The prohibition
against
forbidden sexual
acts
Certainly,
one of the laws commanded to the B'nai Noach is to marry and have children.
In Genesis 2:24, man is commanded thus: "Therefore a man shall
leave his father and his mother and shall cling to his wife
and they shall be one flesh." It is furthermore stated, Genesis
9:1 "So G-d blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: 'Be fruitful
and multiply, and fill the earth'." These laws very specifically forbid
the acts of celibacy and solitude as ways of approaching G-d. One is in
fact commanded to be a functional part of society, wedding and bearing
children. In fact, the passage quoted above, "...and they shall become
one flesh" is often interpreted to bear a child. This is the only way that
a man and woman can truly be said to have become one flesh.
This law is to prevent those who would rather move off to some cave in
a mountain in an attempt to get close to G-d, and 'become so heavenly minded
that they become no earthly good'.
Hence, it is
obvious that sexuality, in and of itself, is not forbidden, but in fact
required of all mankind, provided it is experienced in the appropriate
manner. However, there are cases in which sexuality is not appropriate,
and are all enumerated in the Bible in Leviticus Chapter 18.
Noachites are forbidden to have sexual intercourse with the following persons:
1) Mother
2) Father
3) Daughter
4) Son
5) Father's or Mother's Sister
(i.e. Aunt)
6) A man with a woman in an unnatural
way (Sodomy)
7) Another man's Wife
8) A male with another male
9) A male or female with an animal
Therefore, Incest,
Male Homosexuality, Adultery, Sodomy, and Beastiality are all strictly
forbidden. It is interesting to note that female homosexuality, though
frowned upon and against the spirit of the Seven Universal Laws, is not
specifically forbidden. However, of all of the forbidden illicit relationships
described above, only male homosexuality is described by the Scriptures
as "an abomination to G-d". Even beastiality is not so described. This
is due to the fact that male homosexuality is so devastating spiritually.
For a man is considered the living representation of the Active Principle,
and in mixing two active principles you arrive at a condition tantamount
to a spiritual train wreck. Even nature bears out this fact in every faucet
of existence. It is a fact that opposite polarities attract, and like polarities
repel.
No homosexual was ever born to a homosexual relationship, nor was anything
else.
Every society
in history who ever condoned homosexuality was short-lived and broken at
the very height of its power. For instance, remember the ancient Greek
empire, which was overthrown by a tiny Jewish upsurge led by the Maccabees.
And one can
hardly ignore the destruction to the body so evident in this devient behavior,
such as the excessive, abnormal weakness and the horrible diseases that
we are only just beginning to discover.
It is
also forbidden under the Seven Laws to
castrate any male, whether man or beast. This falls under the catagories
of the Cruelty to Animals as
well as Forbidden Sexual Relations.
Noachites are permitted to have sexual relations with the following individuals after the death of the relative in question:
1) Father's Wife (not one's mother)
2) Brother's Wife
3) Wife's Sister
4) Daughter-in-law
5) Stepdaughter