Israël: grens en ontgrenzing. De betekenis van ‘Israël’ bij de patres

Samenvatting

Since World War II Christian theology has been challenged to a renewed reflection on
Israel. This article argues that four different Church fathers provide a meaningful sensitivity towards this goal, and concludes that although the early Church's term verus
Israel is not univocal, its various levels of meaning include the thesis that the biblical
understanding of Israel also is limited as well as unlimited. Despite his ordo temporum,
the figurate exegesis of Tertullian depends strictly on the literal meaning of the Law.
Eusebius understands the Jews to be the only ancestors of the Church; Origen understands Israel to refer to the salvation of every soul and all mankind; and, Augustine that
Israel itself is the prophetic annuntiatio of Gods judgment of all. The article ends by
asking: Can the Church believe without Israel as her own true skandalon?