Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site topaz.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!unc!mcnc!decvax!genrad!teddy!panda!talcott!harvard!seismo!topaz!hedrick From: hedrick@topaz.ARPA (Chuck Hedrick) Newsgroups: net.religion,net.religion.jewish Subject: Re: Noachic laws (disagreeing with Rosen) Message-ID: <216@topaz.ARPA> Date: Fri, 11-Jan-85 02:17:54 EST Article-I.D.: topaz.216 Posted: Fri Jan 11 02:17:54 1985 Date-Received: Sun, 13-Jan-85 07:06:37 EST References: <463@fisher.UUCP> <20980050@cmu-cs-k.ARPA> <7181@brl-tgr.ARPA> Organization: Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.J. Lines: 21 Xref: watmath net.religion:5264 net.religion.jewish:1248 > By the way, I tried explaining and discussing the concept of these "Noachic" > laws with my wife (a widely-read fundamentalistic Protestant) and a friend who > has had extensive Catholic religious training [spent some time as a monastic > novice before deciding against continuing it]; neither knew anything about > them. Try Gen 9:1-17. After Noah came out of the Ark, he made a covenant with God. Everyone remembers that God promised not to flood the earth again. Not so many people remember that a covenant has two sides. The things Noah promised are the "Noachic laws". They are known among Christian scholars because they were involved in the first-century debates over what laws Christians had to obey. As you may recall, some Christians felt that Christianity was a sect of Judaism, and all new converts should obey the entire Mosaic law. Paul argued that this was not necessary. The compromise was that Gentile Christian converts would be bound by the Noachic laws but not the Mosaic ones. At the time, Jews apparently considered that the convenant with Moses applied only to Jews, but the covenant with Noah applied to all men. The reason is that only the Jews are decendants of Moses, but everyone is a descendant of Noah. Act 15:19-21 records this decision. This did not apply to Jewish Christians, who were still expected to obey the law of Moses.