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This book review examines Paul van Buren's theological work "Discerning the Way: A Theological Re-Encounter with Judaism," which represents a significant departure from his earlier "Death of God" theology of the 1960s. Van Buren, Professor of Religious Studies at Temple University, presents a Christian theology that uses the relationship with the Jewish people as its central organizing principle. The review analyzes van Buren's rejection of traditional Christian "displacement theology," which claimed that the Church had replaced Israel as God's chosen people. Instead, he proposes that Christians are "gentiles who worship the God of Israel" through their relationship with Jesus, creating a non-reversible theological statement that affirms Judaism's integrity as a direct relationship with God. Van Buren's methodology involves reinterpreting first-century Christian-Jewish separation while addressing major Jewish events of the twentieth century, particularly the Holocaust and the establishment of Israel. His theological framework draws upon Pauline imagery of gentile Christians as wild olive branches grafted onto the tree of Israel, suggesting a codicil to God's covenant rather than replacement. The review concludes that while this represents a Christian theological position that only Christians can ultimately evaluate, van Buren's interpretation offers a foundation for meaningful Jewish-Christian dialogue by rejecting supersessionist theology and affirming Jewish self-understanding as theologically valid.

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Published 1982
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