The Old Testament and the Significance of Jesus: Embracing Change--Maintaining Christian Identity: The Emerging Center in Biblical Scholarship

A perennial question throughout the history of the Christian faith has centered on the character of the Old Testament and its relationship to Jesus Christ. It is in this area that Christians and Jews have parted ways, creating a deep and enduring chasm between the two faith communities. With this new volume, Fredrick Holmgren aids in closing this hurtful breach by engaging with views on both sides of this important conversation. Holmgren dialogues with Christians from every point on the theological spectrum, urging the church to a new respect for the Jewish Bible, the enduring role of the Old Testament as "Christian scripture," and the valuable contributions of Judaism to the Christian faith. Warning the church against either caricaturing the Old Testament and Judaism or romanticizing Christianity, Holmgren sensitively shows that the New Testament proclamation of newness in Christ carries forward the witness of the Old Testament without making obsolete its Jewish interpretation.

Fredrick Holmgren (1926–2023) was a professor of biblical literature at North Park Theological Seminary in Chicago, where he taught for thirty-six years. During his career, he served as the North American editor of the International Theological Commentary, a twenty-seven volume series on the Old Testament.