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Biblical Gehinom
#21
Mattityahu ben Noach Wrote:Suppose I have sins which I have forgotten about, and so have not repented of. Or there are actions I know of but have not realized are sins, and so I have not repented of them.
I assume there it a way I can pray to ask G-d to forgive me for those sins.
How do I go about asking G-d for forgiveness?
In addition to repenting for specific sins, you can also sincerely ask forgiveness from G-d for sins that were forgotten or not recognized, with regret for any such errors that you might have  committed. This is included in the "Noahide Amidah" prayer that has been suggested by Rabbi Immanuel Schochet.  See Post #2 on our Forum page

https://asknoah.org/forum/showthread.php?tid=25

Noahide Amidah (Copyright '09 by Ask Noah International)

Blessed are You, G-d, the Supreme Being who bestows abundant kindness.
Please endow us graciously with wisdom, understanding and knowledge.
Please accept our repentance, and forgive us for our errors and sins.
[Etc.]"

You can also say Rabbi Schochet's "Prayer for the Repentant" (p. 108 in "The Divine Code," Volume 1) as a general prayer, without mentioning any specific sins, but just having in mind your regret for any sins that were forgotten or not recognized. For example (adjusting that text):

"O G-d, I have erred, sinned and ... transgressed before You, and I have done that which is evil in Your eyes. I am sincerely ashamed of my [forgotten and and unknown] sins, and I repent and firmly undertake [to take care not to sin]...
Please G-d, in Your infinite grace and compassion forgive my sins and transgressions and grant me atonement, as it is written: “Let the wicked abandon his way and the man of iniquity his thoughts; and let him return unto G-d, and He will show him compassion, and to our G-d, for He will pardon abundantly.” And it is written: “Do I desire at all that the wicked should die, says the L-rd, G-d; it is rather that he return from his ways and live!”

Mattityahu ben Noach Wrote:On the other hand, suppose I have difficulty overcoming an urge to commit a particular act that I have been taught _IS_ a sin. (Assume the sin in question does no harm to anyone else).
How can I overcome the urge, or find forgiveness for the sin, or at least mitigate the harm to myself?

This is the fundamental service to G-d of striving to be a "Baal Teshuva" - a repentant person who strives and succeeds in correcting his behavior. Many books have been written about this from a Torah perspective, and much of this applies for Noahides. See for example:

"The Divine Code," Volume 1, Part I, ch. 8 ("Obligatory Moral Conduct") and ch. 9 ("Repentance")

Rambam, Mishneh Torah, "Hilchot De'ot" (The Laws of Personal Development), Chapters 1-3, and "Hilchot Teshuva" (The Laws of Repentance), Chapters 5-7.
(on-line at Chabad.org under Library/Classic Texts)
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#22
I read on the forum that if a person never heard the truth, and never knew, for example, that their religion was idolatry, that they would not be culpable for that sin. If that is correct, will they receive a spiritual reward in heaven, if their good deeds outweigh their bad, and they loved G-d the only way they knew how? And what would happen to their soul in the world to come, at the resurrection? Would it cease to exist?
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#23
(02-01-2015, 02:30 AM)joshua Wrote: I read on the forum that if a person never heard the truth, and never knew, for example, their religion was idolatry, they would not be culpable for that sin. If that is correct, will they receive a spiritual reward in heaven, if their good deeds outweigh their bad, and they loved G-d the only way they knew how?

The general answer to your question is "yes." Bearing in mind that G-d's judgment is perfect, and only He knows the correct way to weigh the good deeds and the bad deeds, speech and thoughts of every individual, based on each individual's personal knowledge, abilities, environment and standing, etc.

(02-01-2015, 02:30 AM)joshua Wrote: And what would happen to their soul in the world to come, at the resurrection? Would it cease to exist? Thank you for your time.

If the person's soul did not merit to receive a part in the future World to Come, as one of the Pious of the Nations, then that person's soul would have already received its due reward for its good deeds by that time, and it would then cease to exist. But bear in mind that people's souls from earlier generations can be reincarnated into subsequent generations for additional opportunities to learn about and join the ranks of the Pious of the Nations, as faithful observers of the Noahide Code.
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#24
Shalom to all...

The term "cease to exist" intrigues me ...
We were taught in the idolatrous religions, especially the false messiah two things ... the one side says everyone can be saved after death, just family and friends make intercessions for that soul ... but there is also the other side that says the sinner goes to "hell" and will be burning for eternity, and others doing good does nothing for the souls who have departed - what counts is the work of the person while alive.
The truth then is that a person's soul that has exhausted his chances to get the world to come, it will be effectively extinct? Poof! It will not be tormented forever in "hell" / Gehinnom? It is very important to solve it in my mind!

I have another question ... If a person is an idolater, has received the inheritance of several generations of the family ... this person is very poor and intellectually limited, which is very common in countries miserable, try as we might talk to them about sacred things, and the person is not able to assimilate anything, however, this person has committed good deeds throughout their life ... is indeed possible that it inherits the World to Come (Olam Haba)? In short ... an idolater who spent his life giving thanks to strange gods, can be forgiven?

Among poor people is very common to helping others. It is much easier to get help from a poor person than a rich person.

Thanks,
Alex
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#25
(02-14-2015, 10:06 PM)alexdantas Wrote: The term "cease to exist" intrigues me ...
The truth then is that a person's soul that has exhausted his chances to get the world to come, it will be effectively extinct? Poof! It will not be tormented forever in "hell" / Gehinnom? It is very important to solve it in my mind!

A Gentile's soul can come back into the world in subsequent lives to earn the reward of a place with the righteous in the future World to Come. Certainly the person's soul will do some good things in this world in every lifetime, and G-d will give that soul a reward for that. But if the soul never takes on the 7 Noahide Commandments in any lifetime before the true Messiah comes (speedily in our days), the rewards it earned will not be eternal, so it will only be rewarded for good deeds and punished for sins until (at the latest) the beginning of the future World to Come, which is the time that G-d will shut down Gehinnom and the souls of those who were always unrighteous will cease to exist. Although the souls of some especially wicked people who forced fear on whole communities, like terrorists and evil dictators, will continue to be punished for some time even after Gehinnom stops. The extra punishment of those very evil people is described at the very end of the Book of Isaiah.

(02-14-2015, 10:06 PM)alexdantas Wrote: I have another question ... If a person is an idolater, has received the inheritance of several generations of the family ... this person is very poor and intellectually limited, which is very common in countries miserable, try as we might talk to them about sacred things, and the person is not able to assimilate anything, however, this person has committed good deeds throughout their life ... is indeed possible that it inherits the World to Come (Olam Haba)? In short ... an idolater who spent his life giving thanks to strange gods, can be forgiven?

In that case, the person did not sin deliberately because he did not know - and he was not able to learn the truth - that there is only One G-d, the G-d of the Hebrew Bible, Who is perfectly unified. So this person is not judged by G-d as guilty of deliberately committing a capital sin, and he won't be punished for that. But if he doesn't ever take on his 7 Universal Commandments and leave his idolatry to believe in the One G-d Who gave the Torah through Moses, then he will not have earned a place in the future World to Come.

All of this is explained in the book, "The Divine Code" by Rabbi Moshe Weiner of Jerusalem.

(02-14-2015, 10:06 PM)alexdantas Wrote: Among poor people is very common to helping others. It is much easier to get help from a poor person than a rich person.

The solution for the rich person to overcome that difficulty is that he should look upon himself as a poor person - just like any other person, he has nothing of his own, and he and all his wealth exists only from the charity of G-d's kindness. G-d has given him (the rich person) a special mission to be G-d's emissary in the world to help those who are in need.
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