptance of the Gentiles they end up falling out over a mutual friend.]

[^1]: By protest I am here referring to the protestant reformation.
[^2]: See [Ephesians 4:1-3](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ephesians+4%3A1-3&version=ESV), [Philippians 2:2](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Philippians+2%3A2&version=ESV), [1 Corinthians 1:10](https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Corinthians+1%3A10&version=ESV)