In this section, I will give details on Apostle Paul, who expressly believed that the Laws of Moses still applied long after Jesus's Resurrection. And Bishop Eleutherius, the Roman Bishop who issued a decree about 170 A.D. that Christians should not refuse to eat any nonpoisonous food. 

The Timeline of Apostle Paul's life gives an idea of when things were happening. Remember that Paul pointed out at the Jerusalem Council that Laws of Moses were still taught in all Christian churches even though it was several years after our Lord's resurrection. So, if Paul  believes that the laws concerning "clean meats" are still in place years after our Lord's resurrection, I am going to trust Apostle Paul instead of that Roman Bishop in 170 A.D.

He was born in the approximate year 1 AD into a Jewish family of high standing – Roman citizenship – in the city of Tarsus, a city still in existence in modern-day Turkey (map 24J). 

Tarsus was a very prosperous city of about 100,000 people ???? known for its fertile soil, excellent harbor, and gateway to the only major pass south through the Tarsus mountains. It was Alexander the Great, Cleopatra, etc.

Not know how family got to Tarsus, or Citizenship, or business.

Paul said: 'I am a Jew, from Tarsus in Cilicia, a citizen of no ordinary city' (Acts 21:39).

[NOTE: In ancient history, most dates are approximations. Dates and ages stated in this study are approximate within +-4 years.]

As a teen, his family sent him to Jerusalem to study under Gamaliel, the most prestigious Jewish teacher of that time, similar to a Harvard education today.

This status gave him special privileges, and in some cases saved him from abuse (Acts 22:25–29). As a Roman citizen, Paul possessed a coveted status

Scholars believe Paul was born sometime between 5 BC and 5 AD, and that he died around 64 or 67 AD. While he was a contemporary of Jesus, they never crossed paths—at least, not before Jesus died.

'circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; (Philippians 3:5-6)

Paul was a prime example of a “righteous” Jew. He came from a God-fearing family (2 Timothy 1:3), he was a Pharisee like his father (Acts 23:6), and he was educated by a respected rabbi named Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). His Jewish credentials included his heritage, discipline, and zeal.

Paul’s identity used to be rooted in his Jewishness, but after his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus (more on that later) his identity as a Jew became secondary to his identity as a follower of Christ. He spent much of his ministry dismantling the idea that in order to have a saving faith in Jesus, Gentiles must first “become Jewish” by adopting the Mosaic Law. Being a “Hebrew of Hebrews” lent him credibility and expertise when speaking to Jewish audiences, and helped him speak into the Law’s inability to make people righteous.

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Probably helped in business. Wealthy. Knew skill. Family only place to learn.

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As a teen, his family sent him to Jerusalem to study under Gamaliel, a very prestigious religious teacher, similar to a Harvard education today. When Saul was

Very well educated and connected to leaders of Sanheidren.

Best education. What believed.

'I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.' (Galatians 1:14)

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In the year or two after Jesus' death, resurrection and ascension, group of believers call the 'way' troublesome. Saul passionate to put an end. Persecute, imprison and even death.

'And Saul approved of their killing him [stoning Stephen, a leader of the church]. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men dn women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went' (Acts 8:1-4).

One of biggest adversaries of Jesus. His own words:

'I persecuted the followers of this Way [Christians] to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison' (Acts 22:4).

'For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.' (Galatians 1:13)

'For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.' (1 Corinthians 15:9)

As a Pharisee, before his conversion to Christianity, Paul saw Christians (who were predominantly Jewish at the time) as a scourge against Judaism. From Paul’s perspective, these people were blaspheming about God and leading his people astray. He believed that Jesus was a mere man, and was therefore rightfully executed for claiming to be God.

And since Jesus’ followers kept spreading the idea that Jesus was God, Paul thought Christians were sinners of the worst sort.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Paul made his debut in the Bible as an intense persecutor of Christians. (Though he’s first mentioned by his Hebrew name, Saul—we’ll get to that soon.)

When Stephen was stoned to death for preaching the gospel, “the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul . . . And Saul approved of their killing him” (Acts 7:58–8:1).

Later, Paul asked the high priest for permission to take Christians (known as followers of “the Way”) as prisoners:

The first century was a tumultuous time for Christianity. The new religion was vulnerable, and it faced opposition everywhere from the Jews who believed it was blasphemy, and from the Romans who believed it challenged Caesar’s authority and created unrest. As a leader in the Jewish community, Paul saw the rapidly spreading Christian community as a threat, and he directly contributed to the persecution early Christians faced.

'Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats agains the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus [map P26], so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

'As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light fro heave flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, 'Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?'

''I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,' he replied. 'Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.'

'The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by hand into Damascus' (Acts 9:1-8).

While Paul’s status as a Pharisee and his intense devotion to the Law might have made him well-suited to preach to the Jews, Paul had a different calling. Before Paul ever preached the gospel, Jesus said, “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15).

On Paul’s way to round up some Christians as prisoners, Jesus stopped him dead in his tracks and crippled him with blindness.

But while Paul now knew the true identity and power of the one he had been persecuting, he had yet to learn Jesus’ grace and power to heal. And for that, he would need to meet a follower of Christ.

This encounter on the road to Damascus completely redefined who Paul was, and it changed the purpose of his journey from silencing Christians to speaking out in support of them. Instead of taking away from their number, he added to it. And once Jesus redirected him, Paul continued on this trajectory for the rest of his life.

Paul’s notoriety as a persecutor of Christians made believers uncomfortable around him even after his baptism, and it took a while for them to believe that he’d really changed (Acts 9:26).

After putting his faith in Jesus, Paul immediately began preaching publicly (Acts 9:20), and he quickly built a reputation as a formidable teacher (Acts 9:22).

Paul spent the next few days with the very Christians he had come to capture, and he immediately began preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ—to the confusion of Christians and Jews alike. It would take time for Paul’s reputation as a Christian preacher to outgrow his reputation as a persecutor of Christians.

'I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.' (Galatians 1:11- 12)

'Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats agains the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus [map P26], so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

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Meets Barnabas

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Time and place.

Until his name was changed at age xx, he was known as Saul of Tarsus.

Goes to Antioch

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He left the church with Barnabas and a man named John (also called Mark, believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark)

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►Age 33, Paul returned briefly to Damascus, visited apostles in Jerusalem (map S25) for two weeks and then, still fleeing hostile Jews, went to Tarsus (map J25), his family home town. He lived in Tarsus for eight years before going to Antioch (map K25), where he began his first missionary journey.

The Bible tells little about what Paul said or did during those first eleven years of his Christian life. He didn't start out as a world-changing evangelist, but he had a clear understanding that he was called to be a missionary to the Gentiles (non-Jews). At that time, most people thought that Christianity was just a new sect with Judaism.

►Age 41, first missionary journey (purple line), approximately 1,300 miles, nine cities, two years.

►Age 45, second missionary journey (yellow line), approximately 2,700 miles, 26 cities, three years.

►Age 48, third missionary journey (green line), approximately 2,500 miles, 21 cities, four years.

►Age 54, fourth journey (red line), after spending two years in prison in Caesarea (map R24), now a prisoner on the way to Rome (map A2) for trial, approximately 1,900 miles, nearly two years.

►Age 58, the book of Acts and biblical story of his life ends with Paul in Rome under guarded house arrest, but he was free to have visitors. Acts concludes with these words: 'For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. Boldly and without hinderance he preached the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ' (Acts 28:30).

Shortly after Saul converts to Christianity, Luke tells us he’s also called Paul (Acts 13:9), and for the most part the rest of the Bible refers to him as Paul. Cyprus.

As an apostle to the Gentiles, not only did Paul need to engage the cultures he was trying to reach, but he had to protect these new believers from the weight of obligation that Jewish Christians often tried to impose on them. He was constantly trying to prove that the Gentiles didn’t need to adopt Jewish customs like circumcision in order to place their faith in Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit.

Of all the ways Paul affected Christianity, the biggest was arguably his role in spreading the gospel to non-Jewish communities. He certainly wasn’t the only apostle to do so, but he is known as the “apostle to the Gentiles” because that’s who Jesus specifically called him to minister to (Acts 9:15), he and the other apostles agreed that was his role (Galatians 2:7), and that was undeniably the focus of his ministry.

But Christianity was radically different from Judaism, and while many early Christians followed the Law, it wasn’t a prerequisite for believing in Jesus. The Law of Moses and the old covenant it bound them to had been replaced by Jesus’ new covenant, and the law of love (John 13:34-35).

For Paul, the apostles, and the early Christians, the Law (and specifically, circumcision) was one of the greatest theological issues of their day. First-century Jews had grown up believing the Law was central to their identity as God’s chosen people, and they struggled to fully grasp that Jesus rendered the Law obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).

Instead, they essentially instructed Gentiles be culturally sensitive to their Jewish brothers and sisters, because the Law was respected and observed by Jews everywhere.

But despite the apostles’ agreement that Gentiles didn’t have to adopt Jewish customs to be Christian, Jewish Christians still saw law-observing Christians as superior, and even Peter let himself get pressured into playing favorites.

But as the Gentiles joined the church, Paul noticed that Peter still treated Gentile Christians differently in order to save face with those who still valued the law.

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Everywhere he went, Paul established new Christian communities and helped these fledgling believers develop their own leadership. He corresponded with these churches regularly and visited them as often as he could. Occasionally, they financially supported him so that he could continue his ministry elsewhere (Philippians 4:14–18, 2 Corinthians 11:8–9).

• He made a sorcerer go temporarily blind (Acts 13:11).
• He healed a man who had been lame since birth (Acts 14:8–10).
• He casted out a spirit that was annoying him (Acts 16:16-18).
• He healed people and cast out spirits through items he touched (Acts 19:11–12).
• He resurrected a young man named Eutychus (Acts 20:9-12).
• He was bit by a venomous snake and nothing happened to him (Acts 28:3-5).
• He healed a man with fever and dysentery (Acts 28:8).

In some cases, Paul spent well over a year in the cities he preached to, living with the believers there and modeling a lifestyle of imitating Christ.

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Lydia

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At Berea leaves Silas and Timothy?

Mars Hill

Rejoined Silas and Timothy

Synagog asks him back

Port Caeserea

Begins trip from

Antioch ?? that will take him three years

Inland walk

Stops on way

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he promised his followers they would receive power through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). The Book of Acts records that the apostles performed miracles, and Paul is no exception. He healed people, cast out spirits, and even brought someone back from the dead.

Temple rejection

Hall of Tyrannus

Paul spent more time in Ephesus – three years – than in any other city in all his missionary journeys.

The church in Corinth was soon expecting another visit from Paul, but he wrote and said that he needed to stay longer in Ephesus 'because a great door for effective work has opened to me, even though many oppose me' (I Corinthians 16:9). That's the Hall of Tyrannus, a two-year project that couldn't be rushed.

A new opportunity opened in the hall because Jews opposed him in the temple. Then, like now, problems can often be turned into opportunities!

Scholars haHall of Tyrannus. In Christian ministry, Paul spent more time in Ephesus (map I16, 3 years) than anywhere else. The Hall of Tyrannus was a two-year commitment – settling in and working in one place – his largest commitment for any project.

More like us. Put it all together.

Paul was almost always on the move because he had so many cities to visit and so many people to see. Usually he didn't have time to set up his business, conduct an on-going local ministry and live a some-what normal kind of life. Except in Ephesus.

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Time and place

Ploy backfires.

In Acts 25, Paul was put on trial, and his accusers asked that he stand trial in Jerusalem, where they planned to ambush and kill him (Acts 25:3). Paul leveraged his Roman citizenship to demand Caesar himself hear his case (Acts 25:11), and procurator has no choice but to grant him this right.

Could have been free. Tactical?

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Time and place.

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Bible ends. Tradition

Some scholars argue there was a fourth missionary journey as well.rs collection in Jerusalem

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We will probably never know why this bishop chose to issue his decree that "no food should be repudiated by Christians". He would eventually become Pope Eleutherius for 15 years. I have included a short biography of Eleutherius, and, food for thought with a list of Romans' daily food dishes at that time. Just FYI The bio is from Wikipedia, which I normally do not use, but their bio was short and succinct. The Roman diet is from Historyhit.com.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to navigationJump to search"Eleutherus" redirects here. For an ancient name of a river in Lebanon and Syria, see Nahr al-Kabir.Pope Saint
EleutheriusBishop of Rome15th century portrayal of St. Eleutherius from the Gallery of the Palazzo FarneseChurchCatholic ChurchPapacy beganc. 174Papacy ended189PredecessorSoterSuccessorVictor IPersonal detailsBornNicopolis, EpirusDied189
Rome, Roman EmpireSainthoodFeast day26 May

Pope Eleutherius (died 24 May 189), also known as Eleutherus, was the bishop of Rome from c. 174 to his death.[1] His pontificate is alternatively dated to 171-185 or 177-193.[citation needed] He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church.

He is linked to a number of legends, one of them credited him with receiving a letter from "Lucius, King of Britain", but which is now generally considered to be a forgery.

• 1Life
• 2Dietary law
• 3British mission
• 4Death
• 5See also
• 6References
  • 6.1Notes
  • 6.2Citations
  • 6.3Sources
  • 6.4Further reading

According to the Liber Pontificalis, he was a Greek born in Nicopolis in Epirus, Greece.[2][3] His contemporary Hegesippus wrote that he was a deacon of the Roman Church under Pope Anicetus (c. 154–164), and remained so under Pope Soter, whom he succeeded around 174.[a]

The 6th-century recension of Liber Pontificalis ('Book of the Popes') known as the "Felician Catalog"[b] includes additional commentary to the work's earlier entry on Eleutherius. One addition ascribes to Eleutherius the reissuance of a decree:[c][4] "And he again affirmed that no food should be repudiated by Christians strong in their faith, as God created it, [provided] however that it is sensible and edible." Such a decree might have been issued against early continuations of Jewish dietary law and against similar laws practiced by the Gnostics and Montanists. It is also possible, however, that the editor of the passage attributed to Eleutherius a decree similar to another issued around the year 500 in order to give it greater authority.

According to the Liber Pontificalis, Pope Eleutherius died on 24 May and was buried on the Vatican Hill (in Vaticano) near the body of Peter the Apostle. Later tradition has his body moved to the church of San Giovanni della Pigna, near the pantheon. In 1591, his remains were again moved to the church of Santa Susanna at the request of Camilla Peretti, the sister of Pope Sixtus V. His feast is celebrated on 26 May.

The Romans weren’t always reclining at a table loaded with roasted ostriches, literally eating until they were sick. The 1,000-year and pan-European extent of Roman history takes in an enormous culinary range. Rome was a hierarchical society too, and the slave ate an enormously different diet from the master he served.

The most tangible evidence of the Roman diet is food and human waste excavated by archaeologists. The cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii (destroyed in the 79 AD eruption of Vesuvius) have left sewers and rubbish heaps packed with digested dietary evidence.

Rome’s rich literary and visual culture can also provide clues. Petronius’ over-the-top Satyricon (late 1st century) is probably the inspiration for our imagined decadent banquet. Poets like Horace (65 – 8 BC) and Juvenal (1st – 2nd century) leave clues.

 A 10 volume cookbook, Apicius’ De re coquinaria (4th – 5th centuries AD) survives and Pliny the Elder’s great Natural History (c77 AD) is a fine source on edible plants. 

For the ordinary Roman, their diet started with, ientaculum – breakfast, this was served at day break. A small lunch, prandium, was eaten at around 11am. The cena was the main meal of the day. They may have eaten a late supper called vesperna.

Richer citizens in time, freed from the rhythms of manual labour, ate a bigger cena from late afternoon, abandoning the final supper.

The cena could be a grand social affair lasting several hours. It would be eaten in the triclinium, the dining room, at low tables with couches on three sides. The fourth side was always left open to allow servants to serve the dishes.

Diners were seated to reflect their status. The triclinium would be richly decorated, it was a place to show off wealth and status. Some homes had a second smaller dining room for less important meals and family meals were taken in a plainer oikos.

They ate meat, fish, vegetables, eggs, cheese, grains (also as bread) and legumes.

Meat included animals like dormice (an expensive delicacy), hare, snails and boar. Smaller birds like thrushes were eaten as well as chickens and pheasants. Beef was not popular with the Romans and any farmed meat was a luxury, game was much more common. Meat was usually boiled or fried – ovens were rare.

A type of clam called telline that is still popular in Italy today was a common part of a rich seafood mix that included oysters (often farmed), octopus and most sea fish.

The Romans grew beans, olives, peas, salads, onions, and brassicas (cabbage was considered particularly healthy, good for digestion and curing hangovers) for the table. Dried peas were a mainstay of poorer diets. As the empire expanded new fruits and vegetables were added to the menu. The Romans had no aubergines, peppers, courgettes, green beans, or tomatoes, staples of modern Italian cooking.

 Fruit was also grown or harvested from wild trees and often preserved for out-of-season eating. Apples, pears, grapes, quince and pomegranate were common. Cherries, oranges, dates, lemons and oranges were exotic imports. Honey was the only sweetener. 

Eggs seem to have been available to all classes, but larger goose eggs were a luxury.

Bread was made from spelt, corn (sometimes a state dole for citizens) or emmer. The lack of ovens meant it had to be made professionally, which may explain why the poor took their grains in porridges.

The Romans were cheese-making pioneers, producing both hard and soft cheeses. Soldiers’ rations included cheese and it was important enough for Emperor Diocletian (284 – 305 AD) to pass laws fixing its price. Pliny the Elder wrote on its medicinal properties.

Most of these were the foods of the wealthy. The poor and slaves are generally thought to have relied on a staple porridge. Bones analysed in 2013 revealed poor Romans ate large amounts of millet, now largely an animal feed. Barley or emmer (farro) was also used.

This porridge, or puls, would be livened up with what fruit, vegetables or meats that could be afforded.

Dining out was generally for the lower classes, and recent research in Pompeii has shown they did eat meat from restaurants, including giraffe.

All classes had access to at least some of Rome’s key ingredients, garum, liquamen and allec, the fermented fish sauces.

The sauces were made from fish guts and small fish, which were salted and left in the sun. The resulting gunk was filtered. Garum was the best quality paste, what passed through the filters was liquamen. The sludge left at the bottom of the sieve was a third variety, allec, destined for the plates of slaves and the really poor.

Herbs would be added to local or even family recipes.

These highly nutritious sauces were used widely and garum production was a big business – Pompeii was a garum town. Soldiers drank it in solution. The poor poured it into their porridge. The rich used it in almost every recipe – it might be compared to Worcestershire sauce or soy sauce or far-eastern fish sauces today – from the savoury to the sweet.

MY OPINION

The Romans seem to have been eating almost all "unclean meats". Such as dormice, hare, snails, boar. Also, clams,giraffe oysters, and octopus. I think the bishop found it easier to adapt the Church laws to the Roman diet, than to make the Romans change their food choices to please the Church.

We do know that a couple of centuries later, the Church changed their Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, just to be different from the Jews.

So, the Roman Christians had no qualms about changing Church Laws at their convenience.