Posted on 07/02/2013 6:14:44 AM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
We propose, we do not impose.
Precisely!
T’anks. I was an existentialist in my wasted youth, before the Lord smacked me upside the head and said, “Stop being such a dumb*zz!”
*shudder*
Rabbi Sacks seems to go beyond that. He seems to be saying all the "Abrahamic" religions are equally valid. Though this certainly sounds like the message of the Catholic Church since Vatican II.
Rambam in Mishneh Torah ruled that one of the duties of the Jewish People is to "compel" the nations of the world to adopt the Noachide Laws. And to tell the truth, once upon a time the Catholic Church marched whole nations into the river for baptism. On top of that, the Torah states that it was a mitzvah to exterminate the Seven Nations of Cannan and `Amaleq, and to expel all idolators from the Holy Land. Perhaps it has been a while since you have read the Book of Joshua.
I have contacted my adviser in these matters, Michael Shulman of the AskNoah web site, if there is any material that will clear up any confusion or misconceptions, mine included, with regard to the kosher attitude to non-Jewish religions.
Stay tuned.
There’s a nice summation of various traditional approaches at jlaw:
http://www.jlaw.com/Articles/noach2.html
And You are 100% Correct!!!
Praise be to HaShem!
Thanks, jjotto. I’ll be reading that for some time go come!
However, I would like to respond to this passage near the end:
So too, the possibility that a clearly Jewish attempt to seek enforcement of Noachide laws could result in vast antagonism and backlash toward Judaism from those groups whose conduct is categorically prohibited by Noachide law is not to be dismissed.
Yes, that may very well be, and discretion must always be used. But it is an unfortunate fact that the opposite position--practicing quietism while secular and heretical Jews identify Jews with secularism and immorality--can also create a backlash. A little balance to the latter behavior wouldn't hurt.
I used to follow the much applauded ‘new atheists’. Now I look back on those days, and people like this fraud, Dennet, and I can’t help but shake my head.
I was reading an article on Daniel Dennet’s thesis for the creation of the universe. He essentially says that the universe created itself, which is so logically incoherent, it deserves to be mocked. He presents no logical argument for how this could be true, but just uses it as a pre-determined precedent for all the other crap he believes, with no justification whatsoever.
And this guy is held up over even Richard Dawkins!
In terms of philosophers, most of the atheists who ever said anything compelling are dead. The new variety are just recycling old theories, using ad hominem attacks to degrade Christianity, and many are simply pretending to be philosophers. Like Sam Harris, who I believe is a neurologist, and Dawkins, who is simply a biologist.
A friend of mine once said something I never forgot.
The man who does not think about faith will have a weak belief in his creator.
The man who does think about faith will have no belief in his creator.
But the man who thinks a lot about faith will arrive at an unshakable knowledge of God.
This rings true for me. I think many are under this delusion that God is some kind of logical inconsistency, that only people who are blind to facts believe in Him, but instead, people who really analyze the facts as they are, analyze the arguments for God’s existence with an open mind, cannot deny God. If you do, you end up having to believe in ridiculous premises such as Dennet’s, that the universe somehow created itself, despite not existing.
It's hard to give a person's argument much respect when he starts with an unsupported assertion like that.
Well, the late Lubavitcher Rebbe had no such reluctance:
http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/sichos-in-english/16/27.htm
...An integral component of the Jew’s task is to see to it that all peoples, not just Jews, acknowledge G-d as Creator and ruler of the world. The world, we are told, “was not created for chaos, but that it be inhabited.” A chaotic world results when there are no absolute criteria by which man lives, when morals and ethics are based solely on man’s understanding. Man is swayed by interests other than reason and justice; and we have only too recently seen the destruction which results when laws and philosophy are perverted to serve personal ends.
G-d, the Creator of the world, has not abandoned His handiwork, but has given clear guidance how the world can be made “inhabited,” settled and productive, decent and enduring. The nations of the world have been given a Divine code of conduct, the Seven Noachide Laws, which consist of six prohibitions against murder, robbery, idolatry, adultery, blasphemy, cruelty to animals — and one positive command, to establish a judicial system. These Seven Noachide Laws are general statements, which, with their ramifications and extensions, encompass countless details.
The reason these Seven Laws are to be observed is also important. The Rambam rules (Code, Kings 8:11) that the Sons of Noach (i.e. all humanity) must observe these Laws because “G-d commanded them in the Torah and informed us through Moshe that the Sons of Noach had already been so commanded.” A non-Jew conducts himself in consonance with the Seven Laws not because human logic compels him to do so, but because they are G-d’s commands transmitted through Moshe. This ensures that self-interest will never be allowed to pervert the Divine criteria of conduct.
It is through the observance of the Seven Noachide Laws that the entire world becomes a decent, productive place, a fitting receptacle for the Divine. Then, promises Scripture, “the glory of the L-rd will be revealed and all flesh together will see that the mouth of the L-rd has spoken.” The culmination of this will be the Messianic epoch, when, through the agency of Moshiach, “all will call in the Name of the L-rd and serve Him with a common consent.”...
A more specific statement:
http://www.sichosinenglish.org/books/sichos-in-english/35/06.htm
...there was a time when we did not reach out to the gentiles to encourage them to observe the Seven Noachide Laws. In the old days any attempt to discuss faith in G-d with gentiles would invariably lead to danger and even mortal danger for Jews. So, except for a few exceptions, there was no opportunity to fulfill this mitzvah.
In our generation things are different. There is no danger involved in this activity, and to the contrary, such activity will increase the respect that the nations show us, for they will realize that Jews care not only about their own welfare but also about the good of all humanity and the whole world...
At any rate, with the confused nature of Noachism at this moment in history my own personal policy is to be open to all, but at the same time to exercise the greatest caution.
Rabbi Aaron Lichtenstein told a story of being a young student of “The Rav” Joseph B. Soloveitchik, who was far from from anything chassidic. The Rav told his students to become familiar the Sheva Mitzvot B’nai Noach because non-Jews would be coming to them for explanations in the future.
This was around late ‘50s, early ‘60s when the Seven Laws were seldom studied at all.
So it’s not just Chabad that has changed their attitude toward teaching the Seven Laws.
This was around late ‘50s, early ‘60s when the Seven Laws were seldom studied at all.
So it’s not just Chabad that has changed their attitude toward teaching the Seven Laws.
That's really amazing, jjotto.
Back in my younger days (when I was a chrstian but still drawn to Judaism) I could understand why Jews would reject chrstianity, but one thing always bothered me: that Judaism apparently had no message to the vast majority of mankind. The fact that chrstianity did was one thing that kept me hanging on so long. (Please understand that I am not criticizing the reluctance to engage non-Jews during periods when doing so could get entire communities wiped out.)
Righteous souls need to continuously beg pardon and intercede for the U.S.
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