Ep. 70 - The Hebrew Roots Movement: Their Dangerous Beliefs & Why You Need to Know Them

In today’s episode, guest RL Solberg (Rob) joins the conversation in an interview at the NRB conference to discuss the Hebrew Roots Movement and what RL has termed as Torahism. They chat about Hebrew Israelites and distill the misunderstanding of where theological errors begin to form in their theology. Listen in to better be equipped to evangelize to these groups and gain resources for informed responses to fringe conversations that are becoming more prevalent through social media! 

RL shares about his new book, Torahism, that was spurred on through conversations he engaged in with people who were adamant about keeping the Old Law. Are Christians required to keep the Law of Moses? Rob is an author, apologist, and professor who shares here his definition of Torahism, and the story that started him down this journey. Learn about the Facebook conversations and blog articles that got turned into a book. 

Rob shares about the umbrella of belief systems that says Christians are required to keep the Law of Moses—a system often named Hebrew Roots, Messianic Christians, and a variety of other terms. Through street preaching, the hosts share their own experience of the importance of names used for Christ. Rob’s book helps people better know how to answer the difficult questions Torahists present. Learn where this error begins to form in their theology and how, while many may be sincere in their search for truth to go deeper into the roots of their faith, they often go too far. Rob explains that to understand a deep, rich, and theologically sound Christianity, you do have to understand the Jewish roots. So, where does the theological and exegetical error start? There is not just one “silver bullet” in scripture to address this, there are many verses! However, Rob touches on the complexity of the issue that this is not just an intellectual thing, there is a spiritual and emotional commitment of these people for what they’re doing. There is often a pre-commitment to thinking the law is still binding. Patience is necessary to approach the Word and get into it with Biblical literacy that steps back to look at the contact of the proof texts. 

As the episode draws to a close, listen to how RL suggests one might respond to an online post regarding these topics. Learn why it is so important to first emphasize where both sides do agree, before starting to tease things apart. RL discusses the work of the law and of Christ with the New Covenant, deciphering between principal and expression. While God is unchanging, His people do change. How do you properly and practically interact with the Old Testament laws? Rob

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Learn more about the hosts of this podcast.
Ray Comfort
Emeal (“E.Z.”) Zwayne
Mark Spence
Oscar Navarro