Chosen people: Encyclopedia II - Chosen people - Christianity

Chosen people - Christianity

Supersessionism is the belief of many Christians that Christians have replaced Israel as God's Chosen people. In this view, the Jews' chosenness found its ultimate fulfillment through the message of Jesus; Jews who remain non-Christian are no longer considered to be chosen, since they reject Jesus as the Messiah and son of God. Christians who ascribe to supersessionsism, cite the Bible verse John 14:6, attributed to Jesus: "I am the way, the truth, and the life, No one comes to the Father except through Me" as evidence that only Christians can attain heaven.

Other Christians reject supersessionism and believe that members of other religions can also reach heaven. They cite verses such as Romans 2:6-11, "For God .. will render to each person according to his deeds: to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life; but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation. There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek, but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For there is no partiality with God."

Chosen people - Roman Catholicism

Roman Catholicism had traditionally taught that all non-Christians would not be saved. Today many within the Roman Catholic Church teach that salvation is not ruled out for those who have not had the Gospel proclaimed to them, nor the possibility of asking to be baptized.

Chosen people - Latter Day Saints

In Mormonism, the Latter Day Saints see themselves as a chosen people. In contrast to supersessionism, Latter Day Saints do not dispute the "chosen" status of the Jewish people. Mormon doctrine teaches the Mormons are "The kin blood of the Jews." Indeed, Latter Day Saints view themselves as chosen because they are Israelites, in one of two ways: (1) some American, European, Asian and African Latter Day Saints claim(a) literally to have Israelite blood, usually from the lost tribe of Ephraim; (2) others claim that when they accept Mormonism, they become an adopted Israelite.

(a) DNA test results recently discovered groups of Israelite decendants located in both Asia and Africa. These groups have been granted the legal right to immigrate to Israel.

See Mormonism and Judaism.

Chosen people - Christian Identity groups

Christian Identity groups, based on a fusion of Nazi ideology, white supremacy, and fundamentalist Christianity, have developed a theology which holds that God hates the Jews, and that only white Christians are God's chosen people. These groups are rejected as non-Christian by the great majority of mainstream Christian churches.

As an example, The Covenant, the Sword, and the Arm of the Lord is a Christian Identity movment which preaches that "Jews of today are not God's chosen people, but are in fact an anti-Christ race, whose purpose is to destroy God's people and Christianity through its Talmudic teaching, forced inter-racial mixings, and perversions."

Chosen people - The Unification Church Moonies

Reverend Moon teaches that Korea is the chosen nation, selected to serve a divine mission. Korea, Moon says, was "chosen by God to be the birthplace of the leading figure of the age",[1] and to be the birthplace of "Heavenly Tradition", ushering in God's kingdom. However, Moonie teaching seems to assert that Korea was meant to be the "servant of the world", rather than a superior country, in a similar manner to the attitude of most religious Jews.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Christianity", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki