Gerald McDermott on Learning Messiah
Since he endorsed from the start the publication of Learning Messiah, I was grateful to be able to personally meet in June (in Jerusalem) with Prof. Dr. Gerald R. McDermott, editor of The New Christian Zionism.
Prof. Gerald R. McDermott is the Anglican Chair of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School, Samford University (Birmingham, AL, USA). Besides many other academic activities he is now writing a systematic theology as history using Jonathan Edwards’s History of Redemption as skeleton.
He wrote again a few lines about the book Learning Messiah:
Learning Messiah is the first thoroughly Israel-centered systematic biblical theology by a gentile in this new century. Written by a Dutch pastor who has been mulling over the Israel-centeredness of the Bible for more than forty years, it will reward every reader with deeper insight into the biblical notion that Israel was—and always will be—the center of God’s creation. Strengthened by reflection on rabbinic thinking, Westerman shows how Israel is key to the future restoration of the nations.
One can read McDermott’s posts at The Northampton Seminar.
I would like to recommend the book The New Christian Zionism. It gives a well-written and thorough academic introduction to all questions related to God’s special love for and election of the Land Israel and its place in Christian theology and life.