Aquinas on Israel and the Church

Theologians have long debated the significance of the Jewish religion for the Christian Church. Some scholars see Thomas Aquinas as the leading advocate of the belief that Israel has been superceded by the Church, while others hold that Aquinas avoids supersessionism altogether. The discussion has, however, not always analysed the terminology, nor has it taken into account some of Aquinas's commentaries on Paul's letters, his writings most relevant to the subject. Drawing upon the Pauline commentaries, Matthew Tapie shows that while Aquinas's most commonly articulated view is that the passion of Christ made Jewish worship and the Mosaic law obsolete, Aquinas also advanced views that set this into question, in ways that support Christian teachings affirming the value of post-biblical Judaism. In doing so, he provides both a rich and timely reminder of the ambiguities in Aquinas's thought and makes an important contribution to the literature of supersessionism.

"This work is a positive contribution to an understanding of a very significant phase in the evolution of this relationship [Jewish-Christian relations] as well as recalling an influential mode of scriptural interpretation within theology." -Anthony O'Leary, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Volume 38.5, August 2016 "The study of Aquinas's theology is carried out by the author with great care and honesty, benefiting from nuance provided by the inclusion of the context surrounding each epistle. The work is characterised by lucidity and balance." -J. Radermakers s.j., Nouvelle revue théologique, 138/2, 2016 "...the process of close reading and the conceptual definition of supersessionism undertaken by Tapie make this an important book." -Gavin D'Costa, Theology, Vol. 119 No. 4, July/August 2016 "Advanced masters and docteral students conversant with the theology of Thomas Aquinas and the present question of Jewish-Christian relations would benefit the best from this study." -J. David Moser, Theological Book Review, Vol. 27 No.1, 2016 "Aquinas on Israel and the Church provides an excellent and thorough analysis of Aquinas' theology.. Matthew Tapie brings a great deal of clarity to the discussion on Aquinas' views.. [T]apie's work is well worth reading for anyone concerned with Christian-Jewish relations or the theology Thomas Aquinas." -Ben Thompson, Reviews in Religion and Theology, Volume 25, Issue 1, January 2018

Matthew A. Tapie is Visiting Assistant Professor of Theology at The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC.