Supersessionism, and the Reaction to It

Children helped to collect the offering

Today's New Testament reading was from Paul's second letter to the Corinthians (2 Cor:3):

Since, then, we have such a hope, we act with great boldness, not like Moses, who put a veil over his face to keep the people of Israel from gazing at the end of the glory that was being set aside. But their minds were hardened. Indeed, to this very day, when they hear the reading of the old covenant, that same veil is still there, since only in Christ is it set aside. Indeed, to this very day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their minds; but when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed

(Note: the referenced "veil" is the one Moses wears in Exodus 34:29 when he speaks to the Israelites, who were "afraid to come near him" because his face shone brightly after speaking with God.)

The 2 Corinthians passage is another reference to the Israelites' hardened hearts against God and Jesus in the Old and New Testaments, respectively.

However, Christians throughout history have gone further, saying that the refusal of the Jews to accept Jesus as Messiah means that the Jews are no longer God's Chosen people. This belief is one of the tenets of supersessionism: [bold added]

Supersessionism is the traditional Christian belief that Christianity is the fulfillment of Biblical Judaism, and therefore that Jews who deny that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah fall short of their calling as God's Chosen people.

Supersessionism, in its more radical form, maintains that the Jews are no longer considered to be God's Chosen people in any sense. This understanding is generally termed "replacement theology."

The traditional form of supersessionism does not theorize a replacement; instead it argues that Israel has been superseded only in the sense that the Church has been entrusted with the fulfillment of the promises of which Jewish Israel is the trustee...

In recent times, the doctrine of supersessionism has been blamed for mistreatment of the Jews in the past. Some liberal Protestant groups have therefore formally renounced supersessionism, affirming that Jews and other non-Christians have a valid way to find God within their own faith, which breaks from historic Protestant teaching.

Without elaboration, the lady minister introduced supersessionism to the congregation and pronounced it wrong.

The coming of Jesus wasn’t meant to nullify the Jewish traditions of that time, and certainly not in our time to imply that Judaism is somehow incomplete without faith in Jesus. That understanding can lead to something called supersessionism, or the idea that Christianity is somehow superior and supersedes Judaism.

I wish that she had not dismissed supersessionism so quickly. We are Christians presumably because we believe that our understanding of God, man, and the universe is better explained by our faith than by others. If we didn't believe that--let's not use the trigger word "superior," which smacks of abhorrent colonialism--then why are we in the pews? Why recite the Creed or repent or be baptized?

For over a decade I have believed our church leadership takes positions nearly indistinguishable from the far left wing of the Democratic Party. More fundamental than any specific policy position on Palestine, inequality, racism, etc., I think now that the rot started with the postmodern belief that there is no objective truth, i.e., that my truth, your truth, and the truth of the guy sitting under the tree are all equally valid. The only reality is power, whereby one group's truth is forced upon others.

A Christianity that celebrates the Humble Servant who lays down His life for others has no place in the power- and "social justice"-focused Episcopal Church, and that is one of the reasons the church is dying.