American Milk and Honey: Antisemitism, the Promise of Deuteronomy, and the True Israel of God

by Douglas Wilson

The Jews are our prodigal older brother. When they come home, it will be glory for the world.

How should we think of them in the meantime?

Many mistaken Christians have set their hope for the future on a rebuilt Temple in Israel. Others justify their own envy with daydreams of Jewish cabals. But dispensational obsession on the one hand and antisemitic spite on the other aren’t the only options.

In this book, Douglas Wilson calls us to simple, biblical sanity, with clear thinking on Christian/Jewish relations, the Middle East, and the Holocaust, as well as a thorough Reformed theology of the Jews and the Church.

The key to the conversion of the Jews is Christendom. And if American Christians repent of their envy—including antisemitism—the key to Christendom is in their hands.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Cultural, Nonfiction, History, Audiobook, Israel

236 pages, Paperback

Published November 14, 2023

About the author

I write in order to make the little voices in my head go away. Thus far it hasn't worked.

Reviews

[Rick Davis · Rating 2 out of 5]

I will probably write a longer review later, but for now I'll share my basic thoughts.

First, a few bona fides to start:
- It's wrong to hate Jews, just as it's wrong to hate any particular ethnic group. Don't do that as a Christian.
- I don't believe that Jews are uniquely malevolent. I believe that many powerful Jews have done things that are terrible and detrimental to society, but I don't believe in some vast conspiracy.
- Insofar as Jews reject Jesus as the Messiah, they are enemies of the gospel (just like any other false religion that rejects Jesus)

All that being said, this book was a swing and a miss. It was all over the place, and the final chapter that was supposed to tie it all together didn't. Some scattered thoughts:

The Talmud, taken as a whole, is terrible. Yes, I'm glad the Pharisees understood the bodily resurrection and discerned the messianic prophesies about the seed of David. We could get those from good Old Testament exegesis as well. In other words "you do not, under any circumstances, gotta hand it to them".

I'm not persuaded by Wilson's view of the broken off brances in Romans 11 being a separate covenant tree with enduring promises. I'm postmillennial, so I believe the Jews will convert to Christ before the end, but I don't believe that they still have a unique and special place in prophecy different from other unbelieving people groups. I could spend more time on this, but the main point is that this is one of Wilson's major distinctives regarding this issue, and he doesn't spend the time or argumentation necessary to prove his position.

One of my problems with Wilson's project here and elsewhere regarding antisemitism is that it is too nebulous and vague to distinguish between those people who have a real, sinful, hatred for the Jews as Jews, and those who want to speak out against the aforementioned wickedness of a large number of Jewish people whose work has been destructive in society. The same methods and definitions that Doug uses could easily be taken by someone and used to paint both groups with the same charge of "antisemitism".

[Jake Litwin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Listened to the audio version.

Like another review has pointed out, there seems to be problems with not having a solid definition of Judaism especially when recognizing Old Covenant Judaism is not the same as modern Judaism today. How can Judaism today have any covenantal connection when recognizing all the promises of Old Covenant Israel have been fulfilled? The Covenant of Hagar paradigm is not convincing to me. Theopolis does a response to it here: https://theopolisinstitute.com/re-con...

Overall I still hold to the preterist view of Romans 11. This is not annihilation but transformation into the new Israel of God. The jealousy of the Jews was a first century reality (happened multiple times in Acts) of Old Covenant Israel. The jealously of Israel is not an application for modern Judaism today.

Looking forward to more fruitful discussions coming out on this important topic.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some decent parts, but overall I can't follow Wilson's claim that the Jews still exist as a people by covenant. (And no one can make the case that they exist as a genetic people.) I do not think Wilson proves his case. The Jews as a people, biblically defined, are no more. I hold to the view that Romans 11 was fulfilled in the first century. I address some of these things in a three-part series on my podcast, The Lancaster Patriot Podcast. (To be released soon.)

[Knox Merkle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very clear presentation of the soft supercessionist position, thoughtful, sane, and deeply rooted in Scripture. Lots of great lines as well.

[J. Michael · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps 2.5 stars. I hold Pastor Wilson in high regard but I don’t know that I stand entirely in agreement with how he defines antisemitism. If there’s disagreement with the definition of this term, much of the book becomes a struggle.
There were thought provoking bright spots nonetheless.

[Rocky Ramsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super helpful to hear the full shebang of the soft supersessionism position. It's comforting to know this is the historic position as well because it is very difficult for me to read Romans 11 in a preterist framework. Amazing thoughts on the "top dog" always wanted to argue their "top dogginess" to the world. It is pure pride and envy all throughout the ages. The only Dueteronomically blessed people are those that are grafted into the covenant tree of God. Christ has torn the curtain that divides the Jews from the gentiles and now he has made one man. We are all priests of God now, with Christ our great high priest. The Jews no longer hold the corner on the block for the priesthood. Thank you Pastor Doug for writing a timely book on a much needed topic, Antisemitism is a horrific sin that needs to be poked directly in the eye!

[Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nope, 2/5, it has aged like milk instead of honey.

[Kofi Opoku · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, the book presents many good arguments once it gets down to them. However, the discussion on envy in the opening pages lacked sufficient context and felt somewhat abrupt. While I agreed with much of the work, it's worth considering that some who reject the thesis do so not because they envy the Jews as high-performance people but rather out of a sincere attempt to understand what the New Testament, and especially Romans 11, teaches. That said, Doug gets many things right. He observes that because Jews are a high-performance people, both their virtues and vices tend to be more conspicuous compared to other social or ethnic groups. He also effectively dismantles the genetic argument (the idea that there are no Jewish people today in the biblical sense of the word) often employed by hard supersessionists, demonstrating that it fails to account for the fact that Jewish people choose to covenant themselves by custom and law. Which brings up the point about how nations are constituted. Is it by shared law and custom, or by genetics? But I digress.

Finally, I believe that the burden of proof rests on those who argue that Paul’s phrase "until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in" has already been fulfilled. For me, that is a key part of the argument.

[ValeReads Kyriosity · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very helpful!

[John Rimmer · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sober. Insightful. A helpful perspective on a lot of heated issues.

[Jesse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful explanation of how Christians should view the Jews from a Postmillennial perspective. This provides a helpful answer to dispensational premillennial brothers who wonder how we view the Jews and Israel. The quotes from the Puritans at the end is helpful to see this perspective on Romans 11 is a well held position in Reformed history.

[Austin Cox · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book isn’t for everyone. That being said, I don’t think it was written for everyone. From comments he has made elsewhere, it seems like Doug is worried about antisemitism cropping up in his denomination (CREC). I assume this book came out of Doug’s desire to take a pastoral fire extinguisher to the flame his own people are fanning.

If that was his aim in writing the book, it shows how great a strategist he really is. He could’ve written about “ethnic vainglory” as sin based on the image of God in man or on other grounds, but because he had his sights on his own ranks, he makes a specifically reformed and postmillennial argument against antisemitism (ha).

So, for that reason, it is not likely to garner a wide readership (whether Romans 11 should be taken preteristically is only going to be interesting to those who have heard of James Jordan, for example). For those in the CREC or like communities who happen to see a rise in antisemitism around them, the book might be worth reading. For those who—for some strange reason—feel like talking about the sinfulness of the Jews is an hourly necessity, this book is definitely worth reading. (It’s strange that we never seem to rage about the sinfulness of the Tanzanians).

Star deducted for his whacky covenant theology, which emerges here and there.

[Sam · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find Wilson’s idea of “soft supersessionism” compelling, but as a new concept to me I’m not terribly attached to it.
I thought he had good observations on antisemitism as well. The claim that antisemitic rhetoric arises from envy of the Jews is controversial, but I believe it holds water when you consider envy in a Girardian sort of way (which I’m sure Wilson does). Read Rene Girard if you don’t know what I mean. Envy is not just wishing you had what someone has, but more generally bitterness towards someone because of what they do have. As Girard explains, envy turns into rivalries that spread contagiously and boil up within a society. Rivals become a convenient scapegoat for society's problems. Unfortunately I’ve spent the two minutes necessary on right-wing social media to recognize the signs of this.

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

The glossary is worth the price of admission, as so much of this topic depends entirely on how one defines terms. Wilson advocates a "soft supersessionism" which means, at least in part, that the Church is the new Israel, but that the conversion of the Jews as a people will still play a key role in the fulfillment of salvific history. Wilson makes a strong case for it, both from the Bible and as a common position throughout Christian history and doctrine. Any hesitation on my part to fully embrace this view I will chalk up to not understanding what would constitute the "conversion of the Jews" in light of the diversity of Jewish peoples and their distribution throughout the world. Maybe Wilson said this, and if I missed it, that will be a good reason to re-listen to (or read) the book.

[Kyle Grindberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very helpful, especially the exegetical section arguing for soft supersessionism.

[Brice Jarvis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Some helpful aspects of Jewish and Christian relationships but I’m slightly less optimistic. I will quibble with his use of “disciple the nations” and his chapter on Jew vs Judean (linguistically naïve imo). However I do appreciate the critique of the phrase “Judeo-Christian,” so let’s just all agree to stop saying it. Thanks

[Tim Zornes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've put off reading this knowing Doug and I largely agree on the subject. Having read it now, I found it to be a delightful little examination of the relationship between Christians and Jews. As usual, Doug says things far more eloquently than I could dream of doing. This will be a particular recommendation I can make to my dispensational friends with no need to qualify or nuance...in true Doug Wilson fashion.

[Pamela Mogen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Christian pastor delves into the biblical relationship of Christians and Jews, the misnomer aspects of 'Judeo-Christian culture," and the absurd sinfulness of antisemitism.

[Jason Carter · Rating 2 out of 5]

There are parts of this book that are excellent. When Wilson is on, he's on. Several sections were very enlightening. And from the standpoint of volume, MOST of the book is very good. Wilson's treatment of the Deuteronomic blessings, American exceptionalism, and the Reformed understanding of the place of Israel in eschatological history fall into this category.

Wilson's strength has always been in translating biblical theology into language accessible to everyman.

The problem is that the PURPOSE of the book is to address modern American antisemitism, and I would give that part of the book one star. When you average the one star portion and the five star portions you should get three stars. But when the one star portion represents the primary purpose of the book, it must needs be weighted more heavily and it brings the whole thing down. When most of the apple pie ingredients are good, but the mustard powder is a bit off, it puts off the Yelpers.

Wilson takes a big hand over a small map and decrees that antisemitism is caused by envy. The Jews are a high performing people and low-performing people are envious of them and so they envy and hate. America has been blessed by a relative scarcity of antisemitism for much of our history because we've been a high-performing people not envious of other high-performing people. And the Europeans, who have been historically much more antisemitic, well they are either a historically low-performing people (ignore the cathedrals and the awesome architecture everywhere and the fact that America was founded by them...) or they're just haters.

This is a gross oversimplification of the issue. I noted in Wilson's "For Further Reading" no mention of Hilaire Belloc's The Jews, which is the best I've read on the subject. In the interwar period, Belloc noted a rise in antisemitism in Europe and sought--as a friend of the Jews--to document its complex causes (much more complex than simple envy...) and offer a prescription to prevent what he predicted would be a pogrom unlike the world had ever seen, well over a decade before the Holocaust.

Wilson offers none of this insight, so I'll provide it here. Since the days of the Roman empire:

1) The Jewish people have undergone a repeated pattern of expulsion, re-settlement, relatively peaceful co-existence, resentment, persecution/pogroms, and expulsion again.
2) Upon their settlement in a new country, they remain a distinct people but take the names of the hosts in such a way as to disguise themselves as just another member of the host nation.
3) Rather than being ultimately assimilated as would an Irishman or Italian living in a foreign land, for example, the Jew retains a distinct racial/cultural consciousness which makes the Jewish race always and everywhere a distinct nation within the borders of its host.
4) The Jew’s apparent natural propensity for certain skill sets (this is the one area Wilson sort-of deals with in calling them "high performance") coupled with his cultural bent towards certain activities leads him to ultimately ascend to high rank often within the domains of government, finance, media, the arts, and academia.
5) With no conspiratorial intent required, the aggregate behavior of this distinct Jewish minority in the domains mentioned previously leads him to have disproportionate influence over the soft means of power in any nation (diplomacy, finance, politics, etc.).
6) Because he remains a distinct people with a distinct set of interests, the divergence with the interests of the host nation grows and gradually becomes apparent.
7) Eventually, there is an ‘aha’ moment when the host nation masses awaken to the hitherto-unrecognized presence of a self-interested foreigner in their midst and the cycle of resentment, persecution, and expulsion repeats itself.

What is going on in America over the last few years has been a mass 'aha' moment. For years, people on the right have had a sense of being lied to by the secular media. This came to a head during the so-called pandemic, when the censorship became blatant, and the government was shown to be in bed with large corporations to push the accepted narrative. Out of this milieu arose the independent journalists who quickly found audiences eager for alternative narratives. Musk’s purchase of Twitter/X and his reinstatement of these dissenting voices opened the floodgates. On X, information is being shared outside the accepted channels and a whole bunch of aha-ing is going on.

And what we're going to see, I fear, is another outbreak of REAL antisemitism--not the lightweight variety DW is dealing with on his blog and on X, but the kind that results in kinetic violence.

Belloc also offered a recipe: light. Specifically around #2, above. Only by laying our cards on the table face up (on both sides) can we recognize that we are two distinct people with two distinct sets of interests, and that is the basis of fellowship and negotiation. Good fences make good neighbors.

It's all in Belloc, man. Skip this and read him.

[Sean Higgins · Rating 3 out of 5]

On my long list about Doug Wilson, near the top is thanks to God that Doug loves God's Word. He urges, rightly, Christians to have no problem passages. He stands, rightly, against compromising exegetes that want to be cool in the eyes of cool people, so-called academics and such. Wilson gets in trouble for this, takes heat for it, and does a little jig around the corner for the privilege of receiving reproaches.

He has taken some hits for this book, and for pointing out from Scripture that God chose Israel, made promises to Israel, and intends to grant a coming generation of Israel repentance and faith in Christ. This will not just be okay, it is necessary according to the New Covenant, and it will lead to greater riches for the world.

He includes an entire appendix of Reformed men from previous centuries making the same point. This is because many who identify as Reformed in our century reject any expected and specific revival among the Jews.

I've thought about what to say at this point in my review for a while. I love so much of what I've learned from Wilson, and pray for the fruitfulness of his bright light and joyful testimony. And also, his supercessionism is as surprising and inconsistent as it is wrong.

Supercessionism is the teaching that God is fulfilling His promises to Israel in the Church. From Wilson’s glossary, he defines:

> "Supersessionism is the belief that the Church is Israel now. All the promises of God are fulfilled in Christ, and only there (2 Cor. 1:20). This means that the promises given throughout the Old Testament are the present possession of Christians, not Jews."

Some call this replacement theology, though of course those who believe it reject that it's "replacement." Wilson makes a distinction between hard and soft supercessionism, and claims to be a soft supercessionist, meaning that Wilson expects *some* of the promises to Israel to come about, especially those about a great Jewish conversion to Christ in Romans 11.

He also says:

> "[Christians] have always considered ourselves to be in some sense the true heirs of the promises God made to His people. And this means that consistent Christians must always be supersessionists of some stripe."

But how is it *consistent* to say that God will fulfill *part* of the New Covenant? If God will give the house of Israel and the house of Judah new hearts and cleanse them from all their iniquities, why wouldn't God also cause their cities to be inhabited and the waste places rebuilt? It's the same verse (Ezekiel 36:33)! There are promises for the *nation* of Israel, not just for Jews in it. At least a hard supercessionist is all the way wrong, not walking down the covenant street wearing one pant leg.

The fact that God will use Gentiles to make the Jews jealous is right in the text, Romans 11, verse 11 and verse 14. Our jealousability is more than our home Bible studies, it is our receiving of the blessings of God -- Deuteronomic sort of blessings -- that provoke Israel to repentance and faith. I happen to think this is well-nicknamed as Kuyperianism, and as a anti-supercessionist Dispensationalist, I think Kuyperian Dispensationalism is the right juxtaposition.

So I'll recommend this book because it's good to irritate hard supercessionists. And maybe the whole process will provoke the soft kind to examine whether they are really reading, *as consistent Christians*, what God says about the “true Israel of God.”

[Caleb Harris · Rating 2 out of 5]

While this book had some helpful insights--I think particularly of the more factual elements, such as Wilson's overview of the Talmud and synopsis of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--my major disappointment and concern with the book is that Wilson fails (avoids?) defining the most central term in his argument: "Jew." Indeed, whereas he dutifully defines the term "antisemitism" in the preface (which he defines as the belief that the Jews as a people are inordinately vicious or maleficent), condemning this belief there and elsewhere as utterly inimical to the gospel and even disqualifying for ministry, he never offers a direct definition of the operative term in his definition of "antisemitism," which is, of course, "the Jews."

It's not until one of the appendices, tucked surreptitiously away at the very end of the book, that Wilson offers a succinct definition of "Jew," where he defines it as a person sharing an "ethic and cultural heritage" with other Jews, going back to the time of Abraham. However, I can't understand this definition but as contradictory with what he says in many other places in the book, that modern Judaism is a religion totally distinct from that of the OT, best considered as a warped heresy of OT Judaism, and that, in the grand scheme of things, the only meaningful distinction we're left with in the New Covenant is that between Christian and non-Christian, no longer Jew and Gentile--a view which he defends at length in an entire section entitled "Supersessionism." What sort of "cultural heritage" Talmudic Jews--let alone modern Jews, the vast majority of whom are secular and self-professed atheists--can, by this token, be said to share with the Jews of Abraham's time, I don't know.

While none of this should be taken to mean that I necessarily disagree with Wilson's and other Reformed Christians' reading of Romans 11, that the Jews--whatever Paul means by that word in the passage, and however that word applies to self-professed Jews post-AD 70 and today--still hold a special place in redemptive history and that their mass conversion is to be expected in the future, I don't feel that Wilson's treatment of this topic has equipped me to better or more clearly understand that promise, or to strive for its fulfillment in the meantime by avoiding particular animosity toward "the Jews" on the one hand and by pursuing particular affection toward them on the other, in the way that Wilson here prescribes. After all, if I don't know who "the Jews" are to begin with, how am I supposed to know whom this promise, and my corresponding duty as a Christian, apply to?

(Incidentally, while some might object that the same thing could be said of many nominal yet unfaithful Christians, I don't think that this analogy works: While baptized Christians, even unfaithful ones, have an objective tie to the New Covenant, thus meaningfully--even if hypocritically--granting them the title "Christian," by Wilson's own admission this isn't the case with Jews post-Christ and post-AD 70; rather, they have been superseded by the Church and can no longer hope for true covenant standing and access apart from entry into the Body of Christ. A circumcised Jew and a baptized Christian are, covenantally speaking, not the same thing, the state of the latter's heart before God notwithstanding.)

[Josh Anders · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was really helpful however it is more or less of an introduction to 5-6 key ideas, some of which I think are biblically spot on and others not as much, at least potentially.

Rather than delve into those i think leaving a review with a few quotes i found helpful would be better.

“Loving the Jews as God does… is not the same thing as approving of whatever the Jews might do, or agreeing with Zionism or agreeing with the present position of the administration of the Israeli government. That is not the point. The point is that a particular animus against the Jews is out, and to give way to it is to rebel against God’s gospel strategy”

“Mercy to the Gentiles has been God’s game plan for brining mercy to the Jews… and so what we are called to do is preach God’s mercy in Christ to all the nations with a view toward cultural transformation and to live it out in such a way that the Jews want to get themselves some of that. We need to be rebuilding Christendom, and doing so in a way that leaves the doors wide open for Jews.”

“We are called to provoke emulation (Rom 11:14); we are NOT called to be envious”

As I’ve been searching for a way to discern obvious Jewish negligence on the national stage, along with hate towards them from the right and the left, this last quote from Samuel Rutherford is a posture to emulate:

“I shall be glad to be a witness, to behold the kingdoms of the world become Christ’s. I could stay out of heaven many years to see the victorious triumphing Lord act that prophesied part of his soul-conquering love in taking into His kingdom the greater sister, that kirk of the Jews… to behold Him set up as an ensign and banner of love to the ends of the world.”

[Michael · Rating 3 out of 5]

Must Philosemitism be the *only* answer to Antisemitism?

This book was a hodgepodge in my estimation.

The wickedness that Wilson combats is much worse than the errors I think he makes in combatting it (Kinda like a person fending off a bear in the woods not using proper gun safety).

That said, Wilson falls into a couple of small errors trying to combat a really big one (antisemitism). I think Wilson wants to prove too much in some of his arguments. What’s more, it seems as though he makes *his* particular arguments *the standard* for combatting antisemitism (i.e. - if you don’t follow his logic, you might be on the slippery slope to antisemitism yourself).

That said, Wilson is always a fun read and there are some really good nuggets scattered throughout.

[Stephen Lay · Rating 3 out of 5]

My rating is mostly because of form and organisation. This book combines Wilson's thoughts on a number of discreet yet variously connected subjects. Also, my rating is influenced by some disagreement on one specific chapter.

One really useful thing I learned from this book was a better understanding of where the ancient Israelites fit into the story of redemption (they were not the only people God saved in the Old Covenant, they were the only priests). Anyway, Wilson's statements could be maliciously taken out of context to make him sound antisemitic or Zionist or both. In reality, he is neither.

This was a worthwhile read (and I learned more about the Talmud than I knew), but I wish it was slightly more organised.

[Joshua Bremerman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is well-written and hits on a lot of cultural and pastoral conversations. I do think, however, some of the exegesis was questionable (in particular, the covenant with Hagar idea, as well as the flattening of Romans 11 basically to Dispensationalism vs Postmillennialism). His handling of envy, the Deuteronomic blessings, and American exceptionalism, however, all hold a lot of water. I think this book is great for conversations with folks going "Woke Right" related to Jews, and although I would not hold to either preterism or Doug's view of Romans 11 (opting instead for a gradual fulfillment of the "all Israel" in the general fulfillment of the Great Commission), I do find this to be an incredibly helpful book.

[Nate Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not bad. There’s a frequent complaint among persons I know that this book doesn’t sufficiently provide guidelines to who is, and who is not, a Jew to admit of calling anything antisemitism.

The accusation is just — Pr. Wilson is no Aquinas — but as someone who has met actual anti-semites, it doesn’t bother me. These things are only obscure if you remove the questions of time and circumstance, or, in other words, if you pretend that real life doesn’t exist. Sin will out. It has a way of doing that. This book is vague. It is vague because it is addressing a hard question in a way that can get you through a tussle with a Kinist. Bless the author for that.

[Adina Meyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always enjoy a good Douglas Wilson book

I am a progressive feminist Christian pastor and I love reading Wilson. He’s a snappy writer with great biblical knowledge. I don’t agree with much of what he says but his worldview is crystal clear. I am part Jewish and so was very interested in what he would have to say about Antisemitism.

[Seth Crow · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I need to do more research on the theology behind soft supercessionism, I found Wilson’s main thrust to be immensely helpful on a personal and pastoral level.

Don’t complain. Don’t be envious. Be content with faithfulness in a little. God is sovereign over everything. God will bless faithfulness over time.

[Rebecca Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Audiobook). Listened because I felt like I needed a better grasp of what is going on with the Israel/Iran conflict right now. This book was helpful in shedding light on the roots of the issue, though much was still over my head! Chapters 8 and 10 were the most helpful and would be worth a re-listen!

[Natali · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ll admit, much of this went over my head. Wilson dives deep into biblical interpretation, and I found myself lost in the weeds more than once. What I did appreciate was his take on the relationship between Christians and Judaism, though I can’t fully engage with it given how much of the book escaped me.