ABSTRACT
In pointing to the legacies of John Calvin and Karl Barth, David Novak calls attention to two Christian theologians who refused to accept the church's traditional repudiation of Israel. In Christ, the community of Israel and church is elected as a witness to God's election and rejection in Christ. By making Israel a continuing and necessary part of the one chosen community, Barth stands over against the tradition of supersessionism and affirms the unconditional and eternal election of the Jews. The kind of "structural supersessionism" at work is subtle, and it belies O'Donovan's own best attempts to combat traditional supersessionistic readings of the Scriptures. Calvin proves unable to maintain the position as he presses on with his doctrine of election. Since he believes that individual is the true and final object of election, Calvin is forced to retreat, in sometimes inconsistent ways, from his powerful affirmations of Israel's chosenness and God's faithfulness.
