Church and Israel after Christendom: The Politics of Election [Paperback]

Scott Bader-Saye (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 31, 2005

Two seismic events mark the twentieth century as one of crisis for the Church. The first is the demise of the ideal of Christendom, which held that the Church has been and should be the spiritual sponsor of Western Civilization. The second is the Holocaust, the horrors of which have prompted both the Roman Catholic and Protestant churches to repudiate the teachings and attitudes undergirding their dark history of Jewish persecution. The cumulative effect of these two events is that Christians have been called rethink their own doctrines and practices, especially with regard to the Church’s prior conviction that it had replaced Israel in God’s plan.In his pathbreaking new work, Church and Israel after Christendom, Scott Bader-Saye contends that a renewed understanding of Israel might provide resources to envision a faithful post-Christendom church. Unlike theologians such as John Milbank and Stanley Hauerwas, who have pointed to the Greek polis as a model for renewing ecclesiology, the author suggests that it is not to Aristotle but to Abraham that the Church should look in order to articulate and incarnate a faithful alternative to the voluntarism and violence of modernity. The doctrine of election is the linchpin linking a renewed understanding of Israel with a renewed vision of the post-Christendom church. By recovering a doctrine of election that is both non-supersessionist and fully trinitarian, Christians may recover their political calling to embody a way of life that will bring renewed meaning to the Church and to Christians’ participation in the world.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Scott Bader-Saye received his M.Div from the Yale Divinity School and his Ph.D from Duke University. He is currently assistant professor of theology and religious studies at the University of Scranton in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 204 pages
• Publisher: Wipf and Stock Publishers (January 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1597520780
• ISBN-13: 978-1597520782
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,598,428 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Scott Bader-Saye was born in Atlanta, GA and received degrees from Davidson College (A.B.), Yale Divinity School (M.Div.) and Duke University (Ph.D.). He taught for twelve years in the Theology/Religious Studies Department at the University of Scranton before taking a position in 2009 as Professor of Christian Ethics and Moral Theology at Seminary of the Southwest, an Episcopal Seminary in Austin, TX. His academic interests include theology and culture, social ethics, political theology, emerging church, and Jewish-Christian dialogue. His publications include Following Jesus in a Culture of Fear, Church and Israel After Christendom: The Politics of Election, contributions to The Blackwell Companion to Christian Ethics and The Cambridge Companion to the Gospels, as well as articles in journals such as The Journal of the Society of Christian Ethics, Modern Theology, Studies in Christian Ethics, Pro Ecclesia, Cross Currents, and Christian Century.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A stimulating piece of integrative theological thinking, May 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Church And Israel After Christendom: The Politics Of Election (Radical Traditions) (Hardcover)

Scott Bader-Saye's work contends that the church, in the wake of the Holocaust and the demise of Christendom, has the opportunity to recover its identity as a people grafted into Israel, dependent upon Israel's covenant election. Rather than merely arguing against supersessionism, Bader-Saye develops a fascinating account of the political consequences of this new vision. He argues that only a recovery of the church's covenantal relation to Israel can provide the resources to resist modernity's politics of voluntarism and violence. This is a stimulating piece of integrative theological thinking, linking theology, ethics, biblical studies, and cultural analysis to create a fresh paradigm for understanding our identities as Jews and Christians. Since the twentienth century has tragically proved the lethal dangers of the old paradigm, the need for such fresh reflection is urgent. This book-with its incisive critique of MacIntyre, Milbank, and Hauerwas-is sure to provoke intense and constructive discussion in the theological world.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A noteworthy theological debut, June 1, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Church And Israel After Christendom: The Politics Of Election (Radical Traditions) (Hardcover)

Scott Bader-Saye is one of a very select group of younger Christian theologians who are engaging Jewish theology in an unprecedented, positive, way, and who are up to the great challenge this project presents. His book is a feast of empathy, learning, and critical theological reflection, conducted with extraordinary intelligence. It will no doubt contribute greatly both to inter-Christian discourse and Jewish-Christian discourse. It is a noteworthy theological debut.

1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exorbitant Price, July 21, 2000

By 

James M. Hutchens (Great Falls, Virginia USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Church And Israel After Christendom: The Politics Of Election (Radical Traditions) (Hardcover)

At 196 pages this price is outrageous. Why is this priced to high?