Why Christians Get Weird with Jewish Tradition

By Preston Benjamin

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Understanding Motivations

In the Jewish-Christian space, there are at least four types of people who could be perceived as “weird.” The four types are: authenticity seekers, conspiracy seekers, curiosity seekers, and identity seekers.

Authenticity Seekers

Cathy is a young adult who recently became disillusioned with the large church she attends. Amidst the flashing lights and fog machines, she longs for a simpler, more authentic expression of her faith. Drawn to Shabbat and Jewish feasts observance, Cathy believes that aligning with these traditions helps her live more authentically by being closer to the practices and beliefs of Jesus and His earliest followers.

Authenticity seekers like Cathy yearn for a purer, truer, historically correct expression of Christianity.

Once someone discovers the Jewish foundation of their faith, it is natural for them to gain an intense desire to live out its more authentic, purer form. Two-thousand years of history has led to dramatic cultural differences between life today and life as depicted in the book of Acts. The production, stage lights, and performance-driven worship of many modern megachurches also adds to a disorienting sense that the Church of today bares little resemblance to the earliest communities of Jesus followers.

For authenticity seekers, Jewish traditions feel truer and holier than Christian traditions partly because they are tied to the identity of Jesus and His earliest followers. Often, the assumption becomes that if something looks and feels Jewish, then it must be truer and more authentically a reflection of “right” faith and practice (orthodoxy and orthopraxy).

Positive aspect: Those whose primary motivation leans toward authenticity tend to be reformation minded—they have a passion to reform the Church and help the Church be as true to the original life, teachings, and intentions of Jesus as possible.

When it gets weird: Authenticity seekers can begin to develop a hyper-critical spirit toward anything that does not align with their vision of “pure” faith. They may refer to most of Church history as a long, unfortunate detour, often viewing Constantine the Great (306–337) as the turning point when authentic faith was corrupted by institutional power, pagan influence, or Gentile compromise. Modern church practices such as Christmas and Easter, creeds and liturgies, or even the structure of sermons and buildings may be dismissed as illegitimate.

This drive for authenticity can become isolating. Rather than working for reform within their community, some begin to pull away. They might reject pastoral authority, tradition, or theological nuance in favor of what they perceive to be raw, unfiltered, first-century Christianity.

Response: Most Jewish traditions as we know them today developed after the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 AD. It is not always possible to connect the dots from later Rabbinic sources to pre-70 Judaism. To assume even that the Passover Seder Jesus celebrated had the same elements and order as seen in the Jewish Haggadah today would be a categorical mistake.

Uncovering the “authentic” first-century Judaism of Jesus is not so simple and not required for us to live as Gentiles. It is dangerous to disregard Church history and the theological developments that happened after the fourth century, as if the Church completely lost its way. This assumes God is not sovereign over the Church and has not carefully watched over its development for the last two thousand years.

Conspiracy Seekers

Mike has developed a reputation among his friends for always bringing something unexpected to the conversation. Whether it is an obscure passage from the Talmud or a little-known connection between current events and ancient Hebrew prophecy, he always has an insight no one else has heard before. Lately, Mike has become increasingly distrustful of mainstream church teachings, and quick to challenge conventional views due to what he describes as the “Christian illuminati” leading the global Church. He often shares his insights in conversation and online, feeling an urgency to warn others, believing that most Christians are dangerously off-track.

Like Mike, when a person is drawn to conspiracy theories, they tend to be distrustful of authorities and institutions. The verb “conspire” means to make secret plans, usually with a harmful or manipulative intent. The conspiracy seeker is motivated to talk about secret plans and especially uncover who is behind them. Out of all seekers, this type has the most complex motivations.

Positive aspect: Those drawn to conspiracy can be prophetically sharp. They are not satisfied with the status quo. They are willing to call out abuses in leadership and theological errors for the sake of ultimate truth and justice.

When it gets weird: Recent psychological studies have found there are at least four different human “needs” conspiracy theories help satisfy.

1. The need for certainty and control
   
   Psychologists speak of “cognitive closure” as an innate human response to uncertainty. Our brains do not like ambiguity, so we strive for ways to close the loop. If something does not make sense, we reach for an explanation to have “closure” and not live with the discomfort of the unknown. Believing in a conspiracy theory can help us close a cognitive loop and provide us with a greater sense of control over our life. Those who have the right “insider info” feel like they have greater control and can better steer outcomes to their advantage.
   
   We are even more prone to accepting fringe conspiracy theories as truth when in chaotic or uncertain seasons in life. For example, there was a significant increase in conspiracy theories during the first part of the COVID-19 pandemic, partly due to the sudden loss of control and autonomy many people felt. Even if the truth is negative, it still provides a sense of relief to have an answer at all.
2. The need for uniqueness
   
   Knowing secret “insider info” also provides a person with a sense of exceptionalism and uniqueness. For those who struggle more with personal insecurities, this is particularly luring. Everyone wants to be “in the know,” to have been hand selected to carry special knowledge only a few others know. This is also one reason many people are drawn to the latest gossip. Finding out someone’s secret can be empowering because it makes us feel special when we know something no one else knows.
   
   In the Jewish-Christian space, having knowledge about Jesus’ Jewish identity and the Jewish cultural backgrounds of the Bible can make us feel superior. We know the secret meaning of the Bible that most other Christians do not.
3. The need for belonging
   
   Similarly, most conspiracy theories are shared beliefs, meaning there is a group of people who agree and subscribe to the theory. When a group has secret knowledge, they position themselves as insiders and everyone else as outsiders. This is one of the key ingredients in the formation of cults. If you elevate a special knowledge or achieved status high enough, it can create a strong bond of belonging for insiders.
4. The need for purpose
   
   Finally, conspiracy theories can provide a greater sense of life purpose. Those called “preppers” build underground bomb shelters and store up canned goods and supplies for the impending disaster others do not see coming—much like Noah in the Bible. When this purpose is combined with a feeling of urgency (which is often the case in prophetic and apocalyptic conspiracies), it is a strong motivating force. For those who feel aimless or purposeless, conspiracy theories provide immediate action steps.

Response: The above four “needs” reveal how an obsession with conspiracy tends to appear out of the woundedness and fallenness of the human heart. Constantly fearing there is some “secret” out there working against us produces an anxious and unhealthy posture toward the world.

The difference between healthy and unhealthy skepticism lies in the motivation—whether one is operating out of the four fleshly “needs” outlined above, or whether one is passionate about truth and justice being revealed.

It is sometimes hard to judge the difference between the two, but one sure-fire way to tell if someone is leaning into conspiracy is if they embrace a whole constellation of conspiracy beliefs. In other words, it is not just one theory about a particular intersection between Judaism and Christianity, but it is multiple theories across different domains such as politics, medicine, financial markets, the entertainment industry, etc. There is often a combination of supernatural, prophetic, and apocalyptic interpretation with the Hebrew language and the Jewish calendar or Jewish mysticism that quickly gets into weird territory.

Curiosity Seekers

Jane is smart and studious. She loves learning new things, especially things that are lesser known or overlooked. Lately, she has been reading blogs that delve into biblical numerology, Hebrew roots, and prophetic symbolism. Her curiosity has led her into nonstop research, and she daily finds herself amazed at the new and profound things she learns about ancient Jewish culture. But she has recently begun questioning core doctrines like the Trinity due to what she calls their “corrupted Greek influence.” She is not sure which ancient sources to trust, so she has taken it upon herself to study more.

Curiosity seekers like Jane are motivated to learn and explore the vast treasure troves of the Bible, history, and theology. The curiosity seeker is often bored with the version of Christian faith being taught to them in their churches, and the Jewish perspective provides endless avenues for exploration.

Positive aspect: They are hungry and gifted learners. They also tend to be humbler and easier to redirect, because they are motivated by a genuine desire to learn more than a desire to reform or to feel superior.

When it gets weird: A person can find themselves deep in a learning “rabbit hole” before they even realize it. Whether it is spending too much time on obscure Reddit forums or the dark side of YouTube, the curiosity seeker can easily mix fringe and heretical teachings together with historical doctrines. This type of seekers tends to not have a strong theological foundation or even a healthy community around them to help set boundaries for their faith and practice.

Response: Curiosity seekers need a mature believer to come alongside them and disciple them, as well as a good community to plug into. Without guardrails, they can quickly find themselves becoming overly focused on niche topics and giving off “weird” vibes. But when their passion for learning is nurtured and redirected, they can become knowledgeable teachers in the church.

Identity Seekers

Harry has spent most of his life in a small nondenominational church where he often struggled to feel connected or historically grounded in his faith. Recently, he discovered Messianic Judaism and was intrigued by the realization that Jesus Himself was a “Messianic Jew.” While attending his first service at a Messianic congregation, he felt an immediate sense of belonging, like he had finally found what he had always been missing. As a result, Harry started learning Hebrew, wearing a kippah and tassels, eating a Kosher diet, and attending synagogue—despite not being Jewish and not growing up in a Jewish home.

Lastly, there are some, like Harry, who start to get weird in the Jewish-Christian space because they are defining or re-defining their own personal identity.

Jewish identity is resilient. Here are a people who have been claiming the same identity for thousands of years despite centuries of cultural acclimations. Here are a people who have clearly defined “identity markers,” helping set them apart from other people groups. Although they are diverse in language, nationality, and race, they are united in the common story of belonging to the family of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This historic rootedness is extremely attractive to someone hungry for identity.

Those who come from a nondenominational church background or other newer Protestant denominations are especially prone to seeing the historic rootedness of Jewish identity as a lifeline. Just like conspiracy can help someone feel like they belong to a group of insiders, the identity seeker desires to belong to a shared history and culture with others.

Positive aspect: God created us with a need for community and belonging. The identity seeker operates out of this honest and fundamental human drive. They are passionate about being anchored in the continuity of a greater ancestral story and view their faith more as a way of life that fully encompasses every part of their actions and identity, not just as a “religion.”

When it gets weird: When a non-Jewish person begins to live as if they were Jewish, it creates identity incongruence. For example, if a Gentile Christian begins obsessively researching their genealogy to prove they might have Jewish ancestry, it can signal a deeper confusion about their worth or place in God’s story. They may start adopting distinctly Jewish identity markers (like Harry above) out of a subconscious desire to become someone else.

At this point, the line between reverence and replacement gets blurry. Their Christian identity no longer feels sufficient unless dressed in Jewish clothing. What began as a hunger for depth slowly morphs into a rejection of their own spiritual inheritance. Rather than seeing themselves as Gentiles who have been graciously and purposefully grafted into Israel’s story (Romans 11), they can begin to act as if they were the original branches themselves.

Response: As we have argued in multiple videos and articles in our resource library, Gentiles who act Jewish are enacting a form of supersessionism by erasing the distinction between Jewish and Gentile identity. The Jerusalem Council in Acts 15 settled the matter fully that Gentiles do not need to be circumcised, observe Torah, or do Jewish things to be saved.

Defining Weird

Before offering more pastoral responses to the above types, let’s zoom out a little. What makes someone “weird?” What do we mean when we say someone is going too far or getting weird with Jewish stuff?

“Weird” is often shorthand for describing someone who does not meet social norms or expectations. Not noticing sarcasm or tone shifts, standing too close when talking, not talking, too much talking, avoiding eye contact, or too much eye contact—any of these things can give a “weird” impression. We might also label someone weird when they are being too intense or hyper-focused on a niche topic, or when they overshare, act too clingy, or their responses do not match the mood or situation (e.g., laughing at sad stories or getting angry at mild feedback). Emotional incongruence—when emotions do not match the moment—can result in relational confusion and even mistrust.

This broad definition illustrates a helpful point: being “weird” is more subjective than objective. It depends more on social context than on any intrinsic trait. What is considered “weird” in one group might be totally normal, or even admired, in another.

In fact, labeling others as weird can be a way of masking a fear of difference. It can act as a defense mechanism or social shield, creating distance from others so we do not have to engage what we do not understand. It can help protect our own assumptions and sense of normalcy so that we do not have to make any relational effort. It can also be a form of what psychologists call “projection,” when we shame others for not fitting in to help us cope with our own anxieties or insecurities about not fitting in.

Almost immediately when we begin to label someone “weird,” we should engage our pastoral imagination. Rather than creating distance between us and others, we need to ask the right questions. For example, what is unsettling about their behavior to me? Are they lacking social or community norms, or are they intentionally rejecting them? Is their “weirdness” more about their inner world than their outer behavior?

The purpose of this perspective paper is to bring clarity to common underlying motivations and how to respond to them. We do not stop at labeling someone “weird.” We need to be honest with ourselves and ask along with the psalmist, “Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23–24).

Sometimes we would rather label some as weird and exclude them than face our own social anxieties or do the hard work of loving the outsiders and including them.

The Pastoral Response

No matter the type of seeker you might meet, we suggest the following three-part framework as a good starting point.

1. Start with curiosity, not correction.

If someone comes to you with a fanciful theory about the Nephilim and current political leaders, it might be tempting to just immediately shut them down. But a pastoral response is one that looks beyond the surface to what lies beneath.

Rather than jumping into truth statements or debates, begin with curious questions:

• What is it about the Nephilim that you find interesting?
• What draws you to this topic more than others?
• Are you processing this with anyone else, online or in your church community?

Asking simple, open-ended questions can help reveal where someone is at on their spiritual journey. It becomes less about assessing the correctness of their ideas and more about discerning their internal world. What need are they trying to meet? What ache or longing might a conspiracy theory be helping to soothe? Focus on their story, not just their sources. Their emotional and relational context often gives far more insight than the content of their ideas.

2. Affirm what is beautiful before challenging what is broken.

Once you have built relational trust, begin by affirming what is good in them. Every seeker type is motivated by something God-given: the desire for truth, justice, understanding, belonging, or wholeness. By affirming the positive aspect first, we can lean into the redemptive edge that God wants them to have.

Say things like:

• I love that you are hungry for more than just surface-level faith.
• Your passion for honoring God in every detail of life is really inspiring.
• I can tell you care deeply about God’s Word—thank you for taking it seriously.

This does not mean you endorse everything they believe. It simply means you are choosing to meet their zeal with grace and helping them see how their passion can be stewarded well.

3. Do not dismiss, but redirect.

Lastly, leaning into the positive helps make it easier to redirect their interest to healthier outlets (and inputs). Rather than dismissing or stereotyping, we do the hard work of getting to know them and pastoring them to a healthier place. Dismissing someone’s interest—especially when tied to deep convictions—rarely produces growth. More often, it causes people to double down or withdraw into echo chambers.

Instead of saying, “You shouldn’t study that,” try “That’s interesting, have you ever explored how Jewish tradition shaped Christian sacraments like baptism?” Or “If you’re interested in Hebrew roots, what do you think about Romans 9–11?”

Invite them to dig deeper into the Bible, Church history, Jewish-Christian dialogue, or classic theology. Pair them with mature mentors who can walk with them. Do not take away their hunger; help them find nourishing food.

What Is a Healthy Approach?

It is possible to see ourselves in each type of seeker, identifying with some of their unhealthy motivations in different seasons of our lives. But it should go without saying say that there is a healthy way for Gentile Christians to approach Jewish history and tradition.

We have been grafted into the family of Abraham. Jesus was and is Jewish. The Bible is a Jewish book through and through. As we learn more about the Jewish foundation of our faith, we learn more about our transcendent God who made Himself forever immanent in the form of a Jewish man. The more we learn about His covenant faithfulness to Israel, the more we learn about our own place and part in His ultimate plan of world redemption.

“It is the glory of God to conceal things; but the glory of kings is to search things out” (Proverbs 25:2).

God created us to search out the never-ending, infinite mystery of who He is. It is not wrong to seek deeper truth in God and greater authenticity in our faith. This is what we were made to do!

Like we have been saying all along, the key differentiator is motivation. Are we looking to deepen our understanding of Scripture and grow in intimacy with God? Or are we trying to prove ourselves by gaining some kind of elite status through hidden knowledge or achieved identity?

A subtle shame-based or performance-based theology can sometimes corrupt what starts in pure motive. There is nothing we can do to ever make us more acceptable before God. The blood of Jesus alone justifies. We do not need to become someone else or to know something special that no one else knows.

Healthy engagement happens from a posture of humility and inheritance. We Gentiles are strangers made heirs (Ephesians 2:19). We should always look to guard our hearts against exceptionalism and elitism, humbly preferring the lower road as the “wild branches,” not the “natural branches.” (Rom 11:24) We must recognize that it is only by the riches of God’s grace that we have been made co-heirs together with our Jewish brothers and sisters.

One of the best ways we guard against unhealthy motivations is by focusing more on people than on ideas. When we focus too much on ideas (theories, facts, interpretations, theology, history), then it easily becomes self-centered and all about what we think, feel, and believe. But when we focus more on others, our attention is pulled away from ourselves and toward the needs of others.

Conclusion

The draw of Jewish customs for Gentile Christians is a phenomenon with deep roots and diverse expressions. It taps into fundamental human longings: for a faith that feels authentic, for a narrative that makes sense of chaos (even via conspiracy), for knowledge and experience, and for clear identity and belonging.

Rather than dismissing the seeker types, may we all seek the healthy motives they reveal: the authenticity seeker’s reverence for Scripture’s roots, the conspiracy seeker’s desire for meaning in the mysteries, the curiosity seeker’s delight in discovery, and the identity seeker’s yearning to belong to a greater story and holy people.

And in all of this, may we remember: the goal is not to flatten every distinct impulse into sameness, but to shepherd each heart back to wholeness in Christ. Our faith is not enriched by mimicry or mystery-chasing, but by abiding in the truth that we are already chosen, already grafted in, already beloved. The Jewish foundation of our faith should humble us, not inflate us. They should lead us not into superiority or separatism, but into deeper gratitude for God’s covenant faithfulness and into greater unity with the full Body of Messiah—Jew and Gentile together, one new humanity. Let that be the story we long to belong to.