Replacement theology. Why Supersession is so wrong with author Gabe Gordon

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I'm so happy to welcome my Jewish Christian friend Gabe Gordon back to the podcast. Last year he spoke to my congregation about his book The Fundamentals of a Recovering Fundamentalist and we did a podcast episode. Supersessionism and the misuse of the Hebrew Bible by Christians was a major theme which Gabe has explored in greater detail. I have also spoken about Replacement Theology and Supersessionism in previous episodes, most notably "The Harm of Replacement Theology, Hebrews 8:6-13" in Season 1, Episode 56, from August 2, 2025. Since then, I dove into Romans 9-11 and discovered how much supersessionism has affected our interpretations of Paul. In this episode, I speak with Gabe about the role of supersessionism in supporting colonialism and the concept of Post-Colonial Traditionalism. We explore Acts 15 and the Jerusalem Council and how Galatians was affected by it. Then we dive into Gabe's ideas about how we can mend the Nicene Creed to remove its supersessionism. Then we touch on the Gospel of John and its antisemitic misuse. 

Walter Brueggemann, the great Old Testament scholar I have been reading so much for sermons on Jeremiah, writes, "Thus we arrive at a profound tension between the OT text and the NT quotation, a tension reflective of a long history of Jewish-Christian competitive acrimony. The matter is not easily adjudicated, because the supersessionist (remember that word)case is given scriptural warrant in the Book of Hebrews. At best, Christians come derivatively and belatedly to share the promised newness [of the covenant]."

Goldingay says that the new covenant is established by God's action of forgiveness and renewal as we see in Jeremiah. And the promises made to Israel in the Old Testament, including the new covenant, are not nullified or replaced by the New Testament but are fulfilled in a way that includes both Jews and Gentiles. Rather that replacement, it is progress that he is talking about. Goldingay sees Jeremiah 31:33 as a promise of a new covenant that deepens and expands the relationship between God and his people, without negating the covenant God made with Israel. Here is a theological traditionalist and conservative who recognizes the long sweep of God's purpose in progress. It is very refreshing to see. 

Why dispensationalism is highly supersessionist. 

Getting to Romans 11 is a time for reflection, because it is a capstone of a section of the book that is largely ignored. She said that we ignore chapters 9-11 at our peril. She warns in her commentary that "Skipping over chapters 9-11 could well undermine the letter as a whole." I asked her why she said that and her answer was very interesting. Whenever talking to a scholar who has spent a lifetime in a book of the Bible, it took a while for her comments to unfold and then it took a while for me to understand the impact of what she said.