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Will the "Real" Noachide please stand up (and raise your right hand)
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Over the last few days I have been trying to answer the slew of questions concerning my actions about standing before the Sanhedrin to take a Noachide oath.   It seems that I have unknowingly done some tragic thing.  Some have accused me of not being a “real” Noachide. 

They may be correct.  I belong to no organization or “club” of Noachides, nor have I ever professed as such.  I don’t know the secret Noachide handshake, nor have I been given the passwords.  Apparently I did not fill out my application for membership, and foolishly considered that this was more of a matter concerning my relationship with God than it was being in the right group. 

If we are ever going to get past the silly and petty name calling, we must all realize that what is happening is NOT ABOUT US.  We are not the important factor in what is happening around us.  God is working out HIS plan, and wherever that leads is fine by me. 

Susan (my wonderful wife) and I stood before the Sanhedrin to take the Noachide oath after this past Sukkot (2006).  There was no agenda or statement that we were trying to make, other than as non-Jews we were willing to submit to the authority of the court and commit ourselves to follow whatever rules or laws God expected us to follow.  I offered to help in any way I could, but did not press the matter.  When it seemed as if no help was wanted, that was just fine.  I don’t mind NOT being in the center of things.

Committing ourselves to the service of God, in whatever way each of us can, should not be a controversial thing.  I would hope that this would be an area that we can come to some agreement on. 

I realize that we do not all see the world around us from the same perspective. I am willing to admit that I may not be a member of the returning lost tribes.  My thesis on the subject may be way off base.  BUT, if I am right; if we are seeing the beginnings of God moving to bring the northern kingdom home, we can either ride the wave or try to stand in its way. But, how do we know for sure that God has anything to do with ANY of this.  We may all have to just wait and see what happens next.

There is no leader in this "movement" and we must not be too eager to point fingers and stir up controversy. The tendency, however, is often to become very critical of the position in life that we are from.  The person most against smoking is an ex-smoker.  A person who has changed many of his Christian beliefs often becomes very anti-Christian. We all must be patient with one another, and realize that not everyone is at the same place on this pathway. 

Be kind and decent and don’t get in the habit of making demands that everyone see everything the way that you or I may see them.  It would be nice if we were born with our beliefs fully developed and evolved, but that is not the case. This is a messy process, but if we all clean up our acts just a little bit, maybe the mess will become a little easier to work through.