The following data is taken from a thesis written by Ben Frostad, by his own account an ardent follower of the Hebrew Roots Movement (or, as he chooses to call it, the Messianic Torah Movement). It was written as a graduation requirement for the Torah Resource Institute (A One Law organization), and was sponsored by Tim Hegg, who until 2009 held a leadership role with the First Fruits of Zion. In other words, this paper and the survey it contains were created by, and overseen by, true believers in the Hebrew Roots Movement on behalf of an organization promoting those beliefs. This is thus NOT the supposition of critics of this movement (which I admit to being in my defense of orthodoxy), but the views of those from within the movement as portrayed by someone within the movement.
Here is the paper itself if you wish to read it and see the context of the data that will be shared below: Jews, Gentiles, and Torah: Exploring the Contours of the Messianic Torah Spectrum - by Ben Frostad Frostad's thesis in it is that the Jewish Messianic movement ought to stop opposing and instead embrace Gentile Torah observance, which they have indicated no desire thus far to do.
The survey was conducted during 2016-2017, online, with 699 qualifying respondents from 31 countries (533 the US, 95 Canada). Each accepted respondent affirmed both the following statements: (1) "Do you believe in Yeshua (Jesus)?" and (2) "Do you observe any of the following: Seventh-day Sabbath, the Biblical festivals (of Lev. 23), and/or Biblical diet restrictions?"
What can we learn from this self-reporting data?
1. Only a small minority of those participating in the Hebrew Roots Movement are Jewish.
102, or 15%, of those who answered yes to Ben's two questions claimed Jewish identity, although this number is higher than those who would be considered Jewish with respect to ethnicity as it included those (nearly half) who claim to have some Jewish ancestry (rather than Jewish parentage) and those who claimed to be 'spiritual' Jews.
In his thesis, Ben many times emphasizes that this movement is overwhelmingly composed of Gentiles.
2. The 'roots' of the movement are very modern.
68% had joined the movement since 2000, less than 10% before 1990. It is clear that the internet has been a boon to this particular ideology. {Side note, a number of respondents reported struggling with Flat Earth conspiracies within their local groups, a strong indicator that the internet is a driving force in spreading this ideology}
3. The organization, First Fruits of Zion, is a major player in this movement.
Respondents were asked to list their influences, that is who/what had helped lead them into this movement both when they began the journey, and currently. FFOZ was the top source listed (13%) at the start, and third (9%) currently. They are not a fringe group within this movement, rather one of its driving forces. When asked for a specific title, FFOZ's HaYesod was the number one book listed.
{Numerous quotations from HaYesod, FFOZ's basic discipleship manual were utilized in the Franklin ministerium's primary source analysis: An Examination of the unorthodox beliefs of the First Fruits of Zion, their Torah Clubs, and the Hebrew Roots Movement in general}
4. The Church is the mission field for this movement, not non-believers.
This is no surprise given that FFOZ specifically targets people who belong to local churches: "Most churchgoers still have no idea that they are called to be disciples of a Jewish rabbi. The potential to come alongside these brothers and sisters and seriously reorient their understanding of Jesus’ life and teachings is nearly limitless. 'The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few'" - Boaz Michael, founder and president of FFOZ.
65% of those participating in the Hebrew Roots Movement were formerly a part of Evangelical churches! 93% indicated some type of Christian background! Only 2% participated in a non-Christian religion, and a further 2% were non-religious. This movement is purposefully targeting the Church, drawing the majority of its adherents from Evangelical churches.
5. Following a rabbinic calendar and refraining from saying the name of God is the plurality position among followers.
While not a majority, it was the largest segment of those surveyed, with 32% saying that it is necessary to follow the Jewish character and wrong to speak God's name (Sacred Name movement). We have seen this locally, with those in leadership of the local Torah Clubs participating in Jewish festivals and not even being wiling to write out God (replacing it with G-d or L-rd), along with adopting Yeshua instead of the Anglicized "Jesus". A further 29% of the survey respondents agreed with the need to follow the Jewish calendar, but did not have an issue with saying the name of God.
6. They don't believe that followers of this movement should stay connected to the Church.
67% strongly disagreed (a further 18% somewhat disagreed) that "Gentile believers should remain in established Christian churches, instead of joining Messianic/Torah congregations." This has been one of the concerns that caused the Franklin Christian Ministerium to take action. When 85% of the people involved in a movement believe that it is wrong to remain in the Church, and that movement is purposefully targeting people who currently attend churches, the result will be the breaking of fellowship from those churches.
It doesn't matter to me, as a pastor, what an organization believes, or what it hopes to accomplish, if it is purposefully and actively pulling people away from active participation in a local church, it is unbiblical, it is dangerous, and needs to be treated as a threat to the Church both locally and universally. Even an organization with orthodox beliefs, which this movement lacks, that pulls people out of churches, is contradicting the Word of God. Jesus himself established the Church to continue his Kingdom work, by all means reform it when it needs it, but abandon it? NO.
7. They don't believe that Torah was given by God "just for Jews."
61% strongly disagreed (a further 11% somewhat disagreed), resulting in a solid majority that believe that as followers of Jesus the Law of Moses is obligatory (in some way) for them as Gentiles. This is the heart of the One Law theology that FFOZ supposedly abandoned in 2009, but continues to be taught through their published materials (see the quotes in the link above for many, many examples).
8. They believe that "modern Christian practice is pagan in origin."
Why the hostility toward the Church? Why the desire to withdraw from fellowship in Christian congregations? 82% (42% strongly, 40% somewhat) believe that the practices of the modern Church are pagan.
9. Doubt about the deity of Jesus Christ is a minority opinion, but not an insubstantial one.
25% were unwilling to say that they strongly agreed that, "Yeshua is God." Of that 1/4, 10% actively disagreed with the statement. As noted in our research, there is a strand of both Subordinationism and Modalism within this movement. While I am encouraged that these numbers were not higher (as they no doubt would be with a survey of Jehovah's Witnesses), the fact that a significant minority have abandoned Apostolic teachings of the N.T. about the deity of Jesus Christ remains a further warning sign.
10. A majority believe they are no longer a part of Christianity.
53% (33% strongly, 20% somewhat) disagreed that their faith was a "part of modern Christianity." Here locally, the Torah Clubs are proselytizing under the idea that this is "just a Bible study." This is America, you are more than free to leave the Church and Christianity if that is what you choose to do, but people joining what is advertised as a Bible study ought to be aware that the majority of those involved in this movement have self-consciously left Christianity now that they belong to the Hebrew Roots Movement.
11. Those who have left the Church entirely are the most optimistic about the Hebrew Roots Movement.
"Those who agree that Gentiles should stay in established Christian churches rather than joining the Messianic movement tend to have very low optimism about the movement." In other words, those still connected to a local church aren't entirely sold on where this thing is going, whereas, "Those who strongly agree that Christianity is pagan tend to be more optimistic for the movement." If you're ready to cut ties with the Church and walk away from Christianity, the Hebrew Roots Movement feels like the winning ticket, or so they believe.
Overall, this survey further confirms many of the concerns that the Franklin Christian Ministerium has expressed about the Hebrew Roots Movement, First Fruits of Zion, and the Torah Clubs. You don't need to take our word for it, this is what they believe about themselves.
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