About this episode
“The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.” Theologian R. Kendall Soulen joins Drew Collins to discuss supersessionism, the name of God (tetragrammaton), the irrevocable covenant between God and the Jews, and the enduring significance of Judaism for Christian theology.Together they explore religious and ethnic heritage, cultural identity, community, covenant, interfaith dialogue, and the ongoing implications for Christian theology and practice.They also reflect on how the Holocaust forced Christians to confront theological assumptions, how Vatican II and subsequent church statements reshaped doctrine, and why the gifts and calling of God remain irrevocable. Soulen challenges traditional readings of Scripture that erase Israel, insisting instead on a post-supersessionist framework where Jews and Gentiles bear distinct but inseparable witness to God’s faithfulness.Image Credit: Marc Chagall, ”Moses with the Burning Bush”, 1966This episode was made possible in part by the generous support of the Tyndale House Foundation. Visit tyndale.foundation to learn more.Episode Highlights“The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable.”“Supersessionism is the Christian belief that the Jews are no longer God’s people.”“The Lord is God—those words preserve God’s identity and resist erasure.”“Israel sinned. They are still Israel. That identity is irrevocable.”“The gospel doesn’t erase the distinction between Jews and Gentiles; it reconfigures it.”About R. Kendall SoulenR. Kendall Soulen is Professor of Systematic Theology at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. A leading voice in post-supersessionist Christian theology, he has written extensively on the relationship between Christianity and Judaism, including The God of Israel and Christian Theology and Irrevocable: The Name of God and the Christian Bible.Helpful Links and ResourcesR. Kendall Soulen, Irrevocable: The Name of God and the Christian BibleR. Kendall Soulen, The God of Israel and Christian TheologyVatican II, Nostra Aetate — Vatican.vaMichael Wyschogrod, The Body of Faith: God in the People IsraelDrew Collins, The Unique and Universal ChristShow NotesR. Kendall Soulen’s formative encounters with Judaism at Yale and i
