Dr Paul Allen

Image via Wikipedia The Council of Jerusalem , described in Acts 15, sought to answer such practical questions faced by the early Christians as they wrestled with how to enjoy freedom from the Mosaic administration without becoming stumbling blocks to Jewish people . These were questions to which Paul in particular gave a great deal of thought. He was, after all, one of those appointed by the Jerusalem Council to circulate and explain the letter that summarized the decisions of the apos- tles and elders (Acts 15:22ff; 16:4).  Faced with similar issues in the church at Rome, he provided them with a series of principles that apply equally well to twenty- first-century Christians . His teaching in Romans 14:1–15:13 contains healthy (and very necessary) guidelines for the exercise of Christian liberty .  Here are four of them: Principle 1:  Christian liberty must never be flaunted. “Whatever you be- lieve about these things keep between yourself and God” (Rom. 14:22, NIV). We

Image via Wikipedia To the uninitiated in the mysteries of Scottish haute cuisine, it should perhaps be said that black pudding is not haggis! It is a sausage made of blood and suet, sometimes with flour or meal. It seems a trivial question. Why the vigorous debate? Because, of course, of the Old Testament ’s regulations about eating blood (Lev. 17:10ff). Although (as far as I am aware) no theological dictionary contains an entry under B for “The Black Pudding Controversy,” this unusual discussion raised some most basic hermeneutical and theological issues: How is the Old Testament related to the New? How is the Law of Moses related to the gospel of Jesus Christ ? How should a Christian exercise freedom in Christ? The Council of Jerusalem , described in Acts 15, sought to answer such practical questions faced by the early Christians as they wrestled with how to enjoy freedom from the Mosaic administration without becoming stumbling blocks to Jewish people. These were ques