The Council of Jerusalem described in the Acts of the Apostles committed Christianity to offering to gospel to all of humanity. The decisions taken in 49 AD, after some fifteen years of fierce debate and division, enabled Christianity to become a worldwide religion open to all cultures and its membership open to all nations. Biblical Theologian and Roman Catholic Michael Knowles discusses how the commitment to universalism made by the Council remains a challenge for the Church today and asks of it questions about its own life and practice which cannot be ignored if the Church wants to remain credible in its relationship with its own members, other faiths and the world.