Divine Suffering and Covenantal Belonging

Post-supersessionist theologies identify soteriology as a primary site for the articulation of supersessionist Christian theology. A common point of departure for supersessionism is reading God’s covenant with Israel as meaningful only in so far as it prepares for the saving activity of Jesus Christ centered in his atoning death. As such, any attempt to develop a non-supersessionist Christian theology requires a re-articulation of soteriological narratives and claims that retain the integrity of both Israel’s covenant and Christ’s death. This chapter offers a comparative reading of Abraham Joshua Heschel and Jürgen Moltmannn on divine suffering to argue that understanding covenantal belonging is necessary for articulating a non-supersessionist Christian theology of the atonement.