AN ATHEISTIC BIBLE STUDY OF ACTS CHAPTER 10
Even before there was an official acceptance of Gentiles into the new religious order that was still predominantly Jewish in character, some non-Jewish followers were being baptised. This may have been an experimental trial run for the mass acceptances of non-Jews as Christians to come.
One such early gentile follower was a Roman centurion called Cornelius. He was a very pious man, praying to God frequently. One day, an Angel came to him telling him that his prayers had reached God’s attention, and been deemed worthy of a memorial. Most praying Christians of course, receive no such acknowledgement of receipt of their prayers.
Cornelius is ordered by the angel to go to Lyppa and meet up with the two Simons, Peter who was Simon, and his new friend, Simon The Tanner. Cornelius sends two servants and a soldier from his legion to fulfil this mission. He does not go himself.
In Lyppa, Peter (aka Simon), is sitting on the roof of the other Simon’s house, and feeling hungry, when he is seized in a trance and given a vision (food deprivation can cause hallucinations, and extreme fasting was a method used by many to gain such visions). Peter is shown various unclean, non-kosher beasts on a cloth, and refuses to eat of them, as they are not accepted as Jewish food. Mosaic Law is extremely strict on this.
Three times the offer is made and each time, Peter says no, and Jesus states to him that the animals are now considered clean to eat, precisely because Jesus, (aka, God), is saying that it is alright to eat them.
As the vision(s) end, the men sent by Cornelius arrive to talk to the Simons. An angel points them out to Simon-Peter. He agrees to go and see Cornelius, who is waiting in Caesaria with a whole group of gentile friends, for Simon-Peter’s arrival.
Cornelius embarrasses himself by starting to kiss the feet of the man who actually met Jesus, but Peter has him stand up and points out that he, (Peter), is just human,
Peter begins to understand his troubling visions. It is against Jewish laws and customs to get too close to the peoples of other races and beliefs, but the new teachings of Jesus are relatively relaxed on such restrictions. No longer is any man or nation to be considered unclean if they wish to genuinely convert to the new religion.
The meeting between the Jewish leader and a party of Gentiles eager to convert to his order proves to be extremely radical. Peter comes to accept that God won’t respect any or nation who doesn’t respect and fear God, but if they do, God is all for them too.
Peter tells the expectant men of Jesus’ ministry, and how he was left to die hanging on a tree (Verse 39), rather contradicting the whole crucifixion story. Peter then converts and baptises the gentiles into the fold, upsetting many of the Jews following the new faith already, who are hostile to the influx of gentiles generated by Peter’s action. With Paul also converting gentiles, the shape of Christ worship was changing forever. The early church was plunged into schism already. In fighting was now as dangerous to the sect’s survival as the opposition from the Sadducees. Amazingly, the religion would survive to conquer much of the Western World.
Arthur Chappell
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