New Convenant theology or Supersessionism replacement theory

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What you’re describing is usually called New Covenant theology, or more broadly Christocentric interpretation of Scripture: the idea that Christians read the Old Testament through Christ, because Christ fulfills the Law, inaugurates the New Covenant, and defines the Christian life through the gospel and apostolic teaching.

It is not usually the idea that Christians “do not look at the Old Testament.” A more accurate version is:

Christians still regard the Old Testament as Scripture, but they do not believe Christians are bound to the Mosaic covenant in the same way ancient Israel was. They interpret the Old Testament through Jesus, the New Covenant, and the teaching of the apostles.

The specific issue: Acts 15 and circumcision

The “Book of Axe” you mean is the Book of Acts, specifically Acts 15, known as the Jerusalem Council.

The controversy was this: some Jewish Christians argued that Gentile converts had to be circumcised and keep the Law of Moses to be saved. Acts 15:1 frames the dispute directly: “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” Acts 15:5 adds that some believers from the Pharisee party said Gentiles “must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.” Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+15&version=NKJV

The apostles reject that requirement. Peter argues that God accepted Gentiles by faith, giving them the Holy Spirit, without circumcision. James then gives a limited set of instructions for Gentile Christians, but does not require circumcision or full Torah observance. Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+15&version=NKJV

So the three criteria you’re thinking of are probably not “three criteria for who is a Christian” in a full doctrinal sense. Acts 15 gives minimum requirements for Gentile fellowship in the early church, especially to avoid idolatry and sexual immorality, and to preserve table fellowship between Jewish and Gentile believers.

The final instructions in Acts 15 are that Gentiles should abstain from:

food polluted by idols
sexual immorality
meat from strangled animals
blood

Technically, that is four items in Acts 15:20 and Acts 15:29, though some traditions group them differently. Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+15&version=NKJV

Why this is not seen as a contradiction

The Christian argument is that circumcision was commanded under the Abrahamic/Mosaic covenant, but Gentile Christians enter God’s people through Christ and the New Covenant, not by becoming Torah-observant Jews.

This is where continuity and discontinuity matter.

Continuity

Christianity says the Old Testament is still part of God’s revelation. Jesus, Israel, covenant, sacrifice, temple, priesthood, prophecy, sin, judgment, and redemption all come from the Old Testament world.

Jesus himself says:

“I have not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”

Matthew 5:17 source: https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Matthew%205%3A17

So Christianity does not say, “The Old Testament was false.” It says, “The Old Testament was preparatory and reaches its goal in Christ.”

Discontinuity

At the same time, Christianity says the coming of Christ changes the covenantal arrangement. Christians are not under the Mosaic Law as Israel was.

Hebrews 8:13 says that by speaking of a “new covenant,” God has made the first covenant obsolete. Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/verse/en/Hebrews%208%3A13

Paul makes this especially explicit in Galatians. His argument is that Gentile Christians do not need circumcision because justification comes through faith in Christ, not through “works of the law.” In Galatians 5:6, Paul says that in Christ, “neither circumcision nor uncircumcision” is decisive, but “faith working through love.” Source: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians%205%3A1-6&version=ESV

The theological name for this idea

There are a few overlapping labels, depending on the tradition.

1. New Covenant theology

This is the most direct label for what you described. It emphasizes that Christians live under the New Covenant inaugurated by Christ, not under the Mosaic covenant as a legal code.

Core idea:

The Mosaic Law was fulfilled in Christ. Christians obey God through Christ, the Spirit, and apostolic teaching, not by taking on the whole Torah.

Important biblical sources:

Jeremiah 31:31–34 — promise of a New Covenant
Luke 22:20 — Jesus: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood”
Acts 15 — Gentiles not required to be circumcised
Romans 6–8 — believers are not under the law but under grace
Galatians — circumcision not required for Gentiles
Hebrews 8–10 — Christ as mediator of a better covenant

2. Fulfillment theology

This is the idea that Christ fulfills the Law, Prophets, temple, priesthood, sacrifices, and promises of Israel.

It does not mean “Jesus cancels the Old Testament.” It means the Old Testament reaches its intended completion in him.

Examples:

The sacrificial system points to Christ’s sacrifice.
The priesthood points to Christ as high priest.
The temple points to Christ as God’s presence with humanity.
Circumcision is replaced or surpassed by inward renewal, faith, baptism, and the Spirit, depending on the tradition.

This is very strong in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican, Reformed, Lutheran, and many evangelical traditions, though they explain it differently.

3. Christocentric hermeneutics

This means reading Scripture with Christ as the interpretive center.

The Old Testament is not discarded. It is read as pointing toward Christ.

A simple version:

The Old Testament is the promise; the New Testament is the fulfillment.

4. Supersessionism / replacement theology

This is a more controversial label. It refers to the claim that the Church in some sense supersedes or fulfills Israel as the covenant people of God.

Some Christians accept a softer form: the Church is the continuation and expansion of Israel in Christ.

Others reject the term because it can imply that God simply discarded the Jewish people. After the Holocaust especially, many theologians became more careful with this language.

So your idea overlaps with supersessionism, but it is better described as fulfillment theology or New Covenant theology unless the claim is specifically “the Church replaces Israel.”

What ideology within Christianity is this?

It is not one narrow denomination. It is close to mainstream historic Christianity, but different traditions define the Old Testament’s continuing authority differently.

Catholic and Orthodox view

Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy generally say the Old Testament remains Scripture, but its ceremonial and civil laws are fulfilled in Christ. Christians are bound by the moral law, understood through Christ, the apostles, the Church, and sacred tradition.

They strongly emphasize continuity: Christianity is the fulfillment of Israel, not a new religion disconnected from Israel.

Protestant view

Most Protestants also hold that Christians are not bound by circumcision, temple sacrifices, kosher laws, or Israel’s civil law.

Many Protestants divide Old Testament law into:

Moral law — still binding, e.g. murder, theft, adultery
Ceremonial law — fulfilled in Christ, e.g. sacrifices, circumcision, purity laws
Civil/judicial law — applied to ancient Israel as a nation

This threefold division is especially associated with Reformed theology, though not all Christians use the categories the same way.

Lutheran view

Lutherans strongly emphasize the distinction between Law and Gospel. The Law reveals sin and God’s will; the Gospel reveals salvation through Christ. Christians are not justified by law-keeping, including circumcision.

Dispensationalist view

Dispensationalists emphasize different divine administrations across biblical history. They strongly distinguish Israel and the Church. They agree Gentile Christians are not under the Mosaic Law, but they are less likely than Reformed theologians to say the Church “replaces” Israel.

New Covenant Theology

This is common among some Baptists and evangelicals. It argues that the Mosaic Law as a covenant is fulfilled and no longer directly binding; Christians are under the “law of Christ,” meaning the moral teaching of Jesus and the apostles.

The key biblical logic

The Christian argument goes like this:

God gave Israel the Law through Moses.
Circumcision marked membership in the Abrahamic covenant and Jewish covenant identity.
Jesus came as Israel’s Messiah.
Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets.
Through his death and resurrection, Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant.
Gentiles enter God’s people through faith in Christ, not by becoming Jews.
Therefore, circumcision is not required for Gentile Christians.
Christian ethics come from Christ, the Spirit, and apostolic teaching, while still being rooted in the Old Testament’s moral vision.

The best name for your exact description

The most precise label is:

New Covenant fulfillment theology

Or, in a fuller phrase:

A Christocentric New Covenant reading of the Old Testament, where the Mosaic Law is fulfilled in Christ and Gentile Christians are not required to keep Torah markers such as circumcision.

That is the idea behind Acts 15, Galatians, Hebrews, and Matthew 5:17.

The best single book for your question is:

Paula Fredriksen — Paul: The Pagans’ Apostle

This is probably the strongest starting point because Fredriksen is a major secular historian of ancient Christianity, and the book directly addresses the issue you’re asking about: why Paul opposed circumcision for Gentiles, how Gentiles could join the Jesus movement without becoming Jews, and how early Christianity remained tied to Jewish covenantal expectations while becoming Gentile-majority.

Her core argument is that Paul was not “anti-Jewish” and was not simply saying, “Forget the Old Testament.” Rather, Paul believed the arrival of Christ meant that the nations/Gentiles were now being brought into worship of Israel’s God as Gentiles, not by converting into Jews through circumcision and full Torah observance. Bryn Mawr Classical Review summarizes Fredriksen’s Paul as requiring Gentile believers to practice exclusive worship of Israel’s God, abandon idolatry, and live according to a new holiness ethic without becoming Jews. https://bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2018/2018.06.29/

That makes it the cleanest historical explanation of the idea you were asking about: continuity with Israel’s Scriptures, but discontinuity with the Mosaic Law as binding on Gentile Christians.

Best reading order

Paula Fredriksen — Paul: The Pagans’ Apostle
Best overall secular/historical introduction to Paul, Gentiles, circumcision, Torah, and the Jewish background of early Christianity.
Matthew Thiessen — A Jewish Paul: The Messiah’s Herald to the Gentiles
This is newer and more focused on correcting the idea that Paul “left Judaism.” Thiessen argues that Paul remained thoroughly Jewish and that his rejection of circumcision was aimed specifically at Gentiles, not at Jews keeping Torah. A review notes that Thiessen’s book argues Paul’s opposition to circumcision for Gentile Christ-followers should be read inside Jewish debates about Gentile inclusion, not as a rejection of Judaism itself. https://amateurexegete.com/2024/03/21/a-jewish-paul-by-matthew-thiessen-a-review/
Matthew Thiessen — Paul and the Gentile Problem
More technical than A Jewish Paul, but very relevant. It focuses specifically on why Paul rejects circumcision and Torah adoption for Gentiles. The book’s thesis is that Paul’s anti-circumcision arguments belong within a stream of Jewish thinking that rejected the idea that Gentiles could simply become Jews through circumcision and law observance. https://www.abebooks.com/9780190889180/PAUL-GENTILE-PROBLEM-THIESSEN-Matthew-0190889187/plp
John G. Gager — Reinventing Paul
This is important if you want the “Paul within Judaism” interpretation. Gager argues that Paul’s harsh statements about “the law” are not attacks on Judaism as such, but attacks on imposing Jewish law on Gentiles. Oxford’s description says Gager presents Paul as apostle to the Gentiles and argues that Paul’s most forceful arguments were directed against rival missionaries, not Judaism itself. https://global.oup.com/academic/product/reinventing-paul-9780195150858
E. P. Sanders — Paul and Palestinian Judaism
This is a landmark academic work. It changed the debate by challenging the old Protestant caricature that ancient Judaism was merely legalistic works-righteousness. It is more technical and broader than your immediate question, but it is foundational for understanding modern scholarship on Paul, law, covenant, and Judaism.

My recommendation

Start with:

Paula Fredriksen, Paul: The Pagans’ Apostle

Then read:

Matthew Thiessen, A Jewish Paul

That pairing gives you the best secular-academic foundation for understanding why early Christianity could say:

The Old Testament is still sacred history, but Gentile Christians do not need circumcision because Christ inaugurates the inclusion of the nations under the New Covenant.

For your exact question, Fredriksen is the best first book; Thiessen is the best follow-up.

The best book depends on whether you want the theology itself or the broader intellectual history of Christian anti-Judaism. For your stated goal — secular/unbiased history — I would start here:

Best single book

David Nirenberg — Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition

In the vault → book note Anti-Judaism - David Nirenberg · full text Attachment (file not included in this release) · scripture breakdown Bible Passages in Nirenberg's Anti-Judaism

This is the best secular academic book if you want the historical consequences and intellectual genealogy of Christian ideas about Judaism, including the logic behind supersessionism. Nirenberg is a historian, not writing devotional theology. His book traces how “Judaism” became a recurring negative category in Western thought: Christians defined themselves against “the Jews,” “the Law,” “the flesh,” “Phariseeism,” “legalism,” and later secularized versions of the same categories. The book covers early Christianity, medieval Christianity, Islam, the Reformation, Enlightenment, modern politics, and ideology. A review summarizes it as a long intellectual history of how Judaism functioned as a negative symbol in Western self-definition. https://jewishreviewofbooks.com/articles/799/the-anti-jewish-problem/

The limitation: it is not only about supersessionism. It is broader: anti-Judaism as a structure of Western thought. But that is also why it is valuable. Supersessionism becomes easier to understand when you see how Christianity’s identity was formed by saying: the Church is spiritual, Judaism is fleshly; Christianity is grace, Judaism is law; the New Covenant is universal, the Old Covenant is particular.

Best book specifically on supersessionism

R. Kendall Soulen — The God of Israel and Christian Theology

This is probably the most important book specifically on Christian supersessionism. It is not “secular” in the sense that Soulen is a Christian theologian, but it is academically serious and historically aware. It is often cited because it classifies different forms of supersessionism and argues that supersessionism became embedded in the deep structure of Christian theology. One description calls it a full-scale critique of Christian supersessionism and a constructive attempt to rethink Christian identity without erasing Israel. https://www.amazon.com/God-Israel-Christian-Theology/dp/0800628837

Soulen’s useful distinction is that supersessionism is not only the crude claim “the Church replaced the Jews.” It comes in forms:

Type	Basic idea
Punitive supersessionism	Jews lost covenant status because they rejected Christ.
Economic supersessionism	Israel had a temporary role in salvation history, but that role ended once Christ came.
Structural supersessionism	Christian theology tells the story of creation, fall, Christ, and Church in a way that makes Israel nearly irrelevant.

For your purposes, that third category is important. It explains how Christians can say they honor the Old Testament while still making Judaism functionally obsolete inside the Christian story.

Best direct title for your exact question

Michael J. Vlach — Has the Church Replaced Israel?

This is more theological and evangelical, not secular, but it is direct and historically organized. It traces replacement theology/supersessionism through Christian history and evaluates whether the Church has replaced Israel. Google Books describes it as an evaluation of replacement theology “down through history,” while arguing for a non-supersessionist position. https://books.google.com/books/about/Has_the_Church_Replaced_Israel.html?id=OWfRv-GoS4cC

Use this if you want the clearest map of the debate: Israel, Church, covenant, land, prophecy, and New Testament interpretation. But because Vlach has a clear theological position, I would not treat it as your “neutral” main source.

Best Catholic/Jewish-Christian relations book

Mary C. Boys — Has God Only One Blessing? Judaism as a Source of Christian Self-Understanding

This is a major book in Jewish-Christian relations. It examines how Christian theology historically defined itself against Judaism and how Christians might rethink that without abandoning Christianity. It is not secular, but it is academically responsible and useful for understanding post-Holocaust Christian reassessment of supersessionism.

Best historical-theological pairing

For the strongest reading path, I’d do this:

David Nirenberg — Anti-Judaism
For the secular intellectual history.
R. Kendall Soulen — The God of Israel and Christian Theology
For the classic academic-theological account of supersessionism.
Paula Fredriksen — When Christians Were Jews or Paul: The Pagans’ Apostle
For the early Jesus movement, Paul, Gentiles, circumcision, and the Jewish context of Christianity.
Matthew Thiessen — A Jewish Paul
For the newer scholarly argument that Paul was not rejecting Judaism, but arguing that Gentiles did not need to become Jews.

My recommendation

For your exact interest, read them in this order:

1. David Nirenberg, Anti-Judaism: The Western Tradition
2. R. Kendall Soulen, The God of Israel and Christian Theology
3. Paula Fredriksen, Paul: The Pagans’ Apostle
4. Matthew Thiessen, A Jewish Paul

That sequence gives you the best balance: secular history, theological mechanics, early Christian context, and modern correction of the “Paul rejected Judaism” caricature.

Yes. Wikipedia is better than SEP for this specific topic. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy does not appear to have a dedicated article on supersessionism/replacement theology, but it has adjacent entries that help with the philosophical/theological background.

Best Wikipedia articles

1.

Supersessionism

Best direct article for your question.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supersessionism

Covers:

replacement theology / fulfillment theology
the Church as “New Israel”
New Covenant replacing or fulfilling the Mosaic covenant
types of supersessionism: punitive, economic, structural
Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Jewish, and modern post-Holocaust views

This is the most relevant overview.

2.

Circumcision controversy in early Christianity

Best for Acts 15, Paul, Gentiles, circumcision, and Torah observance.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Circumcision_controversy_in_early_Christianity

Covers:

whether Gentile Christians needed circumcision
Paul’s argument against circumcision for Gentiles
the Council of Jerusalem
distinction between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians
New Covenant membership without becoming Jewish

3.

Council of Jerusalem

Best for the specific “Book of Acts” issue you mentioned.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Council_of_Jerusalem

Covers:

Acts 15
the apostolic decision about Gentile converts
circumcision
Mosaic law
the Apostolic Decree

4.

New Covenant theology

Useful, but more internal-Christian and doctrinal.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Covenant_theology

Covers:

Christ as the central focus of Scripture
Old Covenant law fulfilled or abrogated in Christ
“Law of Christ”
differences from Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism

5.

Covenant theology

Important because many Reformed Protestants explain this issue through covenant theology.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Covenant_theology

Covers:

covenant of works, covenant of grace, covenant of redemption
continuity between Old and New Testaments
Reformed view of law and gospel
why critics sometimes accuse covenant theology of supersessionism

6.

Dual-covenant theology

Useful as the opposite or alternative to supersessionism.

Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual-covenant_theology

Covers:

the idea that God’s covenant with Jews remains valid
whether Jews need Christ for salvation
post-Holocaust Jewish-Christian dialogue
conflict with traditional Christian claims about Christ and salvation

Best Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy articles

SEP does not seem to have one clean article called “Supersessionism” or “Replacement Theology.” These are the closest useful entries:

1.

Atonement

Link: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/atonement/

Useful for understanding why Christians believe Christ’s death changes humanity’s relationship to God. It does not focus on supersessionism, but it helps explain the logic behind “Christ fulfilled the sacrificial system.”

2.

Trinity

Link: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/trinity/

Useful for Christian doctrine generally, especially how early Christianity came to define Jesus’ divine status. Not directly about Israel/Church replacement, but useful background.

3.

Medieval Theories of Conscience

Link: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/conscience-medieval/

Useful if you are tracking Christian ethics and moral law after the New Testament, especially conscience, natural law, and moral obligation.

4.

Natural Law Theories

Link: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/natural-law-theories/

Useful for how Christian thinkers, especially Catholic and scholastic traditions, explain moral law after Christ without simply relying on Mosaic law.

5.

Original Sin

Link: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/sin-original/

Useful for Christian anthropology: why Christ is seen as necessary and how Christian theology explains the human condition.

Best non-Wikipedia online source

Britannica — Replacement theology

Link: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Replacement-theology

This is short but cleaner than Wikipedia for a quick definition. Britannica defines replacement theology/supersessionism/fulfillment theology as the doctrine that Christians have replaced the Jewish people as the chosen people and heirs of the biblical covenant.

Best reading path online

For your specific question, I’d read in this order:

That sequence goes from the historical dispute → Acts 15 decision → larger doctrine of replacement/fulfillment → modern alternatives and criticisms.