Finding the God of Noah: The Spiritual Journey of a Baptist Minister from Christianity to the Laws of Noah [Hardcover]

J. David Davis (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews

An intriguing, if highly flawed, combination of memoir and polemic on why a ``Bible-thumping Baptist'' minister renounces his Christian faith and helps create the new quasi=Jewish group, Bnai Noah Raised in the heart of the Bible belt, in rural Georgia, Davis traces his growing doubts about what he sees as the ahistoricism and irrationality of Christian doctrine, including Jesus' virgin birth and divinity. Also feeling increasing disgust at the corruption of many evangelical preachers, he becomes interested in Christianity's Jewish roots, then in the Torah and Talmud themselves. Still working out of his church in Athens, Tenn., Davis helps organize others who intensely study, preach, and practice the seven ethical principles (such as prohibitions against illicit intercourse, theft, and murder) that God commands Adam and Noah, and through them all humans, to observe. All this is presented in fairly compelling prose. Unfortunately, Davis considerably undermines his presentation through an uncritical embrace of much of the theology and politics of some of the less appealing leaders of Orthodox Judaism; for example, he refers to the late, racist Rabbi Meir Kahane as ``a giant in courage.'' In addition, he frequently resorts to the gratingly absolutist, stridently self- righteous rhetoric of the radical true believer, so that he declares that ``Torah is a book of reality and everything else is fantasy,'' something most definitely not preached by classical Judaism. Finally, his work is highly uneven in its presentation of details. At one point, Davis offers pages of his arcane notes contrasting baptism and immersion in the mikveh (the Jewish ritual bath). Yet later, he alludes to, but never really details, the nature of Bnai Noah funeral. Davis helps us appreciate much of traditional Judaism and pursues his intellectual and communal work in the fascinating lacunae between the Christian and Jewish communities. But the subject of the Bnai Noah awaits a more balanced and thoughtful presentation. -- Copyright ©1996, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Review

A congregation of Southern Baptists, smack in the middle of the Bible Belt, decided to remove the steeple from their Emmanuel Baptists Church, having decided the pointed steeple was a pagan fertility symbols and thus inappropriate to be atop a house of worship. They also removed the words "Baptist" and "Church" from the sign out front, quit celebrating Christmas, and scrapped the Wednesday evening prayer service. They then invited an Orthodox rabbi to instruct them in Jewish thought and religious practices. Finding The God Of Noah: The Spiritual Journey Of A Baptist Minister From Christianity To The Laws Of Noah clearly explains the circumstances that led to this unusual religious movement in Athens, Tennessee, and the events that followed. Finding The God Of Noah relates the problems and triumphs of this local group of Noahides with both their neighbors and the world. In the last six years, David Davis' congregation is now the largest Noahide group in the United States. Davis has become one of the principle advocates for a growing number of non-Jews who follow the Jewish Laws applicable to Gentiles, as interpreted by Jewish teaching. Finding The God Of Noah is a fascinating story of the search for truth -- and the price extracting for adhering to principle. -- Midwest Book Review

Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Ktav Pub Inc (May 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0881255351
• ISBN-13: 978-0881255355
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 1.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,437,948 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars The author could have made a much better case...., June 16, 2004

By 

John E. Swanson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Finding the God of Noah: The Spiritual Journey of a Baptist Minister from Christianity to the Laws of Noah (Hardcover)

I sympathize with Mr. Davis's wish to adhere to the Seven Laws of Noah and live an ethical life. I too am trying to do that. But his book reminded me of two other books I read: "Dancing Alone" by Frank Schaeffer, which describes the author's journey from Evangelical Christianity into Eastern Orthodoxy, and "The People's Padre" by Emmett McLoughlin, which describes that author's exit from the Catholic priesthood seemingly into agnosticism. All of these books are very self-serving and self-righteous, showing the authors in the best possible light while ridiculing those members of the groups they left. Also, Mr. Davis in his book praises Meir Kahane, the founder of the Jewish Defense League, who was in my opinion a pretty horrible person. That lowered his credibility with me to almost zero. The book has some passing interest for those interested in the Noahite movement, but I found it a pain to get through.

9 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Interesting but flawed, August 3, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Finding the God of Noah: The Spiritual Journey of a Baptist Minister from Christianity to the Laws of Noah (Hardcover)

J. David Davis' books presents an interesting chronicle -- the journey of one man (and several of his family and friends) from Christianity to the laws in Judaism that applies to non-Jews.

The topic is interesting, but the presentation leaves much to be desired. Davis' tone is very self-important and he uses exclamation points so often that the narrative reads like a 6th grade girl's diary for the most part.

A more mature and readable treatment of the topic is waiting to be done....