Wednesday, January 18, 2006
NOACHIDE LAWS - WHY DOES IT MATTER ?
Mark linked this website which outlines the source of the Noachide Laws and asks why it matters where they came from.
Every time I've read through a website describing these laws, they are spelled out differently. One site claimed that they expand into 66 laws when fully explored. There is no uniform text for them as there is with the Ten Commandments.
Are these Noachide Laws the basis of our so-called "Natural Law" which is used in the courts and figures so prominently in confirmation hearings for the Supreme Court? Justin, or any other lawyers who happen to be lurking here?
If they are, that means that they are replacing the Ten Commandments in our legal system. The interpretation of the Noachide Laws would be more important if the laws of the nation are at stake.
Specifically the law prohibiting idolatry could become a problem for Christians. Jewish interpretation of the Noachide Laws requires worship of one--and only one--God. Not a Trinitarian God. Imagine how this would affect Catholics if it became the law of the land!
Interpretation of the prohibition against eating the limb of a living animal is sometimes given that one may not eat flesh and must eat only plant material. Vegetarianism, of course, is the word for observance of this law, and it is growing in adherence. We can survive on plant material if that would become the law of the land. I'd miss eating a good steak, but it wouldn't be earth shattering. But consider how eating the Body and Blood of Christ would appear under such a system. While it might not be illegal, it would certainly provoke revulsion in the thinking of a lot of people. Catholicism could be viewed as immoral under such a system.
What kind of power lies behind the recent formation of the Sanhedrin in Israel? It is the Sanhedrin that will enforce the Noachide Laws. Could this spread to other countries? The Jewish population in the world is small. What is the Jewish influence? One indication might come from the Masonic Thomas Smith Webb Chapter of Research. This is an upper degree of regular Freemasonry (GLE), so it does have some influence apart from the influence Jews might have. In that research lodge website is the paper, written by Robert Ambelain (a Martinist, Order of the Elus Cohen, and founder of the Eglise Gnostique Apostolique), on the Ark of the Covenant where you can read:
*** "...the Ark of the Covenant of Israel, under its true name of the "Ark of Testimony", has often given birth among those Occultists who are fascinated by this historical enigma, to the idea of the possible "condensation" within the sides of the Ark - a sinple box of gold-plated wood - of a formidable and intelligent Unknown Force."
*** "Moses returned and descended from Mount Sinai, the two Tablets of Testimony in his hands. The two tablets were written on both sides, they were written on one and on the other side...
A significant error spread abroad suggests that they carried the commandments of God. This is false, since all the descriptions which carried the message of the Eternal One at Sinai were written in Moses' hand, and in a separate book..."
*** "So we may conclude that, as in all Theurgic operations, where the Power which is evoked, registers its 'seal', its mark upon a metal plaque or on the virgin parchment of the Grimoire, as a sign of agreement, the God of Israel finally gave him his signature, his agreement, by a 'Testimony', mysteriously engraved upon these Tablets of stone...
The ultimate question still remains: what was engraved on those Tablets? The agreement, the 'pact' between the invoked Intelligence and the Magician is manifest by the former communicating its magical 'seal', and the revelation of its 'name'. These are the two principal elements of the ritual of evocation. And this revelation is the 'testimony' of trust which is afforded to the aforementioned Magician. The magical possession of the Name and Sigil is, for the Magician, the key ingredient of his success. All universal traditions agree on this fact."
There is more in the article. It is clear that Ambelain was proposing a magical formula for the Ark of the Covenant, and this masonic research lodge had placed this paper of the gnostic Ambelain into its website.
Is this "spirituality" integral to the Royal Arch Degree in Freemasonry? One tends to get that impression from this website. If it is, the Lodge has here admitted that what has been shuttled off to the side as "irregular" Freemasonry is now being reclaimed by Grand Lodge of England. That would also be reflected in the activities of the Canonbury Masonic Research Center in London, where Michael Baigent, author of HOLY BLOOD, HOLY GRAIL, is active.
To close the loop, then, one merely has to read Paul A. Fisher's book BEHIND THE LODGE DOOR, and learn how Freemasonry has influenced our Supreme Court. It is hardly a secret that the Court has turned against Christianity.
Has the lodge and the Jewish movement to reconstruct the Third Temple joined forces? Were they always joined covertly? Do they represent the resurgence of the Cathar religion? If they do, will this new emerging spirituality seek to rule the world and in so doing make Christianity illegal?
So you see, Mark, it does matter what the source of the Noahide Laws are, because we might have to decide whether we can live with them at some point in the future.
