Afterwards, he
complains bitterly of Peter, because, when on a visit to Antioch, he,
at first, inclined to Paul's view and ate with the Gentile converts;
but when "certain came from James," "drew back, and separated himself,
fearing them that were of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews
dissembled likewise with him; insomuch as even Barnabas was carried
away with their dissimulation" (Galatians ii. 12-13).
There is but one conclusion to be drawn from Paul's account of this
famous dispute, the settlement of which determined the fortunes of
the nascent religion. It is that the disciples at Jerusalem, headed by
"James, the Lord's brother," and by the leading apostles, Peter and
John, were strict Jews, who had objected to admit any converts into
their body, unless these, either by birth, or by becoming proselytes,
were also strict Jews. In fact, the sole difference between James and
Peter and John, with the body of the disciples whom they led and the
Jews by whom they were surrounded, and with whom they, for many years,
shared the religious observances of the Temple, was that they believed
that the Messiah, whom the leaders of the nation yet looked for, had
already come in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.
The Acts of the Apostles is hardly a very trustworthy history; it is
certainly of later date than the Pauline Epistles, supposing them to
be genuine.
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