DAVID WILBER

Origen’s Commentary on Romans offers a fascinating perspective on the Apostolic Decree in Acts 15. Rather than seeing the Council as setting aside the Torah for Gentile believers, Origen argues that the apostles looked to the Torah itself to determine what God required of Gentiles. This article explores his reasoning concerning blood, strangled meat, and circumcision, and what it might contribute to the larger question of Gentile Torah observance.

Can Gentile Torah observance be a bridge rather than a barrier between Jewish people and Yeshua? In this article, I consider concerns about supersessionism and Gentile Torah observance while arguing that, properly understood and practiced, it can affirm the continuing significance of Israel and offer a foretaste of the prophetic vision of the nations embracing Israel’s God and his ways.

Mary’s perpetual virginity was taught very early and remained the mainstream Christian position for well over a thousand years. Yet most Protestants today reject it because they believe Scripture clearly shows that Mary did not remain a virgin after giving birth to Jesus. I think this history offers an instructive parallel to the question of Sabbath observance. How much weight should longstanding Christian tradition carry when it seems to conflict with a straightforward reading of Scripture?