Gamaliel's principle,Brown, Raymond E. (1994).
A once-and-coming Spirit at Pentecost: essays on the liturgical readings between Easter and Pentecost, taken from the Acts of the Apostles and from the Gospel according to John
'. Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press. p. 36.Kealy, Sean P. (1975).
The early church and Africa: a school certificate course based on the East African syllabus for Christian religious education
'. Nairobi: Oxford University Press. p. 77.Valentine, Mary Hester (1970).
Prayer and renewal : proceedings and communications of regional meetings of the Sister Formation Conferences, 1969
'. New York: Fordham University Press. p. 139.Editors (Jan 12, 1922)
The Jews and Christian Liberties
. ''The Christian Century''. Vol 39. Iss 2. Christian Century Foundation.Hoefer, Reginald (February 15, 2017)
"The Gamaliel Principle"
Dominicana. also called Gamaliel's rule, Gamaliel's rule-of-thumb, Gamaliel's counsel,MacLaren, Alexander (1900). ''Expositions of Holy Scripture: the Acts''. London: Hodder & Stoughton. p. 196. Gamaliel's law, or the Gamaliel attitude, is a

principle A principle is a proposition or value that is a guide for behavior or evaluation. In law, it is a Legal rule, rule that has to be or usually is to be followed. It can be desirably followed, or it can be an inevitable consequence of something, suc ...

outlined in the

Book of Acts The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...

in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

by the Rabban Gamaliel. Gamaliel cautions the Jewish

Sanhedrin The Sanhedrin (Hebrew and Aramaic: סַנְהֶדְרִין; Greek: , ''synedrion'', 'sitting together,' hence 'assembly' or 'council') was an assembly of either 23 or 71 elders (known as "rabbis" after the destruction of the Second Temple), ap ...

against killing

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

' disciples, saying that if their ideas were of human origin, they would "come to nought" and the Jews did not need to worry about them; but if they were from God, their ideas would be impossible to overthrow anyway, and if the Jews tried to stop them, they would be fighting against God. Therefore, in Gamaliel's view it would be better to do nothing and let God take care of the situation. In modern times Gamaliel's principle has been used in support of

religious pluralism Religious pluralism is an attitude or policy regarding the diversity of religious belief systems co-existing in society. It can indicate one or more of the following: * Recognizing and tolerating the religious diversity of a society or countr ...

and reforms within religious groups.

Origin

In the 5th chapter of the

in the

, an account is told of the apostles of

being brought before the

in Jerusalem, which acted as a Jewish court system. The high priest accuses them of disobeying an order to stop preaching, to which the apostle

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

responds by beginning to preach to the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin then considers killing the apostles in retaliation, at which point Gamaliel gives the following advice: :"And now I say unto you, Refrain from these men, and let them alone: for if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: :"But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God." ::- ,

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

To prove his point, Gamaliel also notes two examples,

Theudas Theudas (; ; died c. 46 AD) was a Jewish rebel of the 1st century AD. Scholars attribute to his name a Greek etymology possibly meant as "flowing with water", although with a Hellenist-styled ending. At some point between 44 and 46 AD, Theudas le ...

and

Judas of Galilee Judas of Galilee, or Judas of Gamala, was a Jewish leader who led resistance to the census imposed for Roman tax purposes by Quirinius in Judea Province around 6 CE. He encouraged Jews not to register and those that did had their houses burnt an ...

, who gained a large following but came "to nought". According to the Bible, the other rabbis in the Sanhedrin agree with Gamaliel and decide to not kill the disciples, instead having them beaten and then released. Various theories have been put forth regarding Gamaliel's motives, and how much he believed or disbelieved the Christians, and some have even theorized that he secretly was a Christian, although there is no evidence to support that theory. It is also possible he was happy that the Christians were preaching the resurrection from the dead, a doctrine which he believed in as a Pharisee, but the

Sadducees The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio-religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. Th ...

in the Sanhedrin did not.Exell, Joseph S.; Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice (Editors)
On "Acts 5".
In: ''The

Pulpit Commentary The ''Pulpit Commentary'' is a homiletic commentary on the Bible created during the nineteenth century under the direction of Rev. Joseph S. Exell and Henry Donald Maurice Spence-Jones. It consists of 23 volumes with 22,000 pages and 95,000 entrie ...

'', there is "no doubt" that being Pharisee "would rather dispose him to resist the violent counsels of the Sadducean members, and the more so as the doctrine of the Resurrection was in question." According to

Alexander Maclaren Alexander Maclaren (11 February 1826 – 5 May 1910) was a Scottish Baptist minister. Biography Maclaren was born in Glasgow, Scotland, the son of David Maclaren, a merchant and Baptist lay preacher.Edwin Charles Dargan (1912) ''A History of ...

, Gamaliel was known to be "prudent, wise, cautious and calm, tolerant, opposed to fanaticism and violence" and so it is unsurprising he would have given advice such as this. It is also possible Gamaliel did not want the Sanhedrin to anger the general population in Jerusalem, because many of them supported the Christians; and according to

John F. MacArthur John Fullerton MacArthur Jr. (born June 19, 1939) is an American Protestant pastor and author known for his internationally syndicated Christian teaching radio and television program ''Grace to You''. He has been the pastor of Grace Community Chu ...

it is likely that he really did believe what he said.

Modern application

Some Christians have argued that Gamaliel's principle should guide Christians when interacting with other religions or denominations, and that following it would avoid religious violence and intolerance.

Raymond E. Brown Raymond Edward Brown (May 22, 1928 – August 8, 1998) was an American Sulpician priest and prominent biblical scholar. He was regarded as a specialist concerning the hypothetical "Johannine community", which he speculated contributed to the a ...

argued that while "it may not be true that every religious movement that is of human origin fails; nevertheless, the church would have been wiser many times in its history if it had used Gamaliel's principle to judge new developments in Christianity rather than reacting in a hostile manner too quickly." The Gamaliel principle has also sometimes been applied to changes or reforms, especially within the church, such as the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

. Reginald Hoefer writes that "the Gamaliel Principle is a helpful lens through which to view all the things that might disturb us about the state of the world, the country, the Church" because it argues that what is right will win and anything that is wrong will lose. Gamaliel's principle has also been compared to Jesus's admonition " You will know them by their fruits".

Pat Boone Patrick Charles Eugene Boone (born June 1, 1934) is an American singer and actor. He was a successful pop singer in the United States during the 1950s and early 1960s. He sold more than 45 million records, had 38 Top 40 hits, and appeared in mo ...

used what he called "the Gamaliel attitude" to argue that church bodies should "''judge the fruit'' before akingany rash or rigid pronouncements".

Criticism

Some have argued that Gamaliel's principle is a

fallacy A fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning, or "wrong moves," in the construction of an argument which may appear stronger than it really is if the fallacy is not spotted. The term in the Western intellectual tradition was intr ...

.Span John (Feb 17, 2014)
“You Might be Opposing God”: Bring on the “Gamaliel principle”
Biblical Missiology. For instance,

argued from an

evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...

perspective that since evil is allowed to exist "Gamaliel's principle will come true only when Christ returns to establish His kingdom on earth".MacArthur 1988, p. 54. MacArthur gives for an example that the Sanhedrin still existed in Israel at the time of Gamaliel despite the fact that it was "instrumental in Christ's death", and that therefore the only valid part of Gamaliel's argument is the second part: "If it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it". He concludes that the proper argument that Gamaliel should have used is not to "wait and see" but to study the scriptures.MacArthur 1988, pp. 54-55. One writer argued against the Gamaliel principle as applied to the

, saying that the time it would take to determine whether it was right would produce "profound and lasting damage to the Church".Pate, Beatrice; Field, Barbara (ed.) (1989).
Fit for this office: women and ordination
'. Melbourne: Collins Dove. pp. 116-117. Beatrice Pate responded that this position demonstrates "a surprisingly low view of the Church, and a low view of the sovereignty of God."

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamaliel's principle Acts of the Apostles 1st-century Christianity Interfaith dialogue Christianity and other religions Christian terminology Christian ecumenism

Origin

Modern application

Criticism

See also

Notes

References