Acts 10: Peter and Cornelius

[Stand_watie]

Take away the sectarian issues, looking at it from a neutral Jewish/Roman/Christian/Pagan perspective. Know anything about Romans in Judean territory? Why a Roman Centurion would be described as a "God-fearing" man by a Jew?

Opine here. Many extra bonus points for including references to non-sectarian historical sources that tell of Romans living in Judea who had the religious respect of their neighbors.

[Perd Hapley]

Just from what I've heard and read, and I'm not expecting any bonus points, Judaism was then, as now, open to converts.  Apparently, most didn't fully convert, but followed Judaism's moral precepts.  That is, they didn't get circumcised and they still allowed Gentiles into their homes, but didn't worship other gods, except perhaps Caeser.  I'm guessing they still couldn't get into the inner courts of the temple.

But the Bible is generally reliable on historical grounds, so I wouldn't discount it as a source for such info.

[SalukiFan]

Hey Stand_watie,

I'll take a shot at this -

Unlike many religions, Judaism does not teach that you must be Jewish to be righteous in the eyes of G-d. Not everyone was meant to be follow Jewish law or convert. This is one reason that there aren't many Jewish evangelists out there - it is not necessary to convert someone to "save" them or however one might describe it.

There are some basic rules called the Noachide rules that righteous non-Jews can follow and be considered to be legitimate and equally respected. If said Roman followed the Noachide Laws below, he would be considered a "G-d-fearing man" by Jews despite his Roman citizenship.

Here is brief description of the Noachide Laws from aish.com:

The Jewish idea is that the Torah of Moses is a truth for all humanity, whether Jewish or not. The Torah (as explained in the Talmud - Sanhedrin 58b) presents seven mitzvot for non-Jews to observe. These seven laws are the pillars of human civilization, and are named the "Seven Laws of Noah," since all humans are descended from Noah. They are:


Do not murder.
Do not steal.
Do not worship false gods.
Do not be sexually immoral.
Do not eat a limb removed from a live animal.
Do not curse God.
Set up courts and bring offenders to justice.

Maimonides explains that any human being who faithfully observes these laws earns a proper place in heaven. So you see, the Torah is for all humanity, no conversion necessary.

Hope that helps!

-SalukiFan

[El Tejon]

1.  Why "God fearing"?  Because he helped or was friendly with Jews;

2.  "Why respect?"  Roman culture grafted on the various religions of the conquered territories as it was good politics to patronize your subjects.