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  • From: "maertens" <maertens AT waika9.com>
  • To: "Corpus-paul" <corpus-paul AT franklin.oit.unc.edu>
  • Subject: RE: The decree of Acts 15:19-20
  • Date: Sat, 14 Oct 2000 18:41:49 +0200



Jim Miller wrote:

> I would like to see some more speculation on why
> Acts does not have Paul’s response to the decree
> of Acts 15.

For some authors (Bultmann, ...) Paul was not present at the assembly. The
few remarks him concerning are lucan interpolations.
According to F. Refoulé, "Discours de Pierre à l'assemblée de Jérusalem", RB
100 (1993) 239-251, Acts 15, as the rest of the book, was intended to defend
the memory of Paul. The initiative of a law-free gospel for the pagans came
from Peter and James, two important figures for Jewish-Christians, and not
from Paul. The accusations against Paul from Jewish-Christians were thus
unfounded. Paul only continued the path opened by James and Peter. This
might be interesting but puts maybe too much stress on the apologetical
nature of the book of Acts.
For others, Paul didn't speak because there were strong feelings against him
in the assembly (F.L. Arrington, The Acts of the Apostles, 153-54). But if
Paul was sent as a delegate to defend the position of the Antiochian church,
their policy would really be questionnable. What sense does it make to send
somebody who's authority was not accepted by those he had to convince? Why
not send somebody else???
The Western text makes maybe more sens. According to Codex Bezae, Paul was
sent to Jerusalem by those who came to Antioch in order to be judged. Since
he was accused, he didn't speak. One could say that Peter took his defence
and the church agreed with his position. Instead of offering a purely
deliberatif situation as in Codex Vaticanus, D pictures a situation with
deliberatif and judicial elements

Best regards,

Philip





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