The Noahide

HOW DO HUMAN BEINGS KNOW THE MORAL
 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN RIGHT AND WRONG?

An Excerpt from a course on Natural Law, the Noahide, and the Torah

There has been a long-standing opinion among Jewish scholars that Gentiles who follow the seven laws of the Noahide can be considered "righteous Gentiles" who qualify for a share in the coming Kingdom of God.  The exception (among most but not all) being those Gentiles who worship Jesus and the Holy Spirit (Trinitarians) as part of the Godhead which is viewed as idolatry.  This is a perversion, and not relevant to this study.

There is also an increasing interest among some so-called Christian groups to exchange Biblical Christianity for a works-based Christianized version of the Noahide.  This too is a perversion, and not relevant to this study.

That there are universally known moral requisites demands an answer to the question of what they are.  To answer that question we present another question namely, "What is the Noahide?".

To answer this question with a question I turn to Dr. Rabbi Shimon Cowen's words in his seminal document on the Noahide Laws.

"There are seven laws, which are biblically binding on all humanity.  They are prohibitions on idolatry, blasphemy, forbidden sexual relationships, theft, murder, lawlessness (the failure to establish courts and processes of justice) and the improper treatment of nature (framed as a prohibition of the consumption of the limb of a living animal).

They are known as the Noahide laws, after Noah, the biblical survivor of the Flood, and ancestor of all humanity.

These laws are an intrinsic "possession" of humanity.  For, to use the biblical phrase, the human being is "created in the image of G-d," that is to say, fitted to "imitate G-d," and this imitation takes place through the performance of the Divinely given Noahide commandments." ¹

Thus, the Noahide laws are seven.  It is of more than passing interest that the number seven is the number of perfection, and that there are seven colors in the rainbow.  The seven laws (sometimes stated using only slightly different wording and the order of six and seven reversed) are these:

1. Do not deny God.
2. Do not blaspheme God.
3. Do not murder.
4. Do not engage in illicit sexual relations.
5. Do not steal.
6. Do not eat from a live animal.
7. Establish a system to fairly adjudicate the other six laws.

Do these seven laws cover all aspects of universal morality?  Yes, and no.  The answer is no if only the stated law is considered.  On the other hand, the answer is yes if the implications of each are considered.

For example, commandment five (Do not steal), covers all forms of a misappropriation of what rightly belongs to another (a person) or to others whether a small group or a nation.  So when one nation by an act of aggression claims territory belonging to a weaker nation, that is a violation of the fifth Noahide commandment.

The same would hold true when a corporation by subterfuge acquires a customer list from a competitor.  And so forth for all of the other Noahide commandments.

One might argue that the first command (Do not deny God) is merely a religious preference, and not a universal law of righteousness, but that would be to underestimate it's universal application.  Because the first commandment of the Noahide can be understood as a prohibition against denying religious freedoms in general.

Concerning all seven, it is clear that in nations of all times, these seven have been at the heart of just and equitable law.  Human beings universally recognize some things as being right, and others wrong.  For example, lying, cheating, stealing, murder, sexual deviance, hurtful aggression, and a host of other such things are recognized as punishable by law.  Human beings are inescapably possessed with the blessings and curses associated with issues of morality.

Next, we will answer the question, "What is the Mechanism of Comprehension?"

For a deeper study, you are encouraged to consider enrolling in our 3 credit-hour academic course "THE LAW OF UNIVERSAL RIGHTEOUSNESS: Natural Law, the Noahide, and the Torah." You can check out all of our regular academic programs by clicking this link: PROGRAMS.

Thank you for sharing time with me. I hope this brief post will encourage you to want to learn more about the laws of universal righteousness, and the manner in which God has implanted the awareness of right and wrong within your own heart and mind.

Dennis D. Frey, Th.D.,

1.  The Theory and Practice of Universal Ethics - The Noahide Laws, by Dr. Rabbi Shimon Dovid Cowen, ISBN-13: 978-0826608437, Kehot Publication Society, 2015, Introduction, pages 1 & 2.