Although the early Christians were united in mind and spirit, there are evidences of factionalism and division among them. The chief conflict was between Jew and Gentile. Although the decision reached by the first council at Jerusalem had presumably healed the breach with a compromise acceptable to all, "a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still." In Jerusalem, the Hebrew faction continued its efforts to discredit the Gentiles, claiming that they were second-class Christians unless they embraced Jewish law and traditions. In some distant places, the two sides seemed either unaware of or unmoved by the council’s edict. The divisive spirit persisted.

Even in later generations, the mood of those hard-core, dog-in-the-manger Judaizers of the first century lived on. The fal…