Ethnic Prejudices
- Is it possible for a person to overcome feelings of caste and community? If so, how?
- Is the model of the Early Church, appoint people of one community to look after the needs of that community, the ideal model?
- Why were deacons appointed to look after widows and not deaconesses?
The Conversion of Gentiles
- Which is more acceptable, converting a gentile or eating pork? How do we know that Peter's vision was not authorization to eat all kinds of meat?
- Does the prohibition of unclean meat have medical foundations or ceremonial grounds?
- How can we know when the Holy Spirit has endorsed a new concept such as conversion of Gentiles, ordination of women, etc?
The Spirit is Leading
- How could eating with Gentiles possibly contaminate anyone? How did their thinking function?
- On what basis did the disciples accept that it was the same Spirit received by the Gentiles as they had?
- How might a multitude of converts in a very short time be perceived as a threat to the church? Imagine if a million converts from a single non-Christian religion joined the church, how might that impact the organization?
The Jerusalem Council
- How can one overcome prejudices and accept a new concept?
- Was the decision of the Jerusalem council accepted by all and implemented uniformly? Did it need to be?
- Does conversion of one issue make it easier to change one's mind about another?
A Difficult Situation
- Does participation in a council make it mandatory to accept the verdict voted by all?
- Was the decision in Jerusalem made by the group or by the chairman?
- How can we know if the decision is the correct one?
