What laws, and is that all?

 James, the brother of Jesus, was asked what gentiles must do to "obey the law". What laws must a christian obey? James' reply was that gentiles, in order to obey the laws Jesus referred to, follow the Noahide Covenant. What are the laws in the covenant from the "people side" of the equation?

• the positive injunction to set up courts that justly enforce social laws
• the prohibition of blasphemy, i.e. intolerance of worshipping the one God of the universe
• the prohibition of idolatry
• the prohibitions of grave sexual immorality, such as incest and adultery
• the prohibition of murder
• the prohibition of theft
• the prohibition of eating the limb of a live animal, which is a paradigm for cruelty

Courts

Let's go through them, starting with setting up courts. This is the only item that is not a prohibition. It does not define any specific punishments for crimes against the social laws. I'm assuming this has some latitude amongst people/groups as different desires will have different effects as they are removed or applied. I'm making a pretty large leap when I say that Jesus probably expected the courts would be on the more forgiving side and only dole out the most minimal of punishments needed to have the person comply with the laws of prohibition.

Blasphemy

Think of this as behavior that is rude and intolerant of God. Simply saying "Oh, my God" when surprised is not being blasphemous. Nor is "I swear to God." On the other hand, claiming god is non-existent or that god is meaningless would be. Having a discussion where one person take the side of the non-existence of God for the purposes of gaining a better understanding of God is not blasphemous, provided the person was doing it to gain a greater understanding and clarity on god.

Idolatry

Making an image of god is not idolatry. Adoring the image or object as equal or greater than god is idolatry. Making an image to remind you to think of god is a memory device. Thinking that same object represents god or that god is somehow imbued into the object is idolatry.

Incest and Adultery

Incest is defined as having sexual intercourse (of the type that could potentially produce a baby) between a person and their close relatives (anyone who would be the bloodline offspring of any of the person's grandparents... plus the grandparents themselves). Incest also includes sexual intercourse with one's own adopted children or anyone of their bloodline offspring. So, if a cousin has an adopted child, that sex with the adopted child would not be an act of incest.

Adultery is defined as a married person having sexual intercourse with a person other than their own spouse. Note, two unmarried people having sex is not adultery.

Murder

 The intentional killing of another human being is murder. Behaviors what the person could reasonably predict has a noteworthy probability of another person dying would be a grey area, but for the purpose of this list, would be included.

Theft

Taking something that does not belong to you, thereby denying the owner the right to enjoy it is theft. Borrowing something without permission and willingly returning it in the same or better condition before it is needed/wanted by the owner is not theft. So, as an example, taking someone's car while they are asleep and getting it serviced for them would not be theft, if it is returned before they wake up or need to drive anywhere.

Eating live animals

Removing a body part of a living animal, simply to eat it is cruel to the animal.  Plants are not afforded the same consideration.

These are the Noahide laws James referred to when he said that a gentile could follow the teachings of Jesus by obeying the law. According to Jesus, simply obeying the law is not enough. Give away what you own in this world to help those in need. (See the story of the rich man in the gospel.)

So, to be the best we can be, we must obey the laws listed above AND actively help those in need.