1. Rabbi Laine wrote an article ( which I briefly discussed) about how he convinced a secular Jew to give his mother a Jewish burial and not cremate her. He clarifies in the last issue of the Newsletter that a person whose body was cremated by accident can still be resurrected during the time of Techiyas Hameisim, it is just that those who deny the principle of resurrection will not merit to experience it. Okay, Rabbi Laine, you still didn't explain why you told the young man that :
If you decide to cremate her, it would mean :
Her soul will be suffering eternally
At the time of the resurrection, she will not join us.
Is lying for the sake of kiruv okay? Is it fine to lie so that someone will be scared into burying their parent the way you want them to?
2. There is a new organization called AskNoah. It is for gentiles who wish to observe the Sheva Mitzvos. The Neshei article has a whole big feature on what a great and inspirational effort this all is. It would be very nice, except that a while ago, I met one of the founders. Stayed in his home for shabbos. At one point, he and his wife were discussing a pleasant experience that they had with a kind gentile worker or neighbor or something. He then says, "this guy was so nice, it was almost like he was Jewish."
Why, if you are a gentile, would you possibly want to learn rules from someone who thinks you are an inferior being?