Milk vs. Meat

ACTS 15
"23b To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia: Greetings. 24We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell."

There is a distinct difference between the Old Testament and the New - and it is very well illustrated by this passage, among others.

Here we see the reaction that Gentiles have when they are asked to become Jewish: to make their religion an all-encompassing lifestyle, rather than just a part of their life. And they panic.

If you look at the teachings which the elders sent to this church, they are not that demanding: don't eat certain food items, don't eat blood, and avoid sexual immorality. I would propose that this would be a MAJOR change for a lot of people today: even a lot of elected officials...