Hello all,
I've never posted before, though I am quite familiar with your site. I'm a Christian monotheist (I think Y'shua will be/was Mashiach, but not G-d). I became a monotheist via the Messianic movement, actually. It was through the Messianic movement that I realized the modern portrayal of Jesus was nothing accurate to the historical Jesus, or even what was actually stated in the NT. I went one step further in personal study than the Messianics by taking Jesus' word at face value: he said he wasn't G-d. I have several questions and concerns about the modern "noachide" movement.
1.) If the only thing that separates a modern day protestant Christian from being a "noachide" is the attribution of deity to Jesus, why isn't the attention that is being exerted by certain groups to increase the number of general noachides (i.e. Chabad) not directed specifically towards Christians? It would seem that if a population of gentiles (i.e. Christians) kept 6/7 "noachide" laws, you would make easier students of them than trying to have the atheist or Hindu become "noachide." Some have compared Christians to children who have been led astray and are stuck in ignorance, but why is it that instead of gently trying to educate the peaceable and gentle, modern-day protestant Christians who already have a strong affinity towards Israel to obtain that last 1/7 that they lack, individuals so often condemn these potential students as being 100% wrong?
2.) So often, I have been told by Jews involved in the "noachide" movement that G-d has "two paths" for the world: the Jewish path, and the gentile path. So many times it was stressed to me that supposedly G-d does not want to convert gentiles to Judaism or give up their gentile culture, He simply wants gentiles to observe their supposed 7 laws. Part of accepting these 7 laws is acknowledging the Noah narrative, and the Tanakh in general: this by default will require the "noachide" to forsake very large segments of his gentile history, culture, and people. "Noachides" are told they can be fully gentile (in fact, as has been my personal experience, they are told they are UNWANTED as converts as this would "violate" G-d's "unique path" for gentiles). But please answer me this: how can, for instance, an Indian woman living in a Hindu society practially remain part of her gentile people, culture, and heritage when she's unable to partake in 90% of Hindu culture?
3.) It has been said, even by members of this board, that Muslims eternally have much more in common with Jews than Christians ever will. I find this unbelievable. Muslims do not worship Hashem (the G-d of ISRAEL). They deny the accounts of Tanakh as forgeries, also stating in the Koran stated that Jews are "descendants of apes and pigs." Part of the "noachide" requirement is that the "noachide" has to accept these 7 laws fully acknowledging that Hashem has commanded them, not simply because they seem logical or for any other reason. If someone has absolutely no concept of Hashem specifically, and either no purposeful knowledge of Tanakh (or blatant rejection of its historicity), when they have in fact been exposed to it in the modern world--I'm not talking about a remote native tribe living cut off from the world in a rain forest--how can they possibly be considered noachide?
Thank you in advance for your reply.
Sincerely,
Erin Maxfield
I've never posted before, though I am quite familiar with your site. I'm a Christian monotheist (I think Y'shua will be/was Mashiach, but not G-d). I became a monotheist via the Messianic movement, actually. It was through the Messianic movement that I realized the modern portrayal of Jesus was nothing accurate to the historical Jesus, or even what was actually stated in the NT. I went one step further in personal study than the Messianics by taking Jesus' word at face value: he said he wasn't G-d. I have several questions and concerns about the modern "noachide" movement.
1.) If the only thing that separates a modern day protestant Christian from being a "noachide" is the attribution of deity to Jesus, why isn't the attention that is being exerted by certain groups to increase the number of general noachides (i.e. Chabad) not directed specifically towards Christians? It would seem that if a population of gentiles (i.e. Christians) kept 6/7 "noachide" laws, you would make easier students of them than trying to have the atheist or Hindu become "noachide." Some have compared Christians to children who have been led astray and are stuck in ignorance, but why is it that instead of gently trying to educate the peaceable and gentle, modern-day protestant Christians who already have a strong affinity towards Israel to obtain that last 1/7 that they lack, individuals so often condemn these potential students as being 100% wrong?
2.) So often, I have been told by Jews involved in the "noachide" movement that G-d has "two paths" for the world: the Jewish path, and the gentile path. So many times it was stressed to me that supposedly G-d does not want to convert gentiles to Judaism or give up their gentile culture, He simply wants gentiles to observe their supposed 7 laws. Part of accepting these 7 laws is acknowledging the Noah narrative, and the Tanakh in general: this by default will require the "noachide" to forsake very large segments of his gentile history, culture, and people. "Noachides" are told they can be fully gentile (in fact, as has been my personal experience, they are told they are UNWANTED as converts as this would "violate" G-d's "unique path" for gentiles). But please answer me this: how can, for instance, an Indian woman living in a Hindu society practially remain part of her gentile people, culture, and heritage when she's unable to partake in 90% of Hindu culture?
3.) It has been said, even by members of this board, that Muslims eternally have much more in common with Jews than Christians ever will. I find this unbelievable. Muslims do not worship Hashem (the G-d of ISRAEL). They deny the accounts of Tanakh as forgeries, also stating in the Koran stated that Jews are "descendants of apes and pigs." Part of the "noachide" requirement is that the "noachide" has to accept these 7 laws fully acknowledging that Hashem has commanded them, not simply because they seem logical or for any other reason. If someone has absolutely no concept of Hashem specifically, and either no purposeful knowledge of Tanakh (or blatant rejection of its historicity), when they have in fact been exposed to it in the modern world--I'm not talking about a remote native tribe living cut off from the world in a rain forest--how can they possibly be considered noachide?
Thank you in advance for your reply.
Sincerely,
Erin Maxfield
