The Noachide Laws that apply to all Men

Jewish protests against the State of Israel in London in 2006

An Oxford graduate friend of mine popped in to see me yesterday to let me know that he has given up work so he can have time to study the bible in its original Hebrew. This is not a usual occurrence I grant you, but as a student of languages amongst which are Anglo-Saxon, Arabic and Japanese he knows a great deal more than I about the difficulties of translating between languages and since so much of our modern civil society is based on ancient writings in ancient and obscure languages he often has unique insights into our modern world.

It was a reading of the Quran (the Muslim holy book) which has inspired this latest research project and it is a project which will involve astro-physics and quantum mechanics and their relation to religious beliefs.

A pilgrimage to Mecca culminates with the pilgrims circling a large piece of iron which was recovered from the Arabian desert. There are a number of meteor trails throughout the still largely unexplored Arabian desert, which has signs of many ruined settlements and mysteries as yet unexplained... Being something of a linguistics expert he had previously spent some time examining the cuniform text of ancient Mespotamia, particularly the creation myths. I will be coming back to these point in future posts.

This inspired me to undertake a little research of my own. Since Neptune has now entered Pisces, I figured  it was a good time that Pisceans, such as myself, open their awareness to new ideas as it only happens every other century. That it always just happens to coincide with momentous changes in the social consciousness for example the American and French Revolutions, the Protestant Reformation, the entry of Buddhism into China, may just be coincidence.

I discovered that one of the oldest Libertarian movements on this planet is the 'Jewish not Zionist' movement, this is a worldwide organisation which is opposed to the Zionist state, which it sees as a danger to the safety of those who choose to follow the Jewish religion and a perversion of the Jewish tradition. You can read more about it and its history (which goes back to the early twentieth century) at their website.

An informed person had quietly advised me that the basis of all our laws goes back to the Torah and low and behold I have discovered its source.

"According to Jewish tradition, there are seven Noachide laws which apply to all human beings. Then there are the Ten Commandments which form basic standard of morality and conduct for adherents of all monotheistic religions. In addition to these, there are 613 laws obligatory for Jews, and every Jew has to observe those which are applicable to him or her according to Halacha. It is the carrying out of these mitzvoth, "commandments," which constitutes the essence of being Jewish, and therefore of the Jewish people and their covenant with G-d."

The Laws, followed with a short Scriptural reference, prohibit:

1) Idolatry: Idolatry is more than bowing to graven images; it is trusting anything other than God for salvation. In Genesis 11, the Tower of Babel shows what happens when we make ourselves “god” and try to ascend to heaven on our own.

2) Blasphemy: Incorrectly thought of as heresy, it is in fact the misuse of God’s name. Genesis 4:26 shows us, “Then men began to call on the name of the LORD.” They did so correctly in prayer, worship, and supplication; other uses are blasphemy.

3) Sexual Immorality: Genesis 2:24 defines marriage. Only the joining of man and woman into “one flesh” with God’s blessing is allowed. Any other physical union is a perversion of God’s plan.

4) Theft: In Genesis 3, the “crime” Adam and Eve committed when eating of the tree was not only disobedience, but theft. They stole God’s property that He hadn’t given them.

5) Eating Blood: Genesis 9:3-4, “Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you. I have given you all things, even as the green herbs. But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood.”

6) Homicide: Genesis 9:6, “Whoever sheds man's blood, by man his blood shall be shed; for in the image of God he made man.”

Unlike the other negative prohibitions, this is a positive instruction:

7) To set up courts of justice to enforce the laws: From Genesis 9:5, “Surely for your lifeblood I will demand a reckoning; from the hand of every beast I will require it, and from the hand of man.”

Leading Rabbi dies aged 108

and reveals the name of the Messiah.