Orthodox Jews and Evangelical Christians

Jewish Influencers - partnering with Christian Infuencers?

I often say that I lean conservative politically. Especially on social issues. The reason is quite simple: social conservatives tend to favor religious values over cultural values. The latter follow the spirit of the times. Which shifts over time. Social conservatives, by contrast, do not factor in cultural trends. They see religious values as eternal and not subject to the ebb and flow of general culture.

To cite an example, let us look at homosexuality. Not all that long ago, it was considered a psychological disorder, treated similarly by both the general and religious cultures. When the APA revised its view, the broader culture shifted toward acceptance of behavior that the Bible forbids as a sin.

This has nothing to do with how one should treat a gay person. Which must always be with the same human dignity afforded to anyone else. But social conservatives part company with the general culture when it comes to homosexual sex. They still consider it immoral and sinful, whereas the general culture considers it moral and equates it with heterosexual sex.

This is why I have long maintained that Orthodox Jews have more in common with Evangelical Christians than with the liberal/progressive attitudes that dominate much of American culture today. I would further argue that Evangelical Christians, as a group, are among the most serious in their devotion to biblical precepts of all Protestant denominations—certainly more so than many mainline denominations, which in numerous cases have, like heterodox Jewish movements, exchanged biblical values for progressive ones.

This leads to a broader observation: Orthodox Jews share more values with Evangelical Christians than with heterodox Jews. That does not mean the two are identical, but there is significant overlap in the values we cherish.

Of course, theologically we are entirely different faith communities with incompatible belief systems. That hardly needs stating. But our shared values stem from a common source—a Bible that clearly articulates what those values ought to be.

This is why organizations like Agudah often partner with Christian advocacy groups to lobby Congress for legislation aligned with shared religious values, and why both communities work together in the courts when those values come into conflict with prevailing cultural norms...

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