Another Reformation: Postliberal Christianity and the Jews
"Several Jewish thinkers have applauded the recent efforts of Christian theologians to overcome supersessionism--the notion that the Christian church has replaced the Jewish people in God's covenant with Israel as the people of God--without abandoning their own Christian theology. Indeed, the efforts of these Christian thinkers have contributed to the deepening of their theology. Peter Ochs is one of the most prominent of these Jewish thinkers, and inAnother Reformationhe articulates his applause with unprecedented theological insight and philosophical perspicacity."--David Novak, University of Toronto"Anyone wishing to discern the contours of a properly postliberal theological ethos in George Lindbeck, Robert Jenson, Stanley Hauerwas, John Howard Yoder, Dan Hardy, David Ford, or John Milbank could not find a more astute guide than Peter Ochs, whose exposition is as penetrating as his critique is incisive. Deftly employing the philosophical tools of Charles Sanders Peirce, Ochs's focus is the bugbear of 'supersession,' yet his clear goal is a mode of exposition and analysis freed from easy polarities. A meticulous reading delineates the contributions each author makes to an inclusive Jewish-Christian theology, and in so doing reveals what renders these thoughts properly Christian."--David Burrell, CSC, Uganda Martyrs University"Discerning a close correlation between postliberal Christian theology and nonsupersessionism, Ochs, a Jewish theologian, gratefully receives the gifts this strand of Christian theology has to offer. But then he offers a startling gift in return. Moving qualitatively beyond mere 'dialogue' with Christian theologians, Ochs enters deeply, sympathetically, and critically into the heart of postliberal Christian theology and profoundly assists Christian theology in its work of building up the body of Christ. Are we not astounded by that? One thing now becomes utterly clear: Christian theology, if it truly seeks and prays for 'another reformation' by which divisions among the churches and divisions among Jews and Christians are repaired, can no longer do without such gifts as this--and without giving them in return."--Douglas Harink, The King's University College