The Acts of the Apostles

258 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES
secondly, more refined as well as gross forms of m/xa
were very prevalent in Heathendom, and these needed
to be earnestly combated (exposure and slaying of
children, abortion, murder of slaves, &c.); thirdly, it
was already a part of Jewish teaching that " murder
included every injury to the life of one's neighbour.
Lastly, let us recollect that St. Peter writes (1 Pet.
iv. 15)
: liiri TZ9 viJiciov Traa-^ero) w
TOP aSeXcpov outov avOpcoTroKTOvog icrrlv, that the
Revelation—as if in dependence upon the Apostolic
Decree— proclaims (xxii. 15): e^co . . . ol iropvoi
Kcu ol (pov€i9 Kal ol elScoXoXoLTpaL, and that St.
James writes, even in reference to Christians (iv. 2)
(bovevere kcu X^rjkovTe. Moreover, Irenaeus expressly
says that when heathens were converted it was neces-
sary to teach them the most elementary moral pre-
cepts. Indeed, seeing that at the Apostolic epoch
conversions were often— perhaps as a rule—ecstatic
in character, i.e. wrought " by the Spirit," it was
doubly necessary to insist most strongly upon the
great general principles of morality, especially in
cases where the authority of the Mosaic Law was
not felt. It is therefore far from being strange
that these ethical commandments should occur in
the context of the Apostolic Decree ; they are rather
proved to be necessary and very much to the point.
These three ordinances against Idolatry, Murder, and
Fornication are intended to exclude the whole sphere
of non-moral conduct.
(7) Resch quite rightly points out that the existence
of an authoritative law against partaking ol
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