From Jerusalem to Rome: How the Church Became Detached From Its Jewish Roots
Christianity did not begin in Rome. It began in Jerusalem, among a Jewish people, with a Jewish Messiah, Jewish apostles, Jewish Scriptures, and a church that understood itself within the continuing story of Israel. Jesus was not separated from the covenantal world of Abraham, Moses, David, and the prophets. His first followers worshiped in the […]
If Israel Was Israel When God Judged Her, Why Is She No Longer Israel When God Promises to Restore Her?
A growing refrain in Christian teaching today is that ethnic Israel belongs to the past, while spiritual Israel belongs to the present. The Jews of the Old Covenant are often reduced to misrepresentations of Pharisees and failure. They disobeyed and therefore inherited judgment. The Church, we are told, succeeded where Israel failed and therefore inherited […]