While many Christian theology systems reflect the view that at least some Mosaic laws have been set aside under the New Covenant, there are some theology systems that view the entire Mosaic or Old Covenant as abrogated in that all of the Mosaic laws are set aside for the Law of Christ. Other theologians don't subscribe to this view, believing the law and the prophets form the basis of Christian living, and are therefore not abrogated; rather, they can only be understood in their proper context subsequent to the advent of the Messiah.
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New Covenant Theology is a Christian theological system that shares similarities and yet is distinct from dispensationalism and Covenant Theology.[1] New Covenant Theology sees all Old Covenant laws as "cancelled"[2] or "abrogated"[3] in favor of the Law of Christ or the New Testament. Some new covenant theologians also believe some Old Covenant laws were renewed under the New Covenant.
As a theological system, Dispensationalism is rooted in the writings of John Nelson Darby (1800–1882) and the Brethren Movement, but it has never been formally defined and incorporates several variants. Major dispensational views divide history into some seven dispensations or ages:[4]
Traditional dispensationalists believe only the New Testament applies to the church of today. A natural misunderstanding of Dispensationalism sees the covenant of Sinai (dispensation #5) to have been replaced by the gospel (dispensation #6), but at least some dispensationalists believe that, although the time from Jesus' resurrection until his return (or the advent of the Millennium) is dominated by the proclamation of the gospel, the Sinai covenant is neither terminated nor replaced, rather it is "quiescent" awaiting a fulfillment at the Millennium. This time of Jewish restoration has an especially prominent place within Dispensationalism.
Wayne G. Strickland, professor of theology at the Multnomah School of the Bible, claims that his Dispensationalist view is that "the age of the church has rendered the law inoperative"[5].
The relationship between Paul of Tarsus and Judaism continues to be the subject of research, as it is thought that Paul played an important role in the relationship between Christianity and Judaism as a whole. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church claims that Paul's influence on Christian thinking is more significant than any other New Testament author.[6] Some scholars see Paul as completely in line with 1st-century Judaism (a "Pharisee" and student of Gamaliel), some as opposed to 1st-century Judaism, and still others as somewhere in between these two extremes, for example opposed to "Ritual Laws" such as circumcision but in full agreement on "Divine Law".