The Old Testament and the Church after Christendom

The situation of today's "post-Constantinian" church invites new approaches to biblical theology, particularly with regard to the OT and its political witness. John Howard Yoder's "Jeremianic turn" provides a compelling model for an "exilic" hermeneutic, but it requires reframing as a canonical rather than history-of-religions proposal. Also needed is more appreciative engagement with the OT's Mosaic and Davidic traditions, which remain foundational for any biblically based political theology. The church "after Christendom" will not only be "landless" but "placed," not only tradition-observant but eschatologically oriented, not only a NT community but part heir to the OT's vision of a people of God.