Did a Christian Missionary Really Bring Rob Walker of Hasbara Fellowships Back to Judaism?

I’ve criticized Jews for Judaism in the past for not really producing any new material.  They seem to get volunteers and members of their community to simply repeat talking points while living off donations from Jews who don’t realize this or know any better.

Recently they posted a testimony of a young articulate man named Rob Walker giving his testimony about how a Christian Missionary supposedly brought him back to Judaism.  This is simply using a catchy title for false advertising.  When you listen to the testimony, he was a practicing Jew and watched a debate online where a Christian debated a Jew.  To his shock the Christian won the debate and Walker went on a long search for the truth about if Jesus truly was the Messiah.

Walker was involved with Jewish life beforehand, watched this debate and started doing a lot of research.  He eventually ran into Rabbi Blumenthal, was convinced by his approach then came to believe that Jesus wasn’t the Messiah.  See, if this video was called “How a Rabbi from Jews for Judaism brought me back to Judaism” it wouldn’t have the same zing.  Rob Walker works for a company called Hasbara Fellowships.  His profile can be found here:

http://hasbarafellowships.org/our-staff/robert-walker

Apart from knowledge, the most important thing in apologetics is knowing where to pounce.  If someone assumes things that they haven’t proven, that is where you need to focus.  Rob Walker is a classic example of importing presuppositions and having this facade of neutrality.  It’s even more sneakier since he’s a very smooth speaker.

If you’re interested in apologetics, this video is great for an examination to see how good you are.  His arguments carry truckloads of assumptions and presuppositions but he masks it well because he’s young, articulate, and wearing a nice suit.

If you want to try responding to the video yourself, have a listen and try.  I will dismantle one of his arguments below for an example.  Stop reading here if you want to try it out for yourself first.

At about the 21 minute mark he starts comparing proof texts for either side.  He goes through Isaiah 53(giving a horrible answer that shows he hasn’t properly researched this text) then he throws out his own.  He uses Zechariah 8:23 which states:

So said the Lord of Hosts: In those days, when ten men of all the languages of the nations shall take hold of the skirt of a Jewish man, saying, “Let us go with you, for we have heard that God is with you.”

This isn’t the translation that he uses but it’s the one on chabad.org.  How do we answer this?  Walker seems to think that it’s an open and shut case.  Here’s my answer to Mr. Walker:

Hello Mr. Walker, this is certainly an interesting verse.  It doesn’t say that they’re going to grab a Christian, but a Jew.  Well I guess you guys have the truth.  However, when taking a closer look it doesn’t say that these people will believe in Orthodox Rabbinical Judaism.  It doesn’t say that they’ll believe in an Oral Law never once mentioned in Scripture.  It doesn’t say that this these people will have kosher laws based on Exodus 23:19 that prohibit the mixing of meat and dairy.  Does that verse really say that Mr. Walker?  The same rabbis who make this imaginary food law in your religion have changed every single holiday found in the Torah.  Every single one.  Look them up if you don’t believe me.  Did the high priest make atonement for you last Yom Kippur as Leviticus 16:32 says?  Zechariah doesn’t say that these Jews would lose the priesthood and priestly lines in the exile.  After all, in Ezra 2 we read about priests coming out of the Babylonian exile.  Why hasn’t this been continued?  Where are the Aaronic and Davidic lines?  Have the Jews mentioned in Zechariah lost the Davidic and Aaronic lines?  Do the Jews in Zechariah 8:23 believe in a secular Jewish state that doesn’t have Biblical borders and believes in the unbiblical practice of democracy?

Mr. Walker, you and I know that a Jew can believe in anything.  Communism, Objectivism, and Secular Zionism were all founded and heavily believed in by Jews.  We both know that the Jews in Zechariah won’t believe in this stuff.  They also won’t believe in the anti-Torah religion of Orthodox Rabbinical Judaism either.  They will be Jews who believe in Christ and his Church.  In fact, they will be part of the 144,000 mentioned in the book of Revelation.

There are many other things that we could unpack with this testimony.  There are truckloads of presuppositions Walker imports that he hasn’t proven and frankly can’t be.  I’d love to have a conversation with Walker one day and Lord willing I will have that opportunity.  For those getting into apologetics, can you respond to this 30 minute testimony?  Can you dismantle his assumptions and presuppositions?  Give it a try.