Christianity · Origins & people
Paul argues for the inclusion of non-Jews
c. 49–50 CE
Paul’s mission brought the Jesus movement to non-Jewish communities around the eastern Mediterranean. A meeting in Jerusalem addressed the place of these converts. His letters preserve arguments about faith, belonging, and communal life, while Acts offers a later narrative of the mission.
Why it matters
Paul helps explain why a movement arising within Judaism spread across cultural boundaries and why letters form such a large part of the New Testament.
About the date
Approximate date of the Jerusalem meeting; Acts and Paul’s accounts differ.
Jerusalem
City of the meeting discussed by Paul and later narrated in Acts.
city orientation
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