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Noahide Laws
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

The Noahide laws are the mitzvot (laws) that Judaism teaches that all
of humankind is morally bound to follow. Although opinions differ on
the reach of these laws, all contemporary authorities agree that there
are seven main laws.

Premise

According to Judaism, the Noahide laws apply to all humanity through
their descent from Noah after The Flood. In Judaism, B'nai Noach
(Hebrew, "Descendants of Noah"), and Noahide, are non-Jews who live 
in accord with the seven Noahide Laws (below). Any B'nai Noach
organization will be composed of gentiles who follow these rules.

All denominations of Judaism hold that gentiles (non-Jews) are not
obligated to follow halakha (Jewish law and custom); only Jews are
obligated do so. Judaism has no tradition of active conversion, and
modern-day Judaism discourages proselytization. Rather, for non-Jews,
the Noahide Laws are considered the way to have a meaningful
relationship with God.

Maimonides states in his work Yad ha-Chazaka (The laws of kings and
their rulership 8:11) that a non-Jew who keeps the Seven Noahide
commandments is considered to be a Righteous Gentile and has earned
the afterlife. This follows a similar statement in the Talmud
(tractate Sanhedrin 105b). However, according to Maimonides, a share
in the World to Come is only earned if a person follows the Noahide
laws specifically because they consider them to be of divine origin
(through the Torah) and not if they simply consider them a good way 
to live (in which case they would simply be a wise person). Other
authorities do not make this distinction.

The seven laws

The seven laws are first mentioned in Tosefta Sanhedrin 9:4 and Talmud
Sanhedrin 56a/b:

   1. Do not murder.
   2. Do not steal.
   3. Do not worship false gods.
   4. Do not be sexually immoral (forbidden sexual acts are traditionally 
      interpreted to include incest, sodomy, male homosexual sex acts and      
      adultery)
   5. Do not eat anything of the body of an unslaughtered animal (see Kashrut).
   6. Do not blaspheme.
   7. Set up courts and bring offenders to justice.

The Talmud says: "Righteous people of all nations have a share in the
world to come" (Sanhedrin 105a). Any person who lives according to
these laws is known as "the righteous among the gentiles". Maimonides
states that this refers to those who have acquired knowledge of God
and act in accordance with the Noahide laws.

(snip / snip)

Source: Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noahide_Laws

Cheers, Steve..

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