8;/4/02 To the Wesleyan Christian Advocate

The Council of Jerusalem divided the Christians in two (Acts 15): those subject to the law of love alone (Romans 13:8-10) and those supplementing this with scripturally imposed law, the so-called Gentile and Jewish Christians, respectively. (The 3 or 4 rules imposed upon the former by the Council were expedient in nature--probably to facilitate conversion of Jews abroad (Acts 15:21)--and, per 1 Cor.10:23-33, nonbinding). I suspect that most United Methodist are Jewish in this sense, e.g., taking Paul's expedient rules to new converts to be divine commands.

But Atlanta's St. Mark UMC is a Gentile church and so its members are "strong in faith" and while they are bound by the law of love to avoid publicly offending the "weak in faith" (Romans 14), they have no need of any supplemental regulations, be it from church, tradition or scripture.

Since this Council of Jerusalem was the only thoroughly ecumenical council ever recorded and since its liberation of the Gentile conscience was unanimous and even seconded by God himself and since the edict is enshrined in scripture, it is presumptuous and dysfunctional of the UM General Conference to burden the conscience of United Methodists with behavior regulations which cannot be derived from the law of love.

How I yearn to turn the eyes of Christians searching the scriptures for laws into eyes searching there for the waters of life!




Yours in Christ