Fellow Noahides - non-Jews who believe in Judaism?

No we aren't Jews, Layla. In fact I've been waiting over ten years TO be able to convert to Judaism. We are not Jews. We are Gentiles who believe in the covenant given in the Torah between God and the Gentiles which is called the 7 Noahide Laws. Some of us do want to convert to Judaism, but most of us don't, and are happy being Noahides.

As for the questions from the Asker:

1. Pro-life? Pro-choice? The official position is that we are Pro-life, but not in the absolute, abortion should never be allowed, type of way that fundamentalist Christians are. Orthodox Judaism recognises that there are circumstances in which an abortion is permitted.

These circumstances might be when it involves the saving of the life of the mother, and when the pregnancy would cause the mother to have the type of psychological problems that would lead to her life being in danger.

There are other circumstances as well, and in ALL cases the Rabbis, the doctors, the parents, all must be consulted.

2. Noahidism is not a religion, per se. It is a Covenant between us Gentiles and God. It is a way of life, of living as well. Although Orthodox Jews also follow these laws, they have many more in addition which encompass Judaism, which the Noahide paths do not have.

3. Technically we are to follow the Jewish rulings on questions we have, yes. Orthodox Judaism, that is. Not Reform, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Humanistic, etc. Just Orthodox.

The Noahide Laws, although only 7, actually encompass anywhere from 60-some to 80-some in their subcategories of Jewish law that we are to follow.

http://www.noahide.org/

P.S. I should add that if a person chooses to follow the path of the Noahide, they really need to be able to have contact with Orthodox Rabbis in order to become very familiar with Jewish law and to ask questions when needed

This is easily possible these days online if you have no Orthodox Rabbis in your town, there are resources such as Ask The Rabbi, AskMoses.com, and most Chabad Rabbis will gladly help any Noahide as it is the Chabad who have mainly been bringing Noahidism back out for the Gentiles in the past few decades.

So you can call just about any Chabad house - and they are all over the place - and speak to a Rabbi about anything you need.

There is also a Noahide chat available on VirtualYeshiva.com, taught by Orthodox Rabbis.

EDIT: Ambivalent, there is one overreaching organization that has been trying to get off the ground, but it has had some troubles. So I have declined to put it here today, but when they are able to resolve their issues (or if they are), I'll be happy to post it.

To the Asker: yes, sure, I'll open my email, please go ahead and shoot me an email. Just give me a minute to get it open.

Layla: I have been waiting ten years because I am married to a non-Jew and am not permitted to convert through Orthodox Judaism under those circumstances.

EDIT: Ambivalent, the idea that Christians are Noahides is a fairly new one, and not universally accepted by all Orthodox Jews.

Many Orthodox, including Rabbis, still believe that the Trinity, the human sacrifice of Jesus, turning God into a man and worshipping that man as God, all of these are idolatry for everyone.

This was the position ten years ago when I started studying with the Orthodox Jews, and had been the accepted position long before then.

Since then, the position has been softening to a great degree to say that "it is idolatry for JEWS but not for Christians to believe those things."

It is still accepted according to Jewish law, that a Jew is not permitted to go into a Church because of the idolatry there. It is the same law found in Islam too. And both religions regarded the Christians as idolators. It's a fairly recent thing that this position has been softening.

answer: Yes, we usually echo Jewish principles. When it comes to abortion and contraceptives it's a personal decision as to what you feel and what you encourage or fight for.

Something that has been accepted in Judaism is abortion in the cases of rape, incest or if the life of the mother are threatened and the fetus isn't viable, like ectopic pregnancies.

Layla - respectfully, Noahides are those who feel a kinship with Judaism but haven't gone through a conversion process yet or can't at this point in their lives. For example, someone who is drawn to Orthodox Judaism but is married to someone who isn't - they would be a Noahide, adhering to the 7 laws.

Being a Noahide does NOT entail believing in Judaism. The Noahide laws are the basic laws that Jews see as fundamental to a good community and society. Most Muslims are in fact Noahides. In fact, many secular people are Noahides. And Jewish authorities recognise Christians as Noahides, seeing that the doctrine of the trinity is not the same thing as idolatry. See http://www.myjewishlearning.com/ideas_belief/Jews_...

Just as within Judaism there is a range of views on abortion, it is to be expected that Noahides - which, as I've said, include Christians, Muslims and secular people - will have a range of views. As is the case within Judaism, the Jewish expectation is that people will work things out for themselves. For Jews, this is meant to include an understanding of tradition, of the views of great rabbis, of the attitude of one's own community etc.

There certainly are people who call themselves Noahides who feel more closely allied with Judaism, but there is no overarching organisation for such people, to the best of my knowledge. If Schmo appears, perhaps he'll be able to say more. [EDIT: Great, he got here while I was writing!]

EDIT 2: Thanks, Schmo!

I'll star in the hope that SCHMO will come and answer.

Noahides are not bound by Jewish religious law.

For those out there interested in the Jewish stance on abortion:

Generally speaking: abortion is permitted if continuing with the pregnancy will cause severe physical, emotional or pshychological damage to the mother. Up until the actual birth, the well being of the mother tends to take priority.

EVESS

- your little crack about the Holocaust is not only invalid but also in horribly bad taste.

I am against abortion and always have been even befor I was a Noahide.

I'm with Pangel on this one. While Noachides are obligated to observe the 7 laws, the rest is open to your interpretation and good judgment.

My understanding is that Judaism allows abortions where there is risk of harm to the mother (physically or psychologically), if that helps.

I just came along to see what's happening. It's an interesting uestion.

with respect

and I am sure that your Jewish friends may tell you the same ( I hope )

YOU are a person with your own mind and opinions

why are you asking what YOU should believe in regards to these things ?

Noahides are Jews.

Oops JPA found this. My bad ..

Why wait 10 years? Why not convert already?