Chesterton House’s Theological Society Presents:

A Conversation with Jason Staples

A Newer Perspective on Paul: The identity of Israel in “All Israel will be saved” (Romans 11:26)

April 30th, 2026 | 1:00pm

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When the Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 11:25-26, “For a hardening has happened on part of Israel, until the fullness of the gentiles enters in, and in this way all Israel will be saved,” what did he mean? Specifically, what did he mean by “all Israel”?

This is one of the most contentious questions in biblical and theological studies. And there is a new perspective that has emerged to answer it.

In his much-discussed recent book, Paul and the Resurrection of Israel, Jason Staples has proposed that in Romans 11:25-26 Paul envisions the entry of the gentiles as necessary for the restoration of the ten tribes of the Northern Kingdom of Israel, which results in the salvation of “all Israel” (and not just in the salvation of the Southern Kingdom of Judah). This reading has significant consequences: it means that Paul thought the 10 tribes had become gentiles after breaking the covenant and needed to be ethnically transformed to become Israelites once again, and that this restoration took place by incorporation into the Messiah. Gentiles who follow Messiah and receive the holy spirit, in other words, do not remain gentiles: they become Israelites (again) in order for all Israel to be saved.

Join the Theological Society at Cornell for a conversation with Jason Staples, Assistant Teaching Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at NC State University.

Jason Staples

Jason A. Staples (Ph.D., UNC-Chapel Hill) is an Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies at NC State University, where he teaches courses on the Bible, early Judaism, Christian origins, ethics, globalism, conflict, and various theoretical perspectives in the study of religion and society.

He is a sought-after speaker and gives lectures on a variety of subjects. To book him for an event, please use the form here.

He is the author of Paul and the Resurrection of Israel: Jews, Former Gentiles, Israelites (Cambridge University Press, 2024), which reviewers have called “enormously important and theologically productive,” “an astonishing contribution,” “the cutting edge of Pauline scholarship by a master of his trade,” “arguably the most consequential contribution to Pauline studies since John Barclay’s Paul and the Gift [2017],” a book that “will undoubtedly stand at the center of Pauline discussions for years to come,” and “potentially as ‘epoch-defining’ as Paul and Palestinian Judaism by E. P. Sanders in 1977.”

He is also the author of The Idea of Israel in Second Temple Judaism: A New Theory of People, Exile, and Israelite Identity (Cambridge University Press, 2021), which reviewers have called “a constructive, cogent, and compelling book, the “best academic book I read this year,” and concluded “should accomplish nothing less than a paradigm shift.”

His articles have been published in The Journal of Biblical Literature, New Testament Studies, Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Harvard Theological Review, Zeitschrift für die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, the Journal of Religion and Film, and more. He was a 2008 recipient of the U.S. Department of Education’s Jacob K. Javits Fellowship and is a member of the UNC Royster Society of Fellows.

Outside the scholarly world, Jason has also worked in sports media for over fifteen years, providing analysis and digital content for a variety of outlets, including The Wilson Times, InsideCarolina.com (247Sports/CBS Sports), Scout.com, Fox Sports, and the Unconquered Podcast.

As a below-average football walk-on (=practice dummy) at Florida State from 2000–2002, Jason had the opportunity to see what athletic greatness looks like up close, learning from some of the best coaches and players in the game. He has since attempted to pass on some of that knowledge at the high school level, serving as the passing game/WRs/Special Teams/Strength and Conditioning coach at Jordan High School (Durham, NC) from 2017–2018, QBs/Passing Game Coordinator at Southern Durham High School (Durham, NC) in 2016, and as a private QB/WR coach in association with Carolina Elite football.

In addition to writing, teaching, and coaching, Jason is a voice actor/artist, with over a decade of experience including ad reads, audiobook narration, and more. He also provides services as a contract/freelance copyeditor.

Jason is a member of the the American Academy of Religion, Society of Biblical Literature, Society for Classical Studies, Association for Jewish Studies, Catholic Biblical Association of America, and Football Writers’ Association of America and a former CrossFit Level 1 Trainer.

His full Curriculum Vitae can be found here.

THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
This society seeks to gather Cornell faculty and graduate students to discuss major themes in biblical and theological studies. Discussion aims to satisfy what Simone Weil once described as the basic need of the soul to consider “every sort of opinion, without the least restriction or reserve.” To this end, we invite dialogue that explores and even challenges historic orthodox beliefs as well as those ideas that reign in the contemporary church, academy, and culture.

Our dialogue is collegial and cordial without shying away from the hard questions scholars face in their life and work. Members of the group seek to nurture discussion by listening attentively to one another, guarding the length of our responses, and avoiding diversions to pet issues unrelated to the subject at hand. In short, we seek to embody a uniquely Christian form of intellectual hospitality that we can pass on to future generations.