The Council of Jerusalem described in the Acts of the Apostles committed Christianity to offering to gospel to all of humanity. The decisions taken in 49 AD, after some fifteen years of fierce debate and division, enabled Christianity to become a worldwide religion open to all cultures and its membership open to all nations. Biblical Theologian and Roman Catholic Michael Knowles discusses how the commitment to universalism made by the Council remains a challenge for the Church today and asks of it questions about its own life and practice which cannot be ignored if the Church wants to remain credible in its relationship with its own members, other faiths and the world.

Michael Knowles is a Roman Catholic biblical theologian and writer based in Cheshire.

Knowles interprets the ruling of the Jerusalem Council as brushing away centuries of elitism and misogyny, and along the way he makes a strong case for women’s full admittance to church ministry. He also makes the only convincing argument for universal salvation (not just for fully paid-up Christians) I have ever read. … All Christians should read this book.

Susan Thorne, Preach

This is an interesting and thoughtful book, admirably attentive to the text of Acts.

Nicholas King, The Tablet

The book offers a challenge particularly relevant in this year of Cardinal Newman’s canonisation: in the light of his Essay on the Development of Doctrine, how far can you embrace radical change while staying true to the deposit of faith?

Adrian Roberts, Transforming Ministry

Knowles’s book is unique in his approach to the Council of Jerusalem, especially his thorough study of the main tensions in the Acts of the Apostles that led to the meeting in Jerusalem.

John-Paul Sheridan, The Furrow