Ge rge Lindbeck lamented that his most widely read work,The Nature of Doctrine, had often been read apart from his ecumenical focus. In this book, Shaun Brown seeks to provide a corrective to misreadings of Lindbeck's work by focusing upon his 'Israelology'-his emphasis upon the church and Israel as one elect people of God.

While many Christians after the Holocaust have noted the harm that Supersessionism&nbs ;brought to the Jews, Lindbeck focuses upon the harm that supersessionism has brought to the church. He argues the appropriation of Israelhood by the church can bring intra-Christian ecumenical benefits. This work comes in two stages. In the first stage, undertaken while he was an observer at the Second Vatican Council, Lindbeck discusses a parallel between Israel and the church. The second stage, which begins in the late 1980s and continues through the end of his career, Lindbeck describes the church as 'Israel-like' or 'as Israel.'

Shaun C. Brown is Associate Minister at First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Garland, TX and an adjunct professor at Johnson University and Hope International University.