Between Acts and Antioch

Discerning Paul on Gentiles and the Jerusalem Temple

Bibliographic Data

ID21453404
AuthorsDavid Anthony Basham (corresponding author)
Year2025
Volume55
Issue2
Pages124-135
Publication date2025-05-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueBiblical Theology Bulletin Journal of Bible and Culture (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0146-1079 • E-ISSN: 1945-7596
PublisherSAGE Publications (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/01461079251339749
OpenAlexW4410959005
LanguageEN
References cited22

When the author of Acts addresses the controversy of Paul’s teaching in Acts 21, he implicitly rejects the notion that Paul preaches “against the people, the law, and this place [i.e., the temple]” (Acts 21:28), including the accusation that Paul brought gentiles beyond their designated area in the temple complex. Acts’s account of the allegations against Paul, his temple attendance, and arrest is narrated in such a way as to dampen the controversy of Paul’s view on Jewish custom as assumed from his ministry and letters. In this article, views concerning the relation of gentiles to the temple are traced to show how they undergird and occasion controversies of fellowship. It is reasonable to assume that Paul would have felt about gentile temple pilgrimage the way he felt about gentile circumcision. Though there is no explicit criticism of the temple in his writings, Paul’s understanding of gentile believers’ new status in Christ runs counter to the exclusionary layout of the temple complex, an understanding demonstrated most clearly in the Antioch Incident (Galatians 2)

Ancient history · Art · Temple · Theology · Archaeology and Historical Studies · Biblical Studies and Interpretation · Classics · Historical and Linguistic Studies · History · Philosophy

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