Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-08-06
THEOLOGICAL VIEWS.

: Laymso Closes His Review of Bithel
Ireiand's Lectures on Papxi supre,n
acy.
To the Editor OF the Globe:
In my last Communication | endeav-
ored to examine those passages from TIT
gospels containing words spoken by oul
Lord which Bishop Ireland adduced a.
evidence of Petrine supremacy.
Ipolnted out that the substitution
eT-GnduStria, by our Lord of the WORD
s'petra'' for "feroS' when speaking oil
the foundation upon which he should
build his church in that celebrated pas
sage, Chou art Peter, and upon this
rock L will build my church," excluded
the conclusion drawn by Bishop Ireland
that our Lord in this passage had de-
clared or had intended to declare, that he
should build his church upon st. Peter.
/ may now add that even if our Lord by
these words did announce that he should
build his church upon st. Peter, am
unable to perceive how that is to be con-
strued as promised grant or as equivalent
to a promised grant to Peter, of the SUI
preme power and authority to teach and
rule in this church. also pointed out that
the admitted and uneQulvocal plenary
grant of power and authority in his
church made by our Lord to the
Apostolic college, absolutely forbids the
Interpretation and construction which
Bishop Ireland had put upon the several
texts cited by him from the gospels in
support of the supremacy Of st. Peter.
Having found no words spoken by our
Lord, which sustain the claim for the
supremacy Of ST. Peter over his fellow
apostles or in the church, let us now see
if we can find anything in the acts or
words Of the apostles bearing upon this
question.
Fortunately chapter Is of the Acts of
the Apostles gives us an account OF the
first council of the church, Of which we
have any record 1t was held at Jeru-
salem about A. d. 80, or some nineteen
years after our Lords ascension, and was
a general council of the apostles and
elders called to consider and determine
e. whether or not the Gentle Christians
should be required to be circumclsed and
to keep the law of Moses.
1t appears that at this time sect had
risen up in the church and among
the teachers sent out from Jerusalem,
composed of believing Pharisees, who
maintained that it was necessary to cir
cumscise the converted Gentlles and to
command them to keep the law of Moses.
Peter, Paul and Barnabas certainly
land perhaps all the apostles) had each
for himself reached the opposite conclu-
sion, and stoutly insisted that the Gentle
Christians were not amenable to the law
of Moses, and they taught and acted &C
cordingly.
R,,tf hn 1icvrttn md nnnfapfinp fhiC
subject had reached such stage that an
authoritative, final and definite settlement
of the question was imperatively re-
quired.
Accordingly Paul and Barnabas and
certain other of Them were selected
and sent up to Jerusalem to lay this ques-
ton before the apostles and elders; ''and
the apostles and elders came together for
to consider of this NATTER
1t appears that st. James, who is gen.
orally admitted to have been at the time
the bishop of Jerusalem, presided over
this council Peter, Paul and Barnabas
participated conspicuously in its deliber-
ations.
After there had been much discussion
Peter arose and tersely and emphatically
gave his reasons and opinion against
imposing upon the neck of the GENTLE
disciples yoke which neither the Jews
of that day nor their fathers were able
to bear. And "then all the multitude
kept silence and gave audience to Barna-
bas and Paul, declaring what miracles
and wonders God had wrought among the
Gentiles by them. ~ 7A----- -7'-i-zs
After this st. James addressed the
council and closed his remarks by pro-
nouncing what seems to have been in
tended and what certainly was accepted
as the judgement of the council.
The judgement was then duly and
formally promulgated in letters sent from
the council by the hands of commission
ers expressly chosen by the council for
that service.
Fortunately the sacred historian has
furnished us with copy of the official
document by which the judgment and
decree of the first general council Of the
church, of the proceedings of which we
have any record, was promulgated. 1t
is worth our while to note it critically
1t reads thus:
"The apostles and elders and brethren
send greeting unto the brethren which
are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria
and Cilicia: FOrasmuch as we have heard
that certain which went out
from us have troubled YOU
with words subverting your souls, say
ing, Ye must be clrcumcised and keep
the law; to whom we gave no such com
mandment:
1t seemed good unto US, being assem-
bled with one accord, to send chosen men
unto you with our beloved Barnabas and
Paul, men that have hazarded their lives
for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We have sent, therefore, Judas and
Silas, who shall also tell you the same
things by mouth. For it seemed good to
the Holy Ghost and to us, to lay upon you
no greater burden than these necessary
things: That We abstain from meats
offered to idols and from blood and from
things strangled and from fernication;
from which, if We keep yourselves, ye
shall do well. Fare we well.''
1t is proper to note here that in the
phrases of the above quotation, sit
seemed good unto u.s." and sit seemed
good unto the Holy Ghost and to u.s." as
also in the phrase of the twenty-second
verse of the same chapter, 'then pleased
it the apostles and elders" the Greek
verb here rendered ait seemed good" and
sit pleased" is ssdokeo," which is often
used, as it obviously is above, to express
the formal conclusion arrived at by pub