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Christianity Today, February, 2009 |

The Ultimate Kibitzer

Rabbi Yechiel Eckstein wants Jews to trust evangelicals, and evangelicals to love Israel.

John W. Kennedy in New York City | posted 2/24/2009 12:52PM

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Eckstein's resume of accomplishments on behalf of evangelicals is impressive by any measure.

Eckstein remains keenly aware of suffering Christians. In December, IFCJ donated food and clothing to poor Christians through churches in Bethlehem, Jericho, and Nazareth. Eckstein believes it's imperative that Jews in Israel recognize evangelicals as their most reliable ally in fighting radical Islam and terrorism.

A segment of Jews remain suspicious, believing the only reason evangelicals support Israel is to help fulfill biblical prophecy of the Second Coming. "Some in Israel don't like me because I'm lowering the wall, and they don't want to trust Christians," Eckstein says. "They feel that I'm softening up the Jewish community to try to bring Jesus through the back door."

Eckstein isn't dissuaded from pursuing his cause. "I'd like to see the point where there is true fellowship in the IFCJ, where Christians would be better Christians, where Jews would be better Jews, and where the world would be a better place."

John W. Kennedy is a CT contributing editor and news editor of Today's Pentecostal Evangel magazine.

This weekend, youth in Nigeria's Bauchi state, which is near Jos burned several places of worship.

Coverage of the crises in Kenya, Nigeria, and DRC is available in our news section and on CT Liveblog.

More editorials are available in our opinion section.

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February 2009, Vol. 53, No. 2

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Ed	Posted: March 02, 2009 8:50 AM

I think Rabbi Eckstein is a great man and he may even have sincery intenctions, although I think he is just another religous humanist. What does it help when a Jew get´s a better Jew through good works and social justice (don´t get me wrong I am not against these things in the jewish or world wide community), but will be forever seperated from the living God? Rabbi Paul said, that Jews need more than zeal for God, but also the knowledge of Jesus as the Christ and saving faith in HIM. If Eckstein really want´s better Jews from the eternal Fathers standpoint have them understand Jesus as Lord and Savior of their lives.

Elizabeth

Posted: February 27, 2009 12:12 AM

I believe that many times Jews and Christians can be on a friendlier level if they both realize what they share. My daughter is at a state university that has some pretty radical "politically correct" required classes that are anti-Bible. She and another freshman girl spent several weeks talking together about the various anti-Bible things their professors said and became very good friends before they found out my daughter was Christian and her new freind was Jewish. They are still good friends (3 years later) and have gained a new respect and understanding for each other's beliefs and appreciation that both see the Old Testament as the Word of God. Don't know if Eckstein is truly a bridge builder or a user, but he has a point about what Evangelicals and Orthodox Jews have in common. After hundreds of years of antisemitism by those who claimed to be christians, the love of Christ has to be shown, bridges rebuilt, before we can become the olive tree Paul speaks of in Romans 11.

Joe Chip

Posted: February 25, 2009 3:44 PM

Surely there is a sucker born every minute. Eckstein, and by extension CT (in this woefully one-sided article) are bilking the ignorant faithful while cleverly avoiding any real hard questions. For example: Why should Christians give money to support a state that most of the world regards as a rogue terrorist nation? Would you give to Iran, to North Korea? Perhaps if they hired a "handsome, nattily attired, tanned, and 6 feet 2 inches tall" spokesperson? Eckstein does not believe that Christ is God, and therefore (as nice a guy as I'm sure he is) would seem to fall very low on the list of religious figures Christians should be giving money to. Would you give money to Rev. Moon? To Louis Farrakhan? To Richard Dawkins? They all have more in common with Eckstein than we do - namely, they deny the Deity of Christ. Oh well, so it goes.

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