New Sign up for MyNews Receive headline news, full articles and breaking news via the Web or wireless device. The comic strip BC had an explicitly Christian theme for Easter Sunday that drew criticism from Jews and many Christians. Mr. Hart said he was trying to honor the Jewish roots of his faith. And Christians across wide denominational divides hurried to distance themselves from that interpretation of the comic strip. Replacement theology is one name for a strain of Christianity that has been around since the earliest days of the church.
Academics also call it supersessionism.
At various times over the past 2,000 years, extreme versions have been used to justify violence against and hatred of Jews. One version claims that God has rejected Israel as his chosen people in favor of Christians, because of the sins of Israel and the Jews' refusal to recognize Jesus as the messiah. The church replaces or supersedes Israel in the eyes of God. Less extreme versions suggest that the religious validity of Judaism can be understood only as a precursor for that faith's fulfillment in the person of Jesus. Supporters of supersessionism find their proof texts in the New Testament and in writings of early church fathers.