Endnote 21 – Why Not Idol Meat?

It is sometimes suggested that Galatians points in the opposite direction. In Galatians Paul seems to be in a defensive role, and it is sometimes presumed to be because he was at odds with James’ dicta. In my view, however, Galatians was written before the Jerusalem council described in Acts 15; at the time Galatians was written, the issue had not yet been resolved. Indeed, the face-off between Peter and Paul in Galatians 2 and the writing of the letter itself may have precipitated the Jerusalem council described in Acts 15.