Traditional depictions of Pharisees in the church have historically been negative. However, modern studies of Pharisees have developed a much more complex picture of this group within Judaism. While there are negative depictions of Pharisees in the gospels (particularly Matthew and John), Luke is more moderate and in the Acts of the Apostles, the depiction of the Pharisees is much more positive. This study examines the role of Pharisees in Acts 15, comparing the events of that “council” to two other events in Acts. The first is Acts 5:27¬–40, where Gamaliel represents the Pharisees. The second is Acts 22, where Paul, a student of Gamaliel and a self-proclaimed Pharisee, defends himself and is supported by other Pharisees. The central focus of the study will be Acts 15 where Pharisees participate in the church.
The approach to my examination is to engage the text using Fligstein and McAdam’s “Field Theory” (A Theory of Fields) to model and review the interaction of groups within these three events. The model includes an analysis of (from A Theory of Fields): (1) strategic action fields, (2) incumbents, challengers, and governance units, (3) social skills and existential functions of the social, (4) the broader field environment, (5) exogenous shock, mobilization, and the onset of contention, (6) episodes of contention, and (7) settlement.
The study will show the characteristics of the Pharisees across the three events, and how we should understand them as they relate to the ancient church. In addition, my goal is to provide a model that can be incorporated into the modern church teaching about the Pharisees that is more positive than is often seen in the rhetoric about this group. We should always remember that one of the leading teachers and apostles of the Christian faith, Paul, was a self-proclaimed Pharisee.