Part of a series of articles on Christianity

Foundations Jesus Christ Holy Trinity (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) Holy Bible · Christian Theology New Covenant · Supersessionism Apostles · Church · Kingdom · Gospel History of Christianity · Timeline This article is becoming very long. ... Image File history File links Christian_cross. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... This page is about the title or the Divine Person. For the Christian figure, see Jesus. ... Within Christianity, the doctrine of the Trinity states that God is a single being who exists, simultaneously and eternally, as a perichoresis of three persons (hypostases, personae): Father, the Son (incarnate as Jesus of Nazareth), and the Holy Spirit, and thus is sometimes used by Christians as a name for... In many religions, the supreme God is given the title and attributions of Father. ... Christian views of Jesus vary somewhat among different Christian denominations, but almost all Christians base their beliefs around what they hold to be Jesus teachings, and believe that Jesus is the Christ (Messiah), the saviour of mankind foretold in the Old Testament. ... In various religions, most notably Trinitarian Christianity, the Holy Spirit (in Hebrew רוח הקודש Ruah haqodesh; also called the Holy Ghost) is the third consubstantial Person of the Holy Trinity. ... For other uses, see Bible (disambiguation). ... It has been suggested that Christian theological controversy be merged into this article or section. ... Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ... The Twelve Apostles (, apostolos, Liddell & Scott, Strongs G652, someone sent forth/sent out) were men that according to the Synoptic Gospels and Christian tradition, were chosen from among the disciples (students) of Jesus for a mission. ... The phrase One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church appears in the Nicene Creed () and, in part, in the Apostles Creed (the holy catholic church, sanctam ecclesiam catholicam). ... The Kingdom of God or Reign of God (Greek basileia tou theou,[1]) is a foundational concept in Christianity, as it is the central theme of Jesus of Nazareths message in the synoptic Gospels. ... For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ... This article outlines the history of Christianity and provides links to relevant topics. ... The purpose of this chronology is to give a detailed account of Christianity from the beginning of the current era to the present. ...

Holy Bible Old Testament · New Testament Decalogue · Sermon on the Mount Birth · Resurrection · Great Commission Inspiration · Books · Canon · Apocrypha Hermeneutics · LXX · English Translation Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... For other uses, see Ten Commandments (disambiguation). ... The Sermon on the Mount was, according to the Gospel of Matthew 5-7, a particular sermon given by Jesus of Nazareth (estimated around AD 30) on a mountainside to his disciples and a large crowd. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... The Death of Jesus and the Resurrection of Jesus are two events in the New Testament in which Jesus is crucified on one day (the Day of Preparation, i. ... In Christian tradition, the Great Commission is the instruction of the resurrected Jesus Christ to his disciples, that they spread the faith to all the world. ... Biblical inspiration is the doctrine in Christian theology concerned with the divine origin of the Bible and what the Bible teaches about itself. ... The canonical list of the Books of the Bible differs among Jews, and Catholic, Protestant, and Eastern Orthodox Christians, even though there is a great deal of overlap. ... The biblical canon is a list of books written during the formative periods of the Jewish or Christian faiths. ... Apocrypha (from the Greek word απόκρυφα meaning those having been hidden away[1]) are texts of uncertain authenticity or writings where the authorship is questioned. ... Biblical Hermeneutics, part of the broader hermeneutical question, relates to the problem of how one is to understand Holy Scripture. ... The Septuagint: A page from Codex vaticanus, the basis of Sir Launcelot Lee Brentons English translation. ... The efforts of translating the Bible from its original languages into over 2,000 others have spanned more than two millennia. ... The Bible has been translated into many languages. ...

Christian Theology History of Theology · Apologetics Creation · Fall of Man · Covenant · Law Grace · Faith · Justification · Salvation Sanctification · Theosis · Worship Church · Sacraments · Future {Under construction!} The history of theology is about the way theology has developed and the way history has impacted theology. ... Theology (Greek θεος, theos, God, + λογια, logia, words, sayings, or discourse) is reasoned discourse concerning religion, spirituality and gods. ... Christian apologetics is the field of study concerned with the systematic defense of Christianity. ... Creation (theology) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... In Abrahamic religion, The Fall of Man or The Story of the Fall, or simply The Fall, refers to humanitys fall from a state of innocent bliss to a state of sinful understanding. ... This article is about biblical covenants. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... In Christianity, divine grace refers to the sovereign favor of God for humankind, as manifest in the blessings bestowed upon all —irrespective of actions (deeds), earned worth, or proven goodness. ... Faith in Christianity centers on faith in the existence of God, who created the universe. ... In Christian theology, justification is Gods act of making or declaring a sinner righteous before God. ... In theology, salvation can mean three related things: freed forever from the punishment of sin Revelation 1:5-6 NRSV - also called deliverance;[1] being saved for something, such as an afterlife or participating in the Reign of God Revelation 1:6 NRSV - also called redemption;[2]) and a process... Sanctification or in its verb form, sanctify, literally means to set apart for special use or purpose, that is to make holy or sacred (compare Latin sanctus holy). Therefore sanctification refers to the state or process of being set apart, i. ... In Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic theology, theosis, meaning divinization (or deification or, to become god), is the call to man to become holy and seek union with God, beginning in this life and later consummated in the resurrection. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... In Christian theology, ecclesiology is a branch of study that deals with the doctrines pertaining to the Church itself as a community or organic entity, and with the understanding of what the church is —ie. ... In Catholic belief and practice, a sacrament is a rite that mediates divine grace, constituting a sacred mystery. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

History and Traditions Early · Councils · Creeds · Missions Great Schism · Crusades · Reformation Fourth-century inscription, representing Christ as the Good Shepherd. ... In Christianity, an Ecumenical Council or general council is a meeting of the bishops of the whole church convened to discuss and settle matters of Church doctrine and practice. ... A creed is a statement or confession of belief — usually religious belief — or faith. ... A Christian mission has been widely defined, since the Lausanne Congress of 1974, as that which is designed to form a viable indigenous church-planting movement. ... For the later Papal Schism in Avignon, see Western Schism. ... The Siege of Antioch, from a medieval miniature painting, during the First Crusade. ... The Protestant Reformation was a movement in the 16th century to reform the Catholic Church in Western Europe. ... Eastern Christianity Eastern Orthodoxy · Oriental Orthodoxy Syriac Christianity · Eastern Catholicism Eastern Christianity refers collectively to the Christian traditions and churches which developed in Greece, the Balkans, the rest of Eastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Middle East, northeastern Africa and southern India over several centuries of religious antiquity. ... The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest Christian organization in the world (or third if one sees Protestantism as a single entity). ... The term Oriental Orthodoxy refers to the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only the first three ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the First Council of Constantinople and the Council of Ephesus — and reject the dogmatic definitions of the Council of Chalcedon. ... Syriac Christianity is a culturally and linguistically distinctive community within Eastern Christianity. ... The Eastern Catholic Churches are autonomous particular Churches in full communion with the Pope of Rome. ... Western Christianity Western Catholicism · Protestantism Thomism · Anabaptism · Lutheranism Anglicanism · Calvinism · Arminianism Evangelicalism · Baptist · Methodism Restorationism · Liberalism Fundamentalism · Pentecostalism Western Christianity comprises Catholicism, Anglicanism, Protestantism. ... The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus of Nazareth, with its traditions first established by the Twelve Apostles and... Protestantism is one of three main groups within Christianity, whose beliefs are centered on Jesus. ... Thomism is the philosophical school that followed in the legacy of Thomas Aquinas. ... Anabaptists (Greek ανα (again) +βαπτιζω (baptize), thus, re-baptizers [1], German: Wiedertäufer) are Christians of the Radical Reformation. ... Lutheranism is a movement within Christianity that began with the theological insights of Martin Luther in the 16th century. ... The term Anglican (from medieval Latin ecclesia Anglicana meaning the English church) is used to describe the people, institutions, and churches as well as the liturgical traditions and theological concepts developed by the established Church of England, the Anglican Communion and the Continuing Anglican Churches (a loosely affiliated group of... Calvinism is a system of Christian theology and an approach to Christian life and thought within the Protestant tradition articulated by John Calvin, a Protestant Reformer in the 16th century, and subsequently by successors, associates, followers and admirers of Calvin, his interpretation of Scripture, and perspective on Christian life and... For the Armenian nationality, see Armenia or the Armenian language. ... The word evangelicalism usually refers to religious practices and traditions which are found in conservative, almost always Protestant, Christianity. ... A Baptist is a member of a Baptist church or any follower of Jesus Christ who believes that baptism is administered by the full immersion of a confessing Christian. ... Methodism or the Methodist movement is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article concerns the self-labeled Fundamentalist Movement in Protestant Christianity. ... The Pentecostal movement within Evangelical Christianity places special emphasis on the direct personal experience of God through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, as shown in the Biblical account of the Day of Pentecost. ... Denominations · Movements · Ecumenism Preaching · Prayer · Music Liturgy · Calendar · Symbols · Art A denomination, in the Christian sense of the word, is an identifiable religious body under a common name, structure, and/or doctrine. ... Christian movements are theological, political, or philosophical intepretations of Christianity that are not generally represented by a specific church, sect, or denomination. ... The word ecumenism (also oecumenism, Å“cumenism) is derived from Greek (oikoumene), which means the inhabited world, and was historically used with specific reference to the Roman Empire. ... A sermon is an oration by a prophet or member of the clergy. ... This article is about the many forms of prayer within Christianity. ... This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ... // Partial list of Christian liturgies (past and present) Roman Catholic church (churches in communion with the Holy See of the Bishop of Rome) Latin Rite Novus Ordo Missae Tridentine Mass Anglican Use Mozarabic Rite Ambrosian Rite Gallican Rite Eastern Rite, e. ... The liturgical year, also known as the Christian year, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in some Christian churches which determines when Feasts, Memorials, Commemorations, and Solemnities are to be observed and which portions of Scripture are to be read. ... Christian art is art that spans many segments of Christianity. ...

Important Figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Wycliffe Luther · Calvin · Wesley Paul of Tarsus (b. ... The (Early) Church Fathers or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church, particularly those of the first five centuries of Christian history. ... This article covers the events of, reaction to, and historical legacy of Roman Emperor Constantine Is legalization, legitimization, and conversion to Christianity. ... Athanasius of Alexandria (also spelled Athanasios) (c. ... For the first Archbishop of Canterbury, see Saint Augustine of Canterbury. ... For entities named after Saint Anselm, see Saint Anselms. ... Saint Thomas Aquinas [Thomas of Aquin, or Aquino] (c. ... Gregory Palamas Gregory Palamas (Γρηγόριος Παλαμάς) (1296 - 1359) was a monk of Mount Athos in Greece and later Archbishop of Thessalonica known as a preeminent theologian of Hesychasm. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ... Martin Luther (November 10, 1483 – February 18, 1546) was a German monk,[1] priest, professor, theologian, and church reformer. ... John Calvin (July 10, 1509 – May 27, 1564) was a French Protestant theologian during the Protestant Reformation and was a central developer of the system of Christian theology called Calvinism or Reformed theology. ... John Wesley (June 17, 1703–March 2, 1791) was an 18th-century Anglican clergyman and Christian theologian who was an early leader in the Methodist movement. ...

Supersessionism (sometimes referred to as replacement theology by its critics) is a belief that Christianity is the fulfillment and continuation of the Old Testament, and that Jews who deny that Jesus is the Messiah are not being faithful to the revelation that God has given them, and they therefore fall short of their calling as his chosen people. This view holds that racial and ethnic divisions and boundaries are ended in Jesus Christ, and faith in Jesus unites all peoples into one new body, which is God’s chosen people. This article is becoming very long. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... In Judaism, the Messiah (מָשִׁיחַ Standard Hebrew Arabic: Al-Masih, المسيح), Tiberian Hebrew , Aramaic ) initially meant any person who was anointed by a prophet of God. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Yahweh. ... Throughout history, various groups have considered themselves chosen by God for some purpose. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... This article or section should be merged with ethnic group Ethnicity is the cultural characteristics that connect a particular group or groups of people to each other. ...

The doctrine

There are two basic types of supersessionism:

1. The Jews are no longer considered to be God's chosen people solely based on ethnicity.
2. The ethnic Jews are still chosen but their calling is frustrated, pending their acceptance of Jesus as the promised Messiah.

The first view accepts that the promises made to the Jews have become invalid and that the Christian church (including any ethnic Jews who have aligned themselves with it) is chosen instead.^{[citation needed]}

The second and more common form of supersessionism does not on its own terms theorize a replacement. Instead it argues that unbelieving Israel has been superseded only in the sense that the church has been entrusted with the fulfillment of the promises of which Israel has been the trustee. The Jews have been are forever the chosen trustee of the covenants, the Law, and the promises of blessing and salvation, and the lineage of the Messiah (compare Romans 3:1-2; 9:4), and yet many of the Jews have rejected Jesus as the Messiah. On the other hand, the church receives the promised Messiah not on the basis of ethnicity but through faith in Jesus as the Christ, and thus the church consists of any Jews and any Gentiles who profess that faith. As St. Paul says, "There is neither Jew nor Greek...for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise" (Gal 3:28-29) and "through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body, and sharers together in the promise in Christ Jesus" (Eph 3:6). In short, according to supersessionism, both faithful Jews and faithful Gentiles have been joined together as one, united into one people by faith through Jesus Christ. No one, therefore, is replaced, but faith in Jesus Christ has replaced physical lineage as the determining factor for identifying God's chosen people. Even so, many Christians believe that many ethnic Jews will accept Christianity before the Second Coming of Christ.^[1] This article is about biblical covenants. ... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Paul of Tarsus (b. ... This article refers to the religious usage of the term. ...

This belief has served as the explanation for why Christians need not adhere to some laws that are seen as only for the people of God before Christ (for instance, circumcised and adherance to the Jewish dietary laws, which were addressed at the Council of Jerusalem), and it is also the rationale for urging the conversion of Jews to Christianity. This article is about male circumcision. ... Council of Jerusalem is a name applied in retrospect to a meeting described in Acts of the Apostles chapter 15. ...

Variations

Different branches of Christianity have further variations on the doctrine.

Roman Catholicism

Supersessionism was traditionally considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be its ex cathedra irreformable position on the relationship with post-Messianic Judaism. The Council of Florence of the 15th century solemnly defined, that "Jews...are damned to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels" if they consciously and obstinately refuse to embrace the Catholic Christian Faith.^[2] The only logical explanation for this teaching then was, that Judaism of the Old Testament had been replaced by or rather transferred to the New Testament with its own law and sacred rites. In fact this is what Popes taught throughout all centuries. Pope Pius XII also re-affirmed this doctrine in his encyclical Mystici Corporis (June 29, 1943), when he authoritatively taught, that "the New Testament took the place of the Old Law which had been abolished" and that "on the gibbet of His death Jesus made void the Law with its decrees fastened the handwriting of the Old Testament to the Cross, establishing the New Testament in His blood shed for the whole human race. 'To such an extent, then,' says St. Leo the Great, speaking of the Cross of our Lord, 'was there effected a transfer from the Law to the Gospel, from the Synagogue to the Church, from the many sacrifices to one Victim, that, as Our Lord expired, that mystical veil which shut off the innermost part of the temple and its sacred secret was rent violently from top to bottom.'" Pope Pius XII also clearly condemned the two-path approach dividing Gentile and Jew once again as in the Old Testament, when he taught, that "Christ, by His blood, made the Jews and Gentiles one 'breaking down the middle wall of partition...in His flesh' by which the two peoples were divided; and that He made the Old Law void 'that He might make the two in Himself into one new man,' that is, the Church, and might reconcile both to God in one Body by the Cross." Hereby Pope Pius XII doctrinally affirmed, that the Church was from the beginning established for the salvation of all people, both Jews and gentiles, thereby excluding the possibility of a two-path-approach for all Roman Catholics.^[3] The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus of Nazareth, with its traditions first established by the Twelve Apostles and... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Papal infallibility. ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... A decree of the Council of Constance (9 October 1417), sanctioned by Pope Martin V obliged the papacy to summon general councils periodically. ... (14th century - 15th century - 16th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 15th century was that century which lasted from 1401 to 1500. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... John 21:1 Jesus Appears to His Disciples--Alessandro Mantovani: the Vatican, Rome. ... The Venerable Pius XII, born Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Eugenio Pacelli (Rome, March 2, 1876 - October 9, 1958) served as the Pope from March 2, 1939 to 1958. ... Mystici Corporis was a papal encyclical promulgated by Pope Pius XII on 29 June 1943. ... June 29 is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 185 days remaining. ... Year 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... The Roman Catholic Church, most often spoken of simply as the Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with over one billion members. ...

In the 20th century, certain hierarchs of the Roman Catholic Church issued a number of theological position papers which appear to reject this concept outright, and affirm that the Torah is a valid path for Jews and Jewish proselytes to achieve salvation, that their covenant with God is still valid, and that the Jews of modern times are a direct unbroken continuation of the ancient Children of Israel. This view is not accepted by all Roman Catholic theologians, and it is rejected outright by traditional Catholics though it has been reaffirmed several times by various contemporary Catholic hierarchs. The Catholic Church still proclaims extra Ecclesiam nulla salus,^[4] though some claim a subtle shift in interpreting this to mean the axiom sine Ecclesia nulla salus that is, that although the presence of the Church in the world makes salvation possible, membership of the Church is by no means required in order for individuals to be saved. The Catholic Church however recently affirmed the necessity of Jesus and membership in the Church for salvation in the declaration Dominus Iesus. However, although salvation comes from Christ, the teaching of the Church expressed in the Vatican II document Lumen Gentium is that those "who through no fault of their own do not know the Gospel of Christ or His Church, yet sincerely seek God and moved by grace strive by their deeds to do His will as it is known to them through the dictates of conscience" may attain salvation. The Roman Catholic Church or Catholic Church (see terminology below) is the Christian Church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, currently Pope Benedict XVI. It traces its origins to the original Christian community founded by Jesus of Nazareth, with its traditions first established by the Twelve Apostles and... Torah () is a Hebrew word meaning teaching, instruction, or law. It is the central and most important document of Judaism revered by Jews through the ages. ... Proselyte, from the Greek proselytos, is used in the Septuagint for stranger (1 Chronicles 22:2), i. ... For other uses, see Ten Commandments (disambiguation). ... The Tetragrammaton in Phoenician (1100 BC to 300 CE), Aramaic (10th Century BC to 0) and modern Hebrew scripts. ... The Children of Israel, or Bnei Yisrael (בני ישראל) in Hebrew (also Bnai Yisrael, Bnei Yisroel or Bene Israel) is a Biblical term for the Israelites. ... Traditional Catholic is a broad term used to describe many groups of Roman Catholics who follow more traditional aspects of the Catholic Faith. ... The Ecclesiastical Latin phrase Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus (sometimes briefly Extra Ecclesiam), literally meaning outside the church there is no salvation, is a slogan that summarises the doctrine that one must be a member of the Roman Catholic church in order to be saved. ... This article is about Jesus of Nazareth. ... Dominus Iesus (Latin for Lord Jesus) is a document by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, then prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and the Congregations then secretary, Tarcisio Bertone. ... Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, is one of the principal documents of the Second Vatican Council. ...

Furthermore, another Vatican II document Nostra Aetate, as well as the repeated comments of Pope John Paul II, according to some imply a repudiation of supersessionism by insisting that the divine covenant which constitutes Israel as a nation remains permanently in force. However at the time of its approbation at Vatican II it was not understood as dispensationalist at all, mainly as affirming that the Old Testament's promise was never taken away, but was "perfected" in the New Testament religion and thus, that the Old Testament had been transferred into the New Testament, while being abolished and void of salvification if taken only by itself. Nostra Aetate is the Declaration on the Relation of the Church with Non-Christian Religions of the Second Vatican Council. ... The Second Vatican Council, or Vatican II, was an Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church opened under Pope John XXIII in 1962 and closed under Pope Paul VI in 1965. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ...

Covenant Theology

Covenant theology, a dominant theological schema within the Reformed churches, has as one of its core teachings the idea that the covenant with the Old Testament nation of Israel is continued in the historical Christian church, and that most prophetic reference to a promised exaltation of Israel is fulfilled in the ascension of Jesus and in the Christian Church, and otherwise will be fulfilled in the endless age after Christ's return and the resurrection of the dead. It holds that God's original purpose was to create for himself one covenant people, which was to be found in the people of Israel in the years before Christ, and in the international church in the years after Christ. Adherents of this view cite Romans 9:6ff, 11:1-7 to substantiate their belief that only the elect of both covenants are God's chosen people — that even prior to Christ, not all who belonged to the nation of Israel were "children of the promise". So while unbelieving Jews are still considered "blessed" (because they have the Old Testament) they are, in the end, no different from unbelieving gentiles in their position before God. Jesus Christ, not Palestine or Jerusalem, and Immanuel not the people of Israel is the focal point of covenant theology. Covenant Theology is not to be confused with the Covenanters Covenant Theology (also known as Covenantalism or Federal theology or Federalism) is a conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible. ... The Reformed churches are a group of Christian Protestant denominations historically related by a similar Calvinist system of doctrine, which first arose especially in the Swiss Reformation led by Huldrych Zwingli, but soon afterward appeared in nations throughout Western Europe. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ...

Restorationism

Jewish Restorationism is the belief of some Christians concerning the end times when they believe that certain Old Testament prophecies concerning Israel will be fulfilled in their return to their ancestral home, and ultimately in a large-scale conversion of the Jews to Christianity. Many conservative Christian groups anticipate a future time, when God will return his focus to the Jewish nation, whence a national conversion will take place where all or almost all Jews will miraculously convert to Christianity, citing the book of Romans 11:26a: "And so all Israel will be saved."^[5] // The End Times are a time of tribulation that will precede the coming of a Messiah figure in many world religions. ... Note: Judaism commonly uses the term Tanakh. ... The Epistle to the Romans is one of the epistles, or letters, included in the New Testament canon of the Christian Bible. ...

Usually those who hold this view note that it does not say every individual Jew will be saved but that the nation as a whole will be saved, just like the nation as a whole supposedly committed the unpardonable sin. It will still be up to individuals to accept the Gospel of the Kingdom or reject it, but the nation as a whole will be blessed, perhaps in the sense that its representative leadership is blessed. The eternal sin (often called the unforgivable sin or unpardonable sin) is a concept of sin in Christian theology, wherby salvation or eternal life with God becomes impossible. ... For other uses, see Gospel (disambiguation). ...

Dispensational Restorationism

This hope of a Jewish restoration has an especially prominent place within dispensationalism. The distinctive dispensationalist scheme conceives of the Christian church and the church age as primarily an arrangement through which God gathers in the Gentiles, a parenthesis in God's dealing with the Jews, which has been instituted because the Jewish people rejected the Messiah. Dispensationalists classically believe that the acceptance of Christ by the Jews will come about as a distinct group, after the age of the Christian church. In other words, they believe that Jews are a permanent feature of God's plan, apart from the Christian church; and it is in this sense that they deny supersessionism. They nevertheless believe that the Jews are in need of conversion to Christianity, and this conversion will signal their restoration - unlike others who would use the language, to reject supersessionism. As a current in Christian theology, Dispensationalism teaches biblical history as a number of successive economies or administrations, called dispensations, each of which emphasizes the continuity of the Old Testament covenants God made with His chosen people through Abraham, Moses and King David. ...

Like the dispensationalists, some supersessionists commonly anticipate a momentous future conversion to the church of the Jews on the basis of Romans 11, especially verse 26. Dispensationalism's distinctive difference from the common view of this "mystery" (as St. Paul calls it) is in its idea that the church is primarily intended for the salvation of the Gentiles, and that the Jews have a separate destiny that cannot be fulfilled in the church age. In the dispensationalist scheme, the Jewish restoration and acceptance of Christ will be as a people distinct from the Christian Church (which by that time will have ceased to exist on the earth, having been removed by a miracle called the rapture). Most dispensationalists believe that 144,000 from the tribes of Israel, spoken of in the Book of Revelation, are either the literal or symbolic number of ethnic Jews who will be followers of Christ during the Great Tribulation. In the meantime, dispensationalists typically hold that the promise "I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse" (Genesis 12:3) has abiding reference to the Jewish people and the modern, political state of Israel. Such ideas are often used in support of Christian Zionism. Yet most non-Dispensationalists have held throughout church history, that the salvation of Israel is not postponed until the Second Coming of Christ as Dispensationalists speculate, but rather, as the Apostle Peter stated in Acts 2:36-39, the salvation of Israel has been occurring, and continues to occur throughout the New Testament harvest period, and will be complete at the second coming. It has been suggested that Post Tribulation Rapture be merged into this article or section. ... Visions of John of Patmos, as depicted in the Très Riches Heures du Duc de Berry. ... In Christian eschatology, the Tribulation is a period of immense suffering, greater than anything before in history, which some claim will occur before the end of the world. ... for Christians who belong to Zionist denominations in southern Africa, see Zionist Churches Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. ... This article refers to the religious usage of the term. ...

Objections

Several liberal Protestant groups have formally renounced supersessionism, and affirm that Jews, and perhaps other non-Christians, have a valid way to find God within their own faith. The doctrine has also lost strength among twentieth century Protestant evangelicals, especially in the U.S., through the influence of dispensationalism, which posits that the Jews will inherit the promises concerning the Messiah in a future restoration (see "Restorationism" above) and in the meantime are the subject of God's favor as a people under the same terms that applied to them prior to the coming of the Messiah. Some few groups assert a theory that their group is the chosen people rather than those who are called Jews, and in so doing, these groups emphatically reject supersessionism by adopting the identity of true Israel so that the Jewish people are in some cases regarded as false Israel (see, for example, Anglo-Israelism and Christian Identity). This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Protestantism is one of three main groups within Christianity, whose beliefs are centered on Jesus. ... (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The 20th century lasted from 1901 to 2000 in the Gregorian calendar (often from (1900 to 1999 in common usage). ... Protestantism is a general grouping of denominations within Christianity. ... Look up Evangelical in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Motto: (Out Of Many, One) (traditional) In God We Trust (1956 to date) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington D.C. Largest city New York City None at federal level (English de facto) Government Federal constitutional republic  - President George Walker Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence from... Anglo-Israelism (Sometimes called British-Israelism) is a complex set of theories that are not identical nor are they necessarily compatible with each other. ... Christian Identity is a label applied to a wide variety of loosely-affiliated groups and churches with a racialized theology. ...

Supersessionists see their view is a theology of fulfillment, but from the standpoint of Judaism and other critics, it is reviled as a theology of replacement. Yet, in supersessionism no believing Jew is ever replaced; any unbelieving Jew (like Judas Iscariot or Ahab) were never truly part of God's chosen people because they had never followed God; and race alone to the exclusion of faith is not meritorious on its own behalf. For the American black metal band, see Judas Iscariot (band). ... Ahab or Achav (אַחְאָב Brother of the father, Standard Hebrew Aḥʼav, Tiberian Hebrew ʼAḥăʼāḇ, ʼAḫʼāḇ) was King of the province of Samaria in the greater Kingdom of Israel, and the son and successor of Omri (1 Kings 16:29-34). ...

Relevant New Testament passages

• John 1:11-13: "[Jesus] came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God."
• Romans 1:16-17: I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."[Habakkuk 2:4]
• Romans 2:28-29: "For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God."
• Romans 3:29-31: "Is God the God of Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles too? Yes, of Gentiles too, since there is only one God, who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through that same faith. Do we, then, nullify the law by this faith? Not at all! Rather, we uphold the law."
• Romans 9:6-8: "But it is not as though the word of God has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel belong to Israel, and not all are children of Abraham because they are his offspring, but 'Through Isaac shall your offspring be named.' This means that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of God, but the children of the promise are counted as offspring."
• Romans 10:12-13: For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."[Joel 2:32]
• Romans 11:1-6: "I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, how he appeals to God against Israel? 'Lord, they have killed your prophets, they have demolished your altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life.' But what is God's reply to him? 'I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal.' So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace."
• Romans 11:26: "So all Israel will be saved."
• Galatians 2:14-16: When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? "We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified."
• Galatians 3:29: "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to the promise".
• Revelation 3:9: "Behold, I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Jews and are not, but lie - behold, I will make them come and bow down at your feet and they will learn that I have loved you."

Trivia

• The 2006 novel The Righteous Men by Jonathan Freedland, writing as Sam Bourne, makes supersessionism central to the plot and even quotes this Wikipedia article.

Image:Jonathanfreedland. ... Sam Bourne is the nom de plume of the British journalist Jonathan Freedland intended to distinguish his work in fiction from his journalism. ... Look up plot in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Wikipedia is a multilingual, Web-based, free-content encyclopedia project. ...

See also

• Anglo-Israelism
• Christian Zionism
• Judaism and Christianity
• Mormonism and Judaism
• New Covenant

Anglo-Israelism (Sometimes called British-Israelism) is a complex set of theories that are not identical nor are they necessarily compatible with each other. ... for Christians who belong to Zionist denominations in southern Africa, see Zionist Churches Christian Zionism is a belief among some Christians that the return of the Jews to the Holy Land, and the establishment of the State of Israel in 1948, is in accordance with Biblical prophecy. ... Judaism and Christianity are two closely related Abrahamic religions that are in some ways parallel to each other and in other ways fundamentally divergent in theology and practice. ... This article on Mormonism and Judaism describes the views of Latter-day Saints, commonly known as Mormons, with respect to Jews and Judaism, and includes comparisons of the Mormon and Jewish faiths. ... Christians believe that Jesus is the mediator of the New Covenant (see Hebrews 8:6). ...

Notes

Charles Hodge Charles Hodge (1797-1878) was the principal of Princeton Theological Seminary between 1851 and 1878. ...

External links

• The Jewish Christian Relations center for religious dialogue
• The Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies
• Against Christian Zionism, restorationism and prononents of supersessionism
• International Christian Embassy Jerusalem (Dispensational)
• America-Israel Public Affairs Committee
• The Attacks of Replacement Theology