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January 3, 2019

A Christian Contemplates the Meaning of Jewish Chosenness for Non-Jews

Particularism, universalism, and the circumcision of Jesus.

For many Christians, January 1 is the eighth day of Christmas and thus also a commemoration of Jesus’ circumcision—that is, of the rite that confirmed his membership in the Jewish people. The occasion prompts Walter Russell Mead to reflect on the meaning for Christians of the Jews’ biblical status as the chosen people, and to ask not “Why did God choose the Jews?” but “Why did God wish there to be a chosen people at all?” In turn, this question leads him to the age-old tension between the universal and the particular:

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January 3, 2019

  1. Britain Shouldn’t Drop Its Alliance with Saudi Arabia

    But it also shouldn’t stop pushing behind the scenes for reforms.

  2. When the Evidence Fails, the “New York Times” Libels Israel by Insinuation

    Even ten journalists can’t find a nonexistent war crime.

  3. A New Film Tells the Story of the Heroic Poet-Turned-Guerrilla Avraham Sutzkever

    Black Honey.

  4. A Christian Contemplates the Meaning of Jewish Chosenness for Non-Jews

    Particularism, universalism, and the circumcision of Jesus.

  5. The Jewish Farming Community of Beersheba, Kansas

    It didn’t go as planned, but it did help new immigrants.