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Is there a choice for those non-Jews who acknowledge YHWH as their ultimate creator, and who wish to live a life consistent with that fact? Well, there is, according to scripture. You can either become an Israelite, or these days, a Jew. Or you can remain a non-Jew.
On the face of it, it seems a simple black-and-white choice. But what concerns me, and possibly someone reading this, is what the implications of this choice are. Or, more specifically, what are the implications for the one who would remain a non-Jew.
Over my journey and search, I've come across two general schools of thought concerning the implications.
The first school of thought I encountered said that, in the economy of the Jewish Bible, those who became part of Israel had a relationship with Deity, and the rest of the nations didn't. So the Israelites were the only ones that were given the opportunity to be righteous in the eyes of Deity through their special covenant. And that necessarily means that the rest of the world was lost, incapable of being righteous in the eyes of Deity, being unclean and unworthy. The only way, therefore, to live consistent with the knowledge that the Deity of the Bible is the one true Deity is to become an Israelite.
By whom is this view held? Well, it was the view of many christians, if not the majority. That's why it was the first view I met with, since I was a christian. This is one of the reasons why they believe that their messiah-figure is needed: to draw in the excluded gentiles. To quote one of their primary founders, Paul:
Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: but now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. (Ephesians 2:11-13)
A significant number of christians interpret this to mean that since gentiles are outside the covenant of Israel, they are thus without Deity, having no relationship with Him. It is not a totally baseless understanding of Paul's words. In fact, it is a valid interpretation.
This kind of view is not restricted to christians. Along my journeys in life, I encountered a Jewish group called the Karaites. They are a small sect in Judaism that only accepts the written Jewish Bible as having divine authority, as opposed to mainstream Judaism that believes that an oral law was also given by Deity to Moses, and that their rabbis have divine authority. Now the majority of Karaites that I talked to also held this belief that even non-Jews or non-Israelites must be circumcised and become Israelite. To not do so is an act of unfaithfulness to the Almighty. Their stance gives the strong impression that the rest of the world is lost, unclean, and very possibly unacceptable to the Creator.
I saw this fact in a number of ways. One significant sign is a statement made on one of their websites. Here's what it says.
"No circumcision proves unfaithfulness and I think we would agree that the unfaithful have no place in His [Yahweh’s] Kingdom." Y. Wolfe, Circumcision or the Noachide Laws [Link now dead]
It speaks for itself.
You can also go to another Karaite site which does studies on different subjects, one of which is about the different sorts of gentiles in the Hebrew Scriptures. As well as "disposing" of the Noahide laws, it asks what is a righteous gentile. The reply? Something called a "ger". And what is a ger, according to their understanding? A gentile who is part of the Mosaic covenant and thus part of Israel! See Ger, Goy, Nekhar, Zur, Lavah at http://www.karaitejudaism.org/talks/Ger_Naker_Goy.htm. In some ways it's not easy reading, but a diligent reader will find the information to draw his conclusions.
After reading such a study, one is left wondering if there is any righteousness for a person is just a normal foreigner who neither lives in Israel or amongst an Israelite community, since a study of the word "ger" will show you that it is someone who sojourns, or lives, amongst a group or nation, not simply someone who claims affiliation but lives far away, like a British person who lives in Britain is not part of a Jewish community.
A teaching made by probably their most prominent teacher, Nehemiah Gordon, has him saying that, to him there are only 2 classes of people in the Jewish Bible: foreigners and Israelites. In that teaching, it is strongly implied that once a non-Jew acknowledges the Deity of scripture, the next logical step towards knowing Him is to work towards becoming a Jew. It seems a simple case of one or the other, either you're in or you're out. (Listen to the 2-part audio "Converts in Tanakh" at http://www.karaitejudaism.org/talks.htm)
From my own personal experiences with this group, I found the same sort of mindset within a good number of them. But for the sake of clarification, it absolutely must be stated that although this is a majority view amongst Karaites, it is not a universal view amongst Karaites. I've personally met a few Karaites who have a different view of gentiles, a view with more agreement to the next school of thought.
The second way of thinking is that of the Orthodox Jews concerning non-Jews. According to them, there are two sets of people in this world: the sons of Israel and the sons of Noah. To the sons of Israel were given the law of Moses at Sinai. This distinguished them from the rest of the world. And as priests to the nations (Exodus 19), this law had distinguishing marks that only belonged to Israel. But the Orthodox Jews also claim that even before Sinai, there was a standard of righteousness for the world that still exists. They call this standard, the 7 Noahide laws. These are as follows:
See Noahide laws at Wikipedia.org.
These Jews teach that if a non-Jew would follow these seven laws, which is the basic requirement for humanity, then they would have a share in the world to come, the "afterlife", thus implying that they are living acceptable lives before the Most High Deity. They can enjoy a relationship with Him as they are, i.e., gentiles, even though it doesn't carry the extra benefits and responsibilities of being an Israelite. It is also added that non-Jews can also take up other laws that are in the Jewish code of law to attain a higher morality/spirituality, but that because they are non-Jews that cannot keep every law in every way. That responsibility is only for Israel. You can become an Israelite if you really feel led and you can really accept such a heavy, yet rewarding, responsibility. But it is not mandatory in order to have relationship with Deity.
So this way of thinking stands in contradiction to the previous school of thought in the way that gentiles are not lost and without Deity. In fact, Jews are actually willing to teach non-Jews this standard of righteousness. It is even taught by some of their teachers that it is a Jew's duty to help the world to know these requirements.
Now some may think this strange. According to the Jewish Bible, Noah and his family were the only survivors of the worldwide flood. Therefore everyone, both Israelite and foreigner, is a descendant of Noah. But as expressed before, Israel were given a special covenant that set them apart from the rest of the descendants of Noah.
So these are the two options, two possible implications, for a person that would remain a non-Jew. Either you are simply excluded from Deity and His people, His household, and have no relationship with Him. Or you can enjoy some relationship with him on a certain level. Of course there are views that are in between these two extremes, but, all in all, they can be classified as these two options. Either you're in, and an Israelite, and out as a gentile. Or, whether you are a gentile or a Jew, if you keep the responsibilities and commands given by Deity for either group, you can enjoy a relationship.
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