The Jews, Modern Israel and the New Supercessionism

Well, here is the post that I promised you, it’s about a very important topic. The Jews, Modern Israel and the New Supercessioism…

 

A large portion of the word of God in the Old Testament is being misinterpreted or deliberately avoided by those who have adopted the teaching that the Christian Church has replaced Israel and that the ancient promises made by God to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and David are now passé. However, Calvin L. Smith has edited a set of chapters in a new book that makes a vital contribution towards rectifying this imbalance in interpretation. May it spark a long-overdue discussion among Evangelical interpreters of all persuasions as well as one between Jewish people of the book and believers in the Christian Church. Walter C. Kaiser, Jr., Ph.D. Colman Mockler Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Old Testament, President Emeritus, Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary. Read more at – The Jews, Modern Israel and the New Supercessionism – Home

Some of the endorsements can be found HERE. Below are just some of what well known scholars think about the book…

The Jews, Modern Israel and the New Supercessionism provides thorough insights, both biblical and secular, into issues related to the present, past, and future status of ethnic Israel.  It is heartening that editor Calvin L. Smith along with an assortment of contributors has outlined many historic and current facets related to present-day Israel.  The availability and helpfulness of the book will strike a strong note in response to growing supercessionist influences regarding God’s promises to Abraham and his descendants.
Dr Robert L. Thomas
Professor of New Testament Language and Literature
The Master’s Seminary, Sun Valley, California

A book of this quality, character and courage has been needed for decades! I want to congratulate Dr. Calvin Smith of King’s Evangelical Divinity School for engaging in this highly charged and controversial study focusing on God’s plan for the Jewish people, the nation of Israel and the Arab world.  I further applaud the project for taking the very critical next step of helping to provide a matrix for understanding the relationship between the Western Church and the Christian, Messianic and Muslim communities of the East.
Mitch Glaser, Ph.D.
President, Chosen People Ministries

If you are new to the word “Supercessionism”, Dr Calvin L. Smith explains what it means and the implications…

…Supercessionism (American spelling: supersessionism) is the theological view that God’s dealings with His chosen people Israel have now been superceded by a new people, the Church. Thus, supercessionism claims the promises originally intended for Israel are now given over to the Church, neither do the Jews any longer retain any special status as God’s chosen people.  Supercessionism is also known as replacement theology, or replacementism. For their part, some supercessionists/ replacementists eschew both these labels as pejorative, preferring instead terms like ‘fulfillment theology’ or ‘transference theology’. [source]

It is important to note that Dr Calvin L. Smith addresses the problem of Supercessionism in a biblical-systematic manner and because of that, this book is not an endorsement for extreme Christian Zionism. This is what he says about Christian Zionism…

…So again, the issues are complex and demand a sophisticated approach. Unfortunately, there is not much of that in the current debate, with a tendency among several of today’s vocal supercessionist writers to tar every Christian even mildly holding to the view God has not finished with Israel with a Christian Zionist brush.

…At the other end of the spectrum are some extreme Christian Zionists who take an “Israel right or wrong” stance, turning a blind eye to some things happening in that part of the world (especially the difficulties faced by some Christians there) and engaging in a form of Israel worship (or ‘Israelolatry’, if you like). In between are very many people who reject this idolising of Israel but are equally uncomfortable, in fact increasingly troubled with the extreme pro-Palestinianism and anti-Israelism exhibited by several more vocal Evangelical supercessionists. [source]

He speaks about the current tensions that surround Israel, Islam and Supercessionism…So not only is the issue of Israel and supercessionism hotting up, it is also symptomatic of a wider ideological struggle currently taking place within Evangelicalism over how to respond to Islam.

To read more of this most fascinating interview with Calvin Smith and to get an idea about where this book is actually coming from see HERE.

The release date for this book that seeks to get past the unnecessarily polemical approach is the 5th of May. It can be purchased HERE.

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