Shabbatarianism

Open main menu Search EditWatch this page Sabbatarianism This article is about the Christian practice. For other uses, see Sabbatarianism (disambiguation). Sabbath Eve, painting by Alexander Johnston. Sabbatarianism is a view within Christianity that advocates the observation of the Sabbath, in keeping with the Ten Commandments.[1] Its historical origins lie in early Christianity, later in the Eastern Church and Irish Church,[2] and then in Puritan Sabbatarianism, which delineated precepts for keeping Sunday, the Lord's Day, holy in observance of Sabbath commandment principles. This observance of Sunday as a day of worship and rest is the purest form of first-day Sabbatarianism, a view which was historically heralded by nonconformist denominations, such as Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists, as well as many Episcopalians.[3][4][5][6] The impact of first-day Sabbatarianism on Western culture is manifested by influences that remain today, such as Sunday blue laws.[7] Seventh-day Sabbatarianism is a movement that generally embraces a literal reading of the Sabbath commandment that provides for both worship and rest on the seventh day of the week. Seventh-day Baptists leave most other Sabbath considerations of observance to individual conscience. The Seventh-day Adventist Church and Church of God (Seventh Day) have similar views, but maintain the original, scriptural duration as Friday sunset through Saturday sunset. The Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in Eritrea and Ethiopia observe the seventh-day Sabbath, as well as Sunday as the Lord's Day.[8][9] Likewise, the Coptic Church, another Oriental Orthodox body, "stipulates that the seventh-day Sabbath, along with Sunday, be continuously regarded as a festal day for religious celebration."[10] Non-Sabbatarianism is the view opposing all Sabbatarianism, declaring Christians to be free of mandates to follow such specific observances. It upholds the principle in Christian church doctrine that the church is not bound by such law or code, but is free to set in place and time such observances as uphold Sabbath principles according to its doctrine: to establish a day of rest, or not, and to establish a day of worship, or not, whether on Saturday or on Sunday or on some other day. It includes all Roman Catholics, some Orthodox, and some Protestant denominations. History Edit See also: Sabbath in Christianity, Biblical law in Christianity, Covenant Theology, and Law and Gospel The Biblical Sabbath is informed by the Genesis creation narrative and has a formal origin before the giving of the Ten Commandments.[11] Most Christian Churches, including the Roman Catholic Church, Methodist Churches and Reformed Churches, have traditionally held that law in the Old Covenant has three components: ceremonial, moral, and civil.[12][13] They teach that while the ceremonial and civil (judicial) laws have been abolished, the moral law as contained in the Ten Commandments still continues to bind Christian believers.[12][13] Among these Ten Commandments, which are believed by Jews and Christians to be written by the finger of God, is "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy."[11] According to the New Testament, after the resurrection of Jesus he appeared to his disciples on the first day of the week (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, Luke 24:1, John 20:1-19), the Holy Spirit was sent to the Church on the first day of the week (Pentecost Sunday), the disciples celebrated the Eucharist and took up collections on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:1-2); in addition the first day of the week is referred to as the Lord's Day in the Revelation 1:10—these findings, for Christians, served as the divine institution of the Lord's Day as a fulfillment of the Jewish Shabbat, a change that these Christians believed was foreshadowed in Isaiah 65:17.[14] In distinguishing the observances performed on the Christian Sabbath from those performed on the Jewish Sabbath, Jonathan Edwards thus wrote:[15] We are taught by Christ, that the doing of alms and showing of mercy are proper works for the Sabbath-day. When the Pharisees found fault with Christ for suffering his disciples to pluck the ears of corn, and eat on the Sabbath, Christ corrects them with that saying, “I will have mercy and not sacrifice;” Mat. 12:7. And Christ teaches that works of mercy are proper to be done on the Sabbath, Luke 13:15, 16, and 14:5.[15] The Apostolic Constitutions (ca. 380), in Section II, reveals that the early Church kept both the seventh-day Sabbath, observed on Saturday, as well as the Lord's Day, celebrated on the first-day (Sunday):[16] "But keep the Sabbath, and the Lord’s day festival; because the former is the memorial of the creation, and the latter of the resurrection."[16][17] Section VII reemphasizes this:[18] Be not careless of yourselves, neither deprive your Saviour of His own members, neither divide His body nor disperse His members, neither prefer the occasions of this life to the word of God; but assemble yourselves together every day, morning and evening, singing psalms and praying in the Lord’s house: in the morning saying the sixty-second Psalm, and in the evening the hundred and fortieth, but principally on the Sabbath-day. And on the day of our Lord’s resurrection, which is the Lord’s day, meet more diligently, sending praise to God that made the universe by Jesus, and sent Him to us, and condescended to let Him suffer, and raised Him from the dead. Otherwise what apology will he make to God who does not assemble on that day to hear the saving word concerning the resurrection, on which we pray thrice standing in memory of Him who arose in three days, in which is performed the reading of the prophets, the preaching of the Gospel, the oblation of the sacrifice, the gift of the holy food?[18] Until the Council of Laodicea, "the Sabbath had been kept in many Christian Churches."[19] It was upheld in the fourth century by the ancient Church of the East, as well as in the sixth century by the Celtic Churches.[20] Gregory of Nyssa, a fourth century Church Father, implored the faithful to observe both the seventh-day Sabbath and the Lord's Day: "With what eyes do you regard the Lord's Day, you who have desecrated the Sabbath? Do you know that these two days are related, that if you wrong one of them, you will stumble against the other?"[21] Neverthless, Johann Lorenz von Mosheim stated that the practice of observing both the Hebrew Sabbath and the Lord's Day was principally observed in those congregations that were made up of Jewish converts to Christianity and gradually faded away; on the other hand, the observance of the Lord's Day was characteristic of all Christian assemblies.[14] As early as the second century, Irenaeus, who was a disciple of Polycarp, himself a disciple of John the Apostle, "On the Lord’s day every one of us Christians keep the Sabbath, meditating on the law, and rejoicing in the works of God."[14] Writing in the fourth century, the early Church Father, Eusebius, taught that for Christians, "the sabbath had been transferred to Sunday".[22] This view held by Eusebius, particularly his "interpretation of Psalm 91 (ca. 320) greatly influenced the ultimate transfer of sabbath assertions and prohibitions to the first day of the week."[2] In "the fourth and fifth centuries theologians in the Eastern church were teaching the practical identity of the Jewish sabbath and the Christian Sunday."[2] Saint Cæsarius of Arles (470-543) reiterated the view that "the whole glory of the Jewish Sabbath had been transferred onto Sunday, so that Christians had to keep it holy in the same way as the Jews had their own day of rest."[23] The Council of Elvira, in A.D. 300, declared that individuals who failed to attend church for three Sundays in a row should be excommunicated until they repented of their sin.[23] Ethiopian Orthodox icon depicting St. George, the Crucifixion, as well as the Madonna and Child However, the Church father Justin Martyr taught specifically that Jewish Sabbath according to the Decalogue does not apply in a binding fashion to Christians. These teachings, the starting point of Christian liberty, solidified in the early Church as a fundamental principle behind its rejection of Hebrew Sabbath practices in its observances, calling its legalisms Judaizing. In the late 4th century, the 29th canon of the Council of Laodicea finally declared that Christians must not rest on the Jewish Sabbath, but must work on that day and if possible rest on the Lord's Day, and that any found to be Judaizers are anathema from Christ.[24] As such, in many parts of Christianity, both East and West, Judaizing influences diminished and almost disappeared, became effectually non-Sabbatarian. Most of it remains so today, with exception of the Orthodox Tewahedo Churches, which continue to observe a two-day Sabbath (Saturday and Sunday), as well as some Protestant denominations, such as some Reformed and Methodist Churches, who observe Sunday as the Christian Sabbath; in addition, the Seventh-day Adventists and Seventh-Day Baptists observe Saturday as the Sabbath.[9] Nevertheless, in the Roman Catholic Church, other Church Councils and imperial edicts "sought to restrict various activities on this day Sunday, especially public amusements in the theater and circus."[23] Abstention from sin, in the eyes of Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430), meant Sabbath rest from servile work on Sunday.[23] In the fourteenth century, "the monk Abba Ewostatewos founded a Sabbatarian movement" and fled, with his followers to "isolated parts of northwestern Ethiopia".[25] In the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church, "the Sabbatarian controversy divided the kingdom during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries."[26] Zara Yaqob, the king, eventually "decreed that the Sabbatarian teaching of the northern monks become the position of the church".[26] Tendencies towards Sabbatarianism began to resurface very early in the Reformation (early 16th century), causing some of the first Protestants, Luther and Calvin among them, to deny the need for legal codes and accept the non-Sabbatarian principles long established in Christianity. On the other hand, the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, which viewed the earlier Celtic Churches as its progenitor, promoted first-day Puritan Sabbatarian practices.[27][28] In addition, first-day Sabbatarianism is historically heralded by nonconformist denominations, such as Congregationalists and Presbyterians, as well as Methodists and Baptists.[3][5][6] The essence of first-day Sabbatarianism, named for the Sabbath, is that it upholds the idea that Christians are bound to keep a specific code of conduct in relation to the principal day of Christian worship, or a day of rest, or both. The first-day, Puritan Sabbatarians constructed their code from their understanding of moral obligations following from their interpretation of "natural law", first defined in writings of Thomas Aquinas. Not seeking to re-establish Mosaic Law or Hebrew Sabbath practices, their connection to Judaizing was limited to the use of a legal code by which Christians might be judged. With unwavering support by mainstream Christian denominations, Sabbatarian organizations were formed, such as the Lord's Day Alliance (founded as the American Sabbath Union) and the Sunday League of America, following the American Civil War, to preserve the importance of Sunday as the Christian Sabbath.[29] Founded in 1888, the Lord's Day Alliance continues to state its mission as to "encourage all people to recognize and observe a day of Sabbath rest and to worship the risen Lord Jesus Christ, on the Lord’s Day, Sunday".[30] The Board of Managers of the Lord's Day Alliance is composed of clergy and laity from Christian churches, including Baptist, Catholic, Episcopalian, Friends, Lutheran, Methodist, Non-Denominationalist, Orthodox, Presbyterian, and Reformed traditions.[30] The Woman's Christian Temperance Union also supports first-day Sabbatarian views and worked to reflect these in the public sphere.[31] In Canada, the Lord's Day Alliance (renamed the People for Sunday Association of Canada) was founded there and it lobbied successfully to pass in 1906 the Lord's Day Act, which was not repealed until 1985.[32] A Roman Catholic Sunday league, the Ligue du Dimanche was formed in 1921 to promote first-day sabbatarian restrictions in Quebec, especially against movie theaters.[33][34] Throughout their history, first-day Sabbatarian organizations, such as the Lord's Day Alliance, have mounted campaigns, with support in both Canada and Britain from labour unions, with the goals of preventing secular and commercial interests from hampering freedom of worship and preventing them from exploiting workers.[35] Later, the seventh-day Sabbatarians were much more comprehensive, seeking to re-establish the Mosaic Law itself, along with Pharisaic interpretations and Hebrew Sabbath practices, including observances running from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. Most identify with the early Jewish Christians, and consider early church condemnations of Judaizing to be the marks of a "Great Apostasy" in early Christianity, which they seek to rectify. The roots of Sabbatarianism have been described as beginning with not making a distinction between the Christian festival of Sunday and the Hebrew Sabbath,[36] a distinction most non-sabbatarians do make. However, in recent decades, the expression of the difference between Sabbath and Sunday has been blurred through a looser, non-doctrinal application of terminology. Often used among non-Sabbatarians in regions where Sabbatarianism itself has had its greatest prominence, it signifies a contrast with seventh-day Sabbatarianism. "First-day Sabbatarian" is often applied to those more accurately described non-Sabbatarians, because of their Sunday worship and rest. But not all non-Sabbatarians would agree to being called first-day Sabbatarians, wishing to disassociate with all of Sabbatarianism, while yet upholding Sabbath commandment principles on Sunday. Similarly, the common term "Christian Sabbath" is sometimes used to describe the fact that most Christians assemble in worship on Sunday, and may also consider it a day of rest, aligning with the Biblical norms of the Sabbath, and even the Puritans. However, many non-Sabbatarians resist that usage as inaccurate. Most continue to make a clear distinction or separation between the Sabbath and Sunday,[37][38] arguing that the Christian observances on Sunday stand on their own without any necessary connection. Differences among non-Sabbatarians in their views of Christian law reflect both their interpretation of Christian liberty and the nature of their rejection of Sabbatarianism. Some notable individual theologians from different denominations who rejected Sabbatarianism, include Anglicans Peter Heylin, William Paley, and John Milton, nonconformist Philip Doddridge, Quaker Robert Barclay, Congregationalist James Baldwin Brown, and Christadelphian Michael Ashton.[39][40] Sunday Sabbatarians Edit A recreation ground on Raasay displaying a sign "Please do not use this playing field on Sundays". Reformed Churches Edit Further information: Puritan Sabbatarianism The Puritans of England and Scotland brought a new rigour to the observance of the Christian Lord's Day, in reaction to the customary Sunday observance of the time, which they regarded as lax. They appealed to Sabbath ordinances with the idea that only the Bible can bind men's consciences in whether or how they will take a break from work, or to impose an obligation to meet at a particular time. Sunday Sabbatarianism is enshrined in its most mature expression, the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), in the Calvinist theological tradition. Chapter 21, Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day, sections 7-8 read: 7. As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in his Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath. 8. This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe a holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy. The confession holds that not only is work forbidden in Sunday, but also "works, words, and thoughts" about "worldly employments and recreations." Instead, the whole day should be taken up with "public and private exercises of [one's] worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy." This statement was adopted by the Congregationalist Churches, which are descended from the Puritans, in the Savoy Declaration.[41] The Puritans' influential reasoning spread Sabbatarianism to other Protestant denominations, such as the Methodist Churches for example, during the 17th and 18th centuries, making its way beyond the British Isles to the European continent and the New World. It is primarily through their influence that "Sabbath" has become the colloquial equivalent of "Lord's Day" or "Sunday".[42] Reformed Baptists, for example, uphold the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, which advanced the same first-day Sabbatarian obligation of the Puritan Congregationalists' Savoy Declaration.[43][44] Strict Sunday Sabbatarianism is sometimes called "Puritan Sabbath", and may be contrasted with "Continental Sabbath".[45] The latter follows the continental reformed confessions, such as the Heidelberg Catechism, which emphasize rest and worship on the Lord's Day, but do not explicitly forbid recreational activities.[46] However, in practice, many continental Reformed Christians also abstain from recreation on the Sabbath, following the admonition by the Heidelberg Catechism's author Zacharaias Ursinus that "To keep holy the Sabbath, is not to spend the day in slothfulness and idleness".[47] The evangelical awakening in the 19th century led to a greater concern for strict Sunday observance. In 1831, the founding of the Lord's Day Observance Society was influenced by the teaching of Daniel Wilson.[39] Methodist Churches Edit Further information: Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy § Methodist views A monument of the Ten Commandments at the Texas State Capitol Like the aforementioned Calvinist groups, the early Methodists, who were Arminian in theology, were known for "religiously keeping the Sabbath day".[48] They regarded "keeping the Lord's Day as a duty, a delight, and a means of grace".[29] The General Rules of the Methodist Church require "attending upon all the ordinances of God" including "the public worship of God" and prohibit "profaning the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary work therein or by buying or selling".[29][49] The Sunday Sabbatarian practices of the earlier Wesleyan Methodist Church in Great Britain are described by Jonathan Crowther in A Portraiture of Methodism:[50] They believe it to be their duty to keep the first day of the week as a sabbath. This, before Christ, was on the last day of the week; but from the time of his resurrection, was changed into the first day of the week, and is in scripture called, The Lord's Day, and is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian sabbath. This they believe to be set apart by God, and for his worship by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment. And they think it to be agreeable to the law of nature, as well as divine institution, that a due proportion of time should be set apart for the worship of God. ... This day ought to be kept holy unto the Lord, and men and women ought so to order their affairs, and prepare their hearts, that they may not only have a holy rest on that day, from worldly employments, words, and thoughts, but spend the day in the public and private duties of piety. No part of the day should be employed in any other way, except in works of mercy and necessity. On this day, the believe it to be their duty to worship God, and that no only in form, but at the same time in spirit and in truth. Therefore, they employ themselves in prayer and thanksgiving, in reading and meditating on the scriptures, in hearing the public preaching of God's word, in singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, in Christian conversation, and in commemorating the dying love of the Lord Jesus Christ. ... And with them it is a prevailing idea, that God must be worshipped in spirit, daily, in private families, in the closet, and in the public assemblies.[50] In the past, individuals who engaged in buying and selling (with exception of medicine for the sick and necessaries for funerals) on the Christian Sabbath were to be excommunicated from the Wesleyan Methodist Church according to its Discipline.[50] Wesleyan Methodists were also encouraged to neither to hire a barber on the Lord's Day, nor to employ one who conscientiously broke the Sabbath.[50] Karen B. Westerfield Tucker, a United Methodist elder and theologian, writes that the Sampson Circuit of the Methodist Episcopal Church made a Sabbatarian resolution that "resounded throughout all spheres of Methodism":[29] Whereas, we are positively commanded by Almighty God to remember the Sabbath Day to keep it Holy, Therefore Resolve that we, the members of this Quarterly Conference for the Sampson Circuit do most respectfully and earnestly invite the attention of our people to the absolute necessity of a more constant and prayerful observance of the Holy Sabbath. Resolved that visiting on this day for the purpose of transacting temporal business is also a violation of the Holy Day. Resolved that the running of Railroad Trains, Steamboats, Stages, and Etc., on the various lines of travel except in cases of absolute necessity, is a violation of the command of God, and tends to the demoralization of our people as much as it prevents tens of thousands from attendance upon divine worship and the proper influence of the Sabbath. Resolved, that we call upon Christians and good citizens to speak out earnestly and constantly against all desecration of the day of the Lord and appeal to all who are guilty of this sin to cease this violation.[29] Similarly in 1921, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South heralded the Sunday Sabbath as a "day of worship, meditation and prayer".[51] It proclaimed that the "tendency to commercialize the sabbath, making it a day of traffic, travel, business and pleasure is wrong and we want to sound a word of alarm and call our people to God's way of observance".[51] As such, the Methodist Episcopal Church, South stated that it "oppose[s] the playing of baseball, golf, and like games on that day".[51] The 2014 Discipline of the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches states, with regard to the Lord's Day:[52] We believe that the Lord’s Day, celebrated on Sunday, the first day of the week, throughout the Christian church, is the Christian sabbath, which we reverently observe as a day of rest and worship and as the continuing memorial of our Savior’s resurrection. For this reason, we abstain from secular work and from all merchandising on this holy day, except that required by mercy or necessity.[52] Baptist Churches Edit First-day Sabbatarian views are embodied in the confessions of faith held by both General Baptists and Reformed Baptists. With respect to General Baptists, the Treatise on the Faith and Practice of the Free Will Baptists states:[53] This is one day in seven, which from the creation of the world God has set apart for sacred rest and holy service. Under the former dispensation, the seventh day of the week, as commemorative of the work of creation, was set apart for the Lord's Day. Under the gospel, the first day of the week, in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ, and by authority of Christ and the apostles, is observed as the Christian Sabbath. On this day all men are required to refrain from secular labor and devote themselves to the worship and service of God.[53] Similarly, the Liberty Association Articles of Faith (1824), as well as the General Association Articles of Faith of both 1870 and 1949 all state:[53] We believe in the Sanctity of the Lords Day, the first day of the week, and that this day ought to be observed by worshipping God, witnessing for Christ, and ministering to the needs of humanity. We believe that secular work on Sunday should be limited to cases of necessity or mercy.[54] With regard to the Particular Baptists, the Second London Baptist Confession advances first-day Sabbatarian views identical to the Westminster Confession, held by Presbyterians, and the Savoy Declaration, held by Congregationalists.[43][44] Edward L. Smither explains that first-day Sabbatarianism is the normative view held by Baptists (both General and Reformed):[53] This Sunday sabbatarian view is also reflected in such key Baptist statements as Jessey's Catechism of 1652, Keach's Catechism of 1677, the Baptist Catechism for Girls and Boys of 1798, the Baptist Catechism of the Charleston Association of 1813, Spurgeon's Catechism of 1855, the Abstract of Principles of 1858, Everts' Catechism of 1866, Boyce's Catechism of 1867, and Broadus' Catechism of 1892. These documents (and the list is by no means exhaustive) exhort the faithful to abstain from all secular labor and amusements, and to reserve Sunday as a day of worship, spiritual endeavor, and rest.[53] Saturday and Sunday Sabbatarians Edit Keith A. Burton stated that "The church in Africa [recognized] that the resurrection of Christ in no way nullified the fact that 'in six days the Lord made heaven and earth.' ...Even though the power of the Western papal legacy has made some indelible indentations on the churches of Africa, to this day they have refused to fully succumb."[55] Holding the teaching of Gregory of Nyssa with esteem,[21] the Oriental Orthodox Tewahedo Churches in Eritrea and Ethiopia practice two-day sabbatarianism, observing both Saturday and Sunday as the Sabbath, commemorating the days Jesus rested in His tomb and resurrected, respectively.[56][8][9] Similarly, the Coptic Church, another Oriental Orthodox body, "stipulates that the seventh-day Sabbath, along with Sunday, be continuously regarded as a festal day for religious celebration."[10] Saturday Sabbatarianism Edit Main article: Sabbath in seventh-day churches Seventh-day Baptists Edit Sabbatarian Meeting House, built in 1729 in Newport, Rhode Island, is now part of the Newport Historical Society building Ephrata Cloister buildings in December 2006, built in 1732 in Ephrata, Pennsylvania, now administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission Seventh-day Baptists emerged from the separatist movement in England in response to laws enforcing conformity to Sunday worship, founding Mill Yard Seventh Day Baptist Church in London in about 1650.[57] Spreading rapidly to the English colonies, seven members of the First Baptist Church of Newport withdrew from that church to establish Sabbath worship. They called themselves Sabbatarian Baptists, and founded the first Seventh Day Baptist church in America at Newport, Rhode Island in December 1671.[57] A similar occurrence in Piscataway, New Jersey in 1705 led to the formation of a sister conference among the Germans in Ephrata, Pennsylvania in about 1728.[57] The Seventh Day Baptist General Conference united them in 1802.[57] The Ephrata community formed the German Religious Society of Seventh Day Baptists in 1814 and its site came to be known as the Ephrata Cloister. Its last surviving resident, Marie Kachel Bucher, died on July 27, 2008, at the age of 98,[58] but its grounds are now owned by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and are open to public viewing. Embracing education where it had not yet become available to the public, the churches established schools, including three that became colleges in Alfred, New York, Milton, Wisconsin, and Salem, West Virginia. A seminary was added at Alfred University in 1871. Missionary activity in the 19th century led to expansion both in the U.S. and overseas into China, India, the Philippines, Oceania, and Africa.[57] Today, its General Conference offices are located in Janesville, Wisconsin, although most of its membership resides outside the U.S. United in a literal interpretation of the Sabbath commandment to keep the seventh day holy (in worship) and to rest, seventh-day Baptists leave other observances largely to its individual members to interpret and follow for themselves. In this way it represents the least uniform and least rigorous type of Sabbatarianism.[59] Seventh-day Adventism Edit See also: Biblical law in Seventh-day Adventism The Seventh-day Adventist Church is the largest modern seventh-day Sabbatarian denomination, with 17,214,683 members as of June 30, 2011,[60] and holds the sabbath as one of the Pillars of Adventism. Seventh-day Adventism grew out of the Millerite movement in the 1840s, and a few of its founders (Cyrus Farnsworth, Frederick Wheeler, a Methodist minister and Joseph Bates, a sea captain)were convinced in 1844-1845 of the importance of Sabbatarianism under the influence of Rachel Oakes Preston, a young Seventh Day Baptist laywoman living in Washington, New Hampshire and a published article in early 1845 on the topic (Hope of Israel) by Thomas M. Preble, pastor of the Free Will Baptist congregation in Nashua, New Hampshire. Seventh-day Adventists observe the sabbath from Friday sunset to Saturday sunset.[61] In places where the sun does not appear or does not set for several months, such as northern Scandinavia, the tendency is to regard an arbitrary time such as 6 p.m. as "sunset". During the sabbath, Adventists avoid secular work and business, although medical relief and humanitarian work is accepted. Though there are cultural variations, most Adventists also avoid activities such as shopping, sport, and certain forms of entertainment. Adventists typically gather for church services on Saturday morning. Some also gather on Friday evening to welcome in the sabbath hours (sometimes called "vespers" or "opening Sabbath"), and some similarly gather at "closing Sabbath". Traditionally, Seventh-day Adventists hold that the Ten Commandments (including the fourth commandment concerning the sabbath) are part of the moral law of God, not abrogated by the teachings of Jesus, which apply equally to Christians.[62] Seventh-day Adventists believe it is possible to maintain an antinomian position while at the same time faithfully observing the Ten Commandments. Adventists make a keen distinction between the "law of Moses" and the "law of God", with the former being the traditional levitical requirements intended to maintain the integrity of the ancient nation of Israel and their special role in sharing God with the rest of the world, and the latter being the universal moral code by which the universe is governed. In other words, Adventists have traditionally distinguished between "moral law" and "ceremonial law", arguing that the moral law (the Ten Commandments) continues to bind Christians, while events symbolized by the ceremonial law (the law of Moses) were fulfilled by Christ's death on the cross. History Edit Main article: History of the Seventh-day Adventist Church "Sabbatarian Adventists" emerged between 1845 and 1849 from within the Adventist movement of William Miller, later to become the Seventh-day Adventists. Frederick Wheeler[63] began keeping the seventh day as the sabbath after personally studying the issue in March 1844 following a conversation with Rachel Preston, according to his later report.[64] He is reputed to be the first ordained Adventist minister to preach in support of the sabbath. Several members of the church in Washington, New Hampshire, to which he occasionally ministered, also followed his decision, forming the first Sabbatarian Adventist church.[65] These included William Farnsworth[66] and his brother Cyrus.[67] T. M. Preble soon accepted it from either Wheeler, Oakes, or someone else at the church. These events preceded the Great Disappointment, which followed shortly after, when Jesus did not return as Millerites expected on October 22, 1844. Preble was the first Millerite to promote the sabbath in print form, through the February 28, 1845, issue of the Adventist Hope of Israel in Portland, Maine. In March he published his sabbath views in tract form as A Tract, Showing that the Seventh Day Should be Observed as the Sabbath, Instead of the First Day; "According to the Commandment".[68] This tract led to the conversion of John Nevins Andrews and other Adventist families in Paris, Maine, as well as the 1845 conversion of Joseph Bates, who became the foremost proponent of the sabbath among this group. These men in turn convinced James Springer White, Ellen Harmon (later White), and Hiram Edson of New Hampshire.[69] Preble is known to have kept seventh-day sabbath until mid-1847. He later repudiated the sabbath and opposed the Seventh-day Adventists, authoring The First-Day Sabbath. Bates proposed an 1846 meeting among the believers in New Hampshire and Port Gibson, which took place at Edson's farm, where Edson and other Port Gibson believers readily accepted the sabbath message and forged an alliance with Bates, White, and Harmon. Between April 1848 and December 1850, 22 sabbath conferences in New York and New England allowed White, Bates, Edson, and Stephen Pierce to reach conclusions about doctrinal issues.[70] Also in 1846, a pamphlet written by Bates created widespread interest in the sabbath. Bates, White, Harmon, Edson, Wheeler, and S. W. Rhodes led the promotion of the sabbath, partly through regular publications.[71] Present Truth magazine was largely devoted to the sabbath at first.[72] J. N. Andrews was the first Adventist to write a book-length defense of the sabbath, first published in 1861. Two of Andrews' books include Testimony of the Fathers of the First Three Centuries Concerning the Sabbath and the First Day[73] and History of the Sabbath.[74] Eschatology Edit See also: Seventh-day Adventist eschatology The pioneers of the church have traditionally taught that the seventh-day Sabbath could be a test, leading to the sealing of God's people during the end times, though there is little consensus about how this will play out. The church has traditionally taught that there could be an international Sunday law enforced by a coalition of religious and secular authorities, and that all who do not observe it will be persecuted, imprisoned or martyred. This is taken from the church's interpretation, following Ellen G. White, of Daniel 7:25, Revelation 13:15, Revelation 7, Ezekiel 20:12-20, and Exodus 31:13. Some early Adventists were indeed jailed for working on Sunday, in violation of various local blue laws that legislated Sunday as a day of rest. It has been speculated that a universal Sunday law could soon be enforced, as a sign of the end times. See also Edit High Sabbaths Subbotniks References Edit ^ Carlisle, Rodney P. (17 March 2005). Encyclopedia of Politics. SAGE. p. 853. ISBN 9781412904094. Sabbatarianism is the view that insists that one day of each week must be reserved for religious observance as prescribed by the Old Testament Sabbath Law. The sabbatarians' main thesis is simple: The Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments, and the Ten Commandments do not correspond to a temporary ceremonial law but are to be regarded as eternally significant moral law. ^ a b c Elwell, Walter A. (2001). Evangelical Dictionary of Theology. Baker Academic. p. 1045. ISBN 9780801020759. Historically we see a trend toward sabbatarianism in the Eastern Church during the fourth century and the Irish church of the sixth century when, interestingly, a dual recognitition of both sabbath and Sunday was stressed. ... As early as the fourth and fifth centuries theologians in the Eastern church were teaching the practical identity of the Jewish sabbath and the Christian Sunday. Eusebius's interpretation of Psalm 91 (ca. 320) greatly influenced the ultimate transfer of sabbath assertions and prohibitions to the first day of the week. ^ a b Heyck, Thomas (27 September 2013). A History of the Peoples of the British Isles: From 1688 to 1914. Taylor & Francis. p. 251. ISBN 9781134415205. Yet the degree of overlap between the middle class and nonconformity-Baptists, Congregregationalists, Wesleyan Methodists, Quakers, Presbyterians, and Unitarians-was substantial. ... Most nonconformist denominations ...frowned on drink, dancing, and the theater, and they promoted Sabbatarianism (the policy of prohibiting trade and public recreation on Sundays). ^ Roth, Randolph A. (25 April 2002). The Democratic Dilemma: Religion, Reform, and the Social Order in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, 1791-1850. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 9780521317733. Except for the strong support of Episcopalians in Windsor and Woodstock, the Sabbatarians found their appeal limited almost exclusively to Congregationalists and Presbyterians, some of whom did not fear state action on religious matters of interdenominational concern. ^ a b Vugt, William E. Van (2006). British Buckeyes: The English, Scots, and Welsh in Ohio, 1700-1900. Kent State University Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780873388436. As predominantly Methodists and other nonconformists, British immigrants were pietists, committed to conversion and the reform of society. They did not separate religion from civil government, bur rather integrated right belief with right behavior. Therefore they embraced reform movements, most notably temperance and abolitionism, as well as Sabbatarian laws. ^ a b O'Brien, Glen; Carey, Hilary M. (3 March 2016). Methodism in Australia: A History. Routledge. p. 83. ISBN 9781317097099. Sabbatarianism: For the non-Anglican Protestants of colonial Queensland (Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists), desecration of the Sabbath was one of the great sins of the late nineteenth century. ^ Watts, Michael R. (March 19, 2015). The Dissenters: Volume III: The Crisis and Conscience of Nonconformity, Volume 3. Oxford University Press. pp. 156–160. ISBN 9780198229698. ^ a b Binns, John (28 November 2016). The Orthodox Church of Ethiopia: A History. I.B.Tauris. p. 81. ISBN 9781786720375. The king presided, overruled the bishops who were committed to the more usual position that Sunday only was a holy day, and decreed that the Sabbatarian teaching of the northern monks became the position of the church. ^ a b c The New Encyclopædia Britannica. 1998. p. 581. ISBN 9780852296332. Retrieved 21 June 2017. Circumcision is almost universally practiced; the Saturday Sabbath (in addition to Sunday) is observed by some devout believers; the ark is an essential item in every church; and rigorous fasting is still practiced. ^ a b Hullquist, Gary (8 August 2004). Sabbath Diagnosis: A Diagnostic History and Physical Examination of the Biblical Day of Rest. TEACH Services, Inc. p. 93. ISBN 9781572582620. ^ a b Andrews, John Nevins (1862). History of the Sabbath and First Day of the Week. Steam Press. p. 60. ^ a b "God's Law in Old and New Covenants". Orthodox Presbyterian Church. 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2018. ^ a b Summa Theologica, I-II, q. 100 ^ a b c Chrystie, James (1850). "The Lord's Day, the Christian Sabbath". Reformed Presbyterian Church. Retrieved 3 June 2018. ^ a b Edwards, Jonathan. "The Perpetuity and Change of the Sabbath". Retrieved 24 June 2017. ^ a b Horrell, John Scott. From the Ground Up: New Testament Foundations for the 21st Century Church. Kregel Academic. p. 56. ISBN 9780825495519. The Constitutions of the Holy Apostles (ca. 380) exhorts Christians to "keep the Sabbath and the Lord's day festival" (7.23) ^ "ANF07. Fathers of the Third and Fourth Centuries: Lactantius, Venantius, Asterius, Victorinus, Dionysius, Apostolic Teaching and Constitutions, Homily". SEC. II.—ON THE FORMATION OF THE CHARACTER OF BELIEVERS, AND ON GIVING OF THANKS TO GOD. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. Retrieved 23 June 2017. ^ a b White, James F. (15 June 2010). Documents of Christian Worship: Descriptive and Interpretive Sources. A&C Black. p. 84. ISBN 9780567370501. ^ Ball, Bryan W. (30 September 2014). The English Connection: The Puritan Roots of Seventh-Day Adventist Belief (2nd Edition). James Clarke & Co. p. 156. ISBN 9780227174456. ^ Carlisle, Rodney P. (17 March 2005). Encyclopedia of Politics. SAGE. p. 853. ISBN 9781412904094. Historically, we see a trend towards sabbatarianism in the Eastern church during the fourth century and the Irish church of the sixth century when, interestingly, a dual recognition of both sabbath and Sunday was stressed. ^ a b Journal of Religion in Africa: Religion en Afrique, Volumes 4-6. Brill. 1972. p. 191. Gregory of Nyssa, who stands in great repute among Ethiopians, argued : "With what eyes do you regard the Lord's Day, you who have desecrated the Sabbath? Do you know that these two days are related, that if you wrong one of them, you will stumble against the other? ^ Guy, Laurie (4 November 2004). Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of Its Life, Beliefs and Practices. InterVarsity Press. p. 213. ISBN 9780830826988. Significantly, the first Christian writer to suggest that the sabbath had been transferred to Sunday is Eusbius of Caesarea (post 330). ^ a b c d Roy, Christian (2005). Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 455. ISBN 9781576070895. ^ Schaff, Philip; Wace, Henry (eds.), "Synod of Laodicea, Canon 29", Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series (NPNF2, Vol 14), retrieved 3 Jul 2015 ^ Brook, Kevin Alan (27 September 2006). The Jews of Khazaria. Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. p. 266. ISBN 9781442203020. ^ a b Binns, John (28 November 2016). The Orthodox Church of Ethiopia: A History. I.B.Tauris. p. 81. ISBN 9781786720375. ^ Roberts, Tom. "A Brief History of Sabbatarian Churches". Retrieved 22 June 2017. Old Irish documents in the Gaelic language reveal in St. Patrick’s commentary on the book of the law and the book of the Gospel that they were a Sabbath keeping and Passover observant people. This tradition from the 330’s AD at Lister and Iona would last until the 5th century AD. Remnants of this Celtic theology remain to this day in the tradition of the Scottish Presbyterians and their Sabbath roots given to them by Columba and St. Patrick. ^ Gribben, Crawford (2016-04-29). Enforcing Reformation in Ireland and Scotland, 1550–1700. Routledge. p. 77. ISBN 9781317143475. ^ a b c d e Tucker, Karen B. Westerfield (27 April 2011). American Methodist Worship. Oxford University Press. p. 46. ISBN 9780199774159. ^ a b "About". The Lord’s Day Alliance of the U.S. 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017. ^ Vincent, Ted (1994). The Rise and Fall of American Sport: Mudville's Revenge. University of Nebraska Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780803296138. ^ Darrow, Clarence (2005). Closing Arguments: Clarence Darrow on Religion, Law, and Society. Ohio University Press. p. 39. ISBN 9780821416327. ^ Roy, Christian (2005). Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 457. ISBN 9781576070895. However, an amendment was made that left is enforcement to the discretion of the provinces, so that it remained a dead letter in mostly French Quebec. A Catholic Sunday League was formed in 1923 to combat this laxity and promote sabbatarian restrictions in that province--especially against movie theaters. ^ Rybczyński, Witold (1991). Waiting for the Weekend. Viking Penguin. p. 78. ISBN 9780670830015. In 1922, inspired by a pastoral letter decrying the lax observance of Sunday as a day of rest, the Ligue du Dimanche (Sunday League) was formed. For fourteen years the League agitated for Sabbatarian legislation, particularly against cinemas ... ^ Fahlbusch, Erwin; Bromiley, Geoffrey William (2005). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 787. ISBN 9780802824165. ^ "Sabbatarianism", Catholic Encyclopedia, New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1913, retrieved 28 Jun 2015 ^ "Sabbath", Catholic Encyclopedia, New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1913 ^ Canon of Holy Saturday (Orthodox), Kontakion: "Exceeding blessed is this Sabbath, on which Christ has slumbered, to rise on the third day." ^ a b Bauckham, R. J. (1982). "Sabbath and Sunday in the Protestant Tradition". In Carson, D. A. From Sabbath to Lord's Day. Zondervan. pp. 311–342. ^ Ashton, Michael. Sunday and the Sabbath - Bible teaching about God's day of rest. The Christadelphian Magazine and Publishing Association, Birmingham, 1993. ^ McGraw, Ryan M. (18 June 2014). A Heavenly Directory: Trinitarian Piety, Public Worship and a Reassessment of John Owen's Theology. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 23–24. ISBN 9783525550755. ^ Tucker, Karen B. Westerfield (27 April 2011). American Methodist Worship. Oxford University Press. p. 45. ISBN 9780199774159. ^ a b Haykin, Michael A. G.; Jones, Mark (2011). Drawn Into Controversie: Reformed Theological Diversity and Debates Within Seventeenth-century British Puritanism. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 284. ISBN 9783525569450. The seventeenth-century Particular Baptists regarded themselves as being very much an integral part of the wider Reformed community in the British Isles and Ireland. Their substantial employment of the Presbyterian Westminster Confession (1646) and Congregationalist Savoy Declaration (1658) in the writing of their Second London Confession of Faith (1677/1688) is but one indication of the real sense of solidarity they had with other Reformed communities in the British archipelago. ^ a b Smither, Edward L. (25 September 2014). Rethinking Constantine: History, Theology and Legacy. James Clarke & Co. p. 121. ISBN 9780227902721. Many Baptists have insisted upon the observance of Sunday as the Christian Sabbath, as a day of rest from "secular" work. For example, the Lord's Day article from the Westminster Confession (and its insistence upon Sunday rest) was transferred almost word-for-word into the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689. ^ Marsden, George (1991). Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism. Eerdmans. p. 25. ^ Heidelberg Catechism, Q & A 103. ^ Ursinus, Zacharias (1956). Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism. Eerdmans. p. 558. ^ Peter Cartwright (1857). Autobiography of Peter Cartwright: The Backwoods Preacher. Carlton & Porter. p. 74. ^ Abraham, William J.; Kirby, James E. (24 September 2009). The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 253. ISBN 9780191607431. ^ a b c d Crowther, Jonathan (1815). A Portraiture of Methodism: Or, The History of the Wesleyan Methodists. T. Blanshard. pp. 224, 249–250. ^ a b c Journal of the North Carolina Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 1921. p. 62. ^ a b "Discipline of the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches" (PDF). 2014. p. 30. Retrieved 19 June 2017. ^ a b c d e Smither, Edward L. (25 September 2014). Rethinking Constantine: History, Theology and Legacy. James Clarke & Co. p. 121. ISBN 9780227902721. ^ Melton, J. Gordon (1988). The Encyclopedia of American Religions, Religious Creeds: A Compilation of More Than 450 Creeds, Confessions, Statements of Faith, and Summaries of Doctrine of Religious and Spiritual Groups in the United States and Canada. Gale Research Company. p. 517. ISBN 9780810321328. Retrieved 22 June 2017. ^ Burton, Keith A. "Western European Imperialism and the Literary Suppression of the African Fidelity to the Biblical Sabbath." Sabbath in Africa Project, 1993. ^ Selassie, Brahana (2000). Towards a Fuller Vision: My Life & the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Minerva Press. ISBN 9781861069481. Retrieved 23 June 2017. The main reason they gave for the two-day Sabbath was that these two days commemorated the Lord's body that rested in the grave, and His resurrection the following day. ^ a b c d e Seventh Day Baptist Historical Society (1995), Wardin, Albert W. Jr., ed., Baptists Around the World, Janesville, WI: Broadman & Holman ^ "Obituary of Marie Elizabeth Kachel Bucher". Intelligencer Journal. 2008-07-29. Archived from the original on 2008-07-31. Retrieved 2008-07-31. ^ Seventh Day Baptist Official Website, Statement of Belief, Janesville, WI: Seventh Day Baptist Church, retrieved 7 Jul 2015 ^ "Seventh-day Adventist Statistical Report, 2011". ^ "Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Beliefs, #20". ^ "Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Beliefs #19". ^ "Frederick Wheeler 1811-1910". whiteestate.org. Retrieved 2015-01-26. ^ Light Bearers. Probably in the early spring of 1844. ^ Edward G. Fortmiller, Email: ef24w at fortmiller.us (2004-02-04). "Washington NH: History". Tagnet.org. Retrieved 2012-05-25. ^ William Farnsworth short biography, William Farnsworth short stories from life ^ Edward G. Fortmiller, Email: ef24w at fortmiller.us. "Cyrus K. Farnsworth". Tagnet.org. Retrieved 2012-05-25. ^ "A Sabbath Tract by T.M. Preble". Aloha.net. Retrieved 2012-05-25. ^ Light Bearers to the Remnant ^ Neufield, D. (1976). Sabbath Conferences. pp. 1255–6. ^ Mead, Frank S.; Hill, Samuel S.; Atwood, Craig D. "Seventh-day Adventists". Handbook of Denominations in the United States (12th ed.). Nashville: Abingdon Press. pp. 270–3. ^ "General Conference Archives". Adventistarchives.org. Retrieved 2012-05-25. ^ "Testimony of the Fathers of the First Three Centuries Concerning the Sabbath and the First Day". Giveshare.org. Retrieved 2012-05-25. ^ [1] DjVu, [2] HTML External links Last edited 8 days ago by an anonymous user RELATED ARTICLES Sabbath in Christianity Sabbath desecration Puritan Sabbatarianism Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Terms of UsePrivacyDesktop

Sabbath in Christianity

Open main menu Search EditWatch this pageRead in another language Sabbath in Christianity A Ten Commandments monument at the Texas State Capitol that was the subject of a lawsuit, Van Orden v. Perry Sabbath in Christianity is the inclusion or adoption in Christianity of a Sabbath day. Established within Judaism through Mosaic Law, Christians inherited a Sabbath practice that reflected two great precepts: the commandment to "remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy"[1] and God's blessing of the seventh day (Saturday) as a day of rest in the Genesis creation narrative and declared as made for man by Jesus.[2] The first of these provisions was associated in Judaism with the assembly of the people to worship in the Temple in Jerusalem or in synagogues. The position now dominant in Western Christianity is that observance of the Lord's Day, Sunday, supplanted or superseded the Sabbath commandment in that the former "celebrated the Christian community's deliverance from captivity to sin, Satan, and worldly passions, made possible by the resurrection on the first day of the week."[3][4] Early Christians observed the seventh day Sabbath with prayer and rest, but they also gathered on the first day. By the 4th century, Catholics[5] were officially observing the first day, Sunday, as their day of rest, not the seventh. A Sabbatarian movement within Oriental Orthodoxy began in the 12th century in Ethiopia and gained momentum in the 13th, eventually establishing itself as the norm in that region. The modern Orthodox Tewahedo churches observe a two-day Sabbath, including both Saturday and Sunday.[6] Influenced by Puritan ideas, the Presbyterian and Congregationalist, as well as Methodist and Baptist Churches, enshrined first-day Sabbatarian views in their confessions of faith, observing the Lord's Day as the Christian Sabbath.[7] Beginning about the 17th century, a few groups of Restorationist Christians took issue with some of the practice of the churches around them, sometimes also questioning the theology that had been so widely accepted throughout 16 centuries. Mostly Seventh-day Sabbatarians, they broke away from their former churches to form communities that followed Seventh-day Sabbath-based practices that differed from the rest of Christianity, often also adopting a more literal interpretation of law, either Christian or Mosaic. History Edit Main article: Early Christianity Sabbath timing Edit The Hebrew Sabbath, the seventh day of the week, is often spoken of loosely as "Saturday". In fact, in the Hebrew calendar, a day begins at sunset, and not at midnight. The Sabbath therefore coincides with what the Gregorian calendar identifies as Friday sunset to Saturday sunset. Similarly, the first day of the week ("Sunday") coincides with Gregorian Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset. The Sabbath continued to be observed on the seventh day in the early Christian church.[note 1] To this day, the Sabbath continues to be observed in line with the Hebrew Sabbath timing in the church calendars in Eastern Orthodoxy and Oriental Orthodoxy.[8] On the other hand, the current canons of the Roman Catholic Church (Canon 202 §1) define a day as beginning at midnight.[9] Early Christianity Edit Early Christians continued to pray and rest on the seventh day.[10] By the 2nd century AD some Christians also observed Sunday, the day of the week on which Jesus had risen from the dead and on which the Holy Spirit had come to the apostles.[10] Paul and the Christians of Troas, for example, gathered on Sunday "to break bread," [11] Soon some Christians were observing only Sunday and not the Sabbath.[10] Patristic writings attest that by the second century, it had become commonplace to celebrate the Eucharist in a corporate day of worship on the first day.[12] A Church Father, Eusebius, stated that for Christians, "the sabbath had been transferred to Sunday".[13] In his noteworthy[14] book From Sabbath to Sunday, Adventist theologian Samuele Bacchiocchi contended that the transition from the Saturday Sabbath to Sunday in the early Christian church was due to pagan and political factors, and the decline of standards for the Sabbath day.[15] Corporate worship Edit While the Lord's Day observance of the Eucharist was established separately from the Jewish Sabbath, the centrality of the Eucharist itself made it the commonest early observance whenever Christians gathered for worship. In many places and times as late as the 4th century, they did continue to gather weekly on the Sabbath, often in addition to the Lord's Day, celebrating the Eucharist on both days.[16][17][18] No disapproval of Sabbath observance of the Christian festival was expressed at the early church councils that dealt with Judaizing. The Council of Laodicea (363-364), for example, mandated only that Sabbath Eucharists must be observed in the same manner as those on the first day.[18] Neander has suggested that Sabbath Eucharists in many places were kept "as a feast in commemoration of the Creation".[18] The issues about Hebrew practices that continued into the 2nd century tended to relate mostly to the Sabbath. Justin Martyr, who attended worship on the first day,[19] wrote about the cessation of Hebrew Sabbath observance and stated that the Sabbath was enjoined as a temporary sign to Israel to teach it of human sinfulness (Gal. 3:24-25),[20] no longer needed after Christ came without sin.[21] He rejected the need to keep literal seventh-day Sabbath, arguing instead that "the new law requires you to keep the sabbath constantly."[22] With Christian corporate worship so clearly aligned with the Eucharist and allowed on the seventh day, Hebrew Sabbath practices primarily involved the observance of a day of rest. Day of rest Edit A common theme in criticism of Hebrew Sabbath rest was idleness, found not to be in the Christian spirit of rest. Irenaeus (late 2nd c.), also citing continuous Sabbath observance, wrote that the Christian "will not be commanded to leave idle one day of rest, who is constantly keeping sabbath",[23] and Tertullian (early 3rd century) argued "that we still more ought to observe a sabbath from all servile work always, and not only every seventh-day, but through all time".[24] This early metaphorical interpretation of Sabbath applied it to the entire Christian life.[25] Ignatius, cautioning against "Judaizing" in his letter to the Magnesians,[26] contrasts the Jewish Sabbath practices with the Christian life which includes the Lord's Day: "Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner, and rejoice in days of idleness .... But let every one of you keep the Sabbath after a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law, not in relaxation of the body, admiring the workmanship of God, and not eating things prepared the day before, nor using lukewarm drinks, and walking within a prescribed space, nor finding delight in dancing and plaudits which have no sense in them. And after the observance of the Sabbath, let every friend of Christ keep the Lord's [Day, Dominicam] as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days."[27] The 2nd and 3rd centuries solidified the early church's emphasis upon Sunday worship and its rejection of a Jewish (Mosaic Law-based) observation of the Sabbath and manner of rest. Christian practice of following Sabbath after the manner of the Hebrews declined, prompting Tertullian to note "to [us] Sabbaths are strange" and unobserved.[28] Even as late as the 4th century, Judaizing was still sometimes a problem within the Church, but by this time it was repudiated strongly as heresy.[29][30][31] Sunday was another work day in the Roman Empire. On March 7, 321, however, Roman Emperor Constantine I issued a civil decree making Sunday a day of rest from labor, stating:[32] All judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the venerable day of the sun. Country people, however, may freely attend to the cultivation of the fields, because it frequently happens that no other days are better adapted for planting the grain in the furrows or the vines in trenches. So that the advantage given by heavenly providence may not for the occasion of a short time perish. While established only in civil law rather than religious principle, the Church welcomed the development as a means by which Christians could the more easily attend Sunday worship and observe Christian rest. At Laodicea also, the Church encouraged Christians to make use of the day for Christian rest where possible,[31] without ascribing to it any of the regulation of Mosaic Law, and indeed, anathematizing Hebrew observance on the Sabbath. The civil law and its effects made possible a pattern in Church life that has been imitated throughout the centuries in many places and cultures, wherever possible. From ancient times to Middle Ages Edit Augustine of Hippo followed the early patristic writers in spiritualizing the meaning of the Sabbath commandment, referring it to eschatological rest rather than observance of a literal day. Such writing, however, did serve to deepen the idea of Christian rest on Sunday, and its practice increased in prominence throughout the early Middle Ages.[33] Thomas Aquinas taught that the Decalogue is an expression of natural law which binds all men, and therefore the Sabbath commandment is a moral requirement along with the other nine. Thus in the west, Sunday rest became more closely associated with a Christian application of the Sabbath, a development towards the idea of a "Christian Sabbath" rather than a Hebrew one.[33] While Sunday worship and Sunday rest combined powerfully to relate to Sabbath commandment precepts, the application of the commandment to Christian life was nevertheless a response within the law of liberty, not restricted to a single day but continuous, and not a displacement of the Sabbath in time. Continuations of Hebrew practices Edit Seventh-day Sabbath was observed at least sporadically by a minority of groups during the Middle Ages. In the early church in Ireland, there is evidence that a sabbath-rest on Saturday may have been kept along with mass on Sunday as the 'Lord's day'. It appears that many of the canon laws in Ireland from that period were derived from parts of the laws of Moses. In Adomnan of Iona's biography of St Columba it describes Columba's death by having Columba say on a Saturday 'Today is truly my sabbath, for it is my last day in this wearisome life, when I shall keep the Sabbath after my troublesome labours. At midnight this Sunday, as Scripture saith, "I shall go the way of my fathers"' and he then dies that night. The identification of this sabbath day as a Saturday in the narrative is clear in the context, because Columba is recorded as seeing an angel at the mass on the previous Sunday and the narrative claims he dies in the same week, on the sabbath day at the end of the week, during the 'Lord's night' (referring to Saturday night-Sunday morning).[34] An Eastern body of Christian Sabbath-keepers mentioned from the 8th century to the 12th is called Athenians ("touch-not") because they abstained from uncleanness and intoxicating drinks, called Athinginians in Neander: "This sect, which had its principal seat in the city of Armorion, in upper Phrygia, where many Jews resided, sprung out of a mixture of Judaism and Christianity. They united baptism with the observance of all the rites of Judaism, circumcision excepted. We may perhaps recognize a branch of the older Judaizing sects.[35] Cardinal Hergenrother says that they stood in intimate relation with Emperor Michael II (AD 821-829), and testifies that they observed Sabbath.[36] As late as the 11th century Cardinal Humbert still referred to the Nazarenes as a Sabbath-keeping Christian body existing at that time. But in the 10th and 11th centuries, there was a great extension of sects from the East to the West. Neander states that the corruption of the clergy furnished a most important vantage-ground on which to attack the dominant church. The abstemious life of these Christians, the simplicity and earnestness of their preaching and teaching, had their effect. "Thus we find them emerging at once in the 11th century, in countries the most diverse, and the most remote from each other, in Italy, France, and even in the Harz districts in Germany." Likewise, also, "traces of Sabbath-keepers are found in the times of Gregory I, Gregory VII, and in the 12th century in Lombardy."[37] Oriental Orthodoxy Edit The Orthodox Tewahedo churches celebrate the Sabbath, a practice proselytised in the Oriental Orthodox church in Ethiopia in the 1300s by Ewostatewos (Ge'ez: ዮስጣቴዎስ, Ancient Greek: Ευστάθιος.[38] In response to colonial pressure by missionaries of the Catholic Church in the 1500s, the emperor Saint Gelawdewos wrote his Confession, an apologia of traditional beliefs and practices including observation of the Sabbath and a theological defense of the Miaphysitism of Oriental Orthodoxy.[39] Protestant Reformation Edit A recreation ground on Raasay displaying a sign "Please do not use this playing field on Sundays". Protestant reformers, beginning in the 16th century, brought new interpretations of Christian law to the west. According to Bauckham, while Martin Luther and John Calvin repudiated the idea that Christians are bound to obey the Mosaic law, including the fourth of the Ten Commandments concerning Sabbath, they did follow Aquinas's concept of natural law. They viewed Sunday rest as a civic institution established by human authority, which provided an occasion for bodily rest and public worship.[40] In his work against the Antinomians, Luther rejected the idea that he had taught the abolition of the Ten Commandments.[41] Another Protestant, John Wesley, stated "This 'handwriting of ordinances' our Lord did blot out, take away, and nail to His cross (Col. 2:14). But the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the prophets, He did not take away .... The moral law stands on an entirely different foundation from the ceremonial or ritual law .... Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind and in all ages."[42] Sabbatarianism arose and spread among both the continental and English Protestants during the 17th and 18th centuries. The Puritans of England and Scotland brought a new rigorism into the observance of the Christian Lord's Day, in reaction to the customary Sunday observance of the time, which they regarded as lax. They appealed to Sabbath ordinances with the idea that only the Bible can bind men's consciences in whether or how they will take a break from work, or to impose an obligation to meet at a particular time. Their influential reasoning spread to other denominations also, and it is primarily through their influence that "Sabbath" has become the colloquial equivalent of "Lord's Day" or "Sunday". Sunday Sabbatarianism is enshrined in its most mature expression, the Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), in the Calvinist theological tradition. Chapter 21, Of Religious Worship, and the Sabbath Day, sections 7-8 read: 7. As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in his Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which, in Scripture, is called the Lord's day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath. 8. This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe a holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy.[citation needed] The confession holds that not only is work forbidden in Sunday, but also "works, words, and thoughts" about "worldly employments and recreations." Instead, the whole day should be taken up with "public and private exercises of [one's] worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy."[citation needed] Strict Sunday Sabbatarianism is sometimes called "Puritan Sabbath", which may be contrasted with "Continental Sabbath".[43] The latter follows the reformed confessions of faith of Continental Europe such as the Heidelberg Catechism, which emphasize rest and worship on the Lord's Day, but do not explicitly forbid recreational activities.[44] However, in practice, many continental Reformed Christians also abstain from recreation on the Sabbath, following the admonition by the Heidelberg Catechism's author Zacharaias Ursinus that "To keep holy the Sabbath, is not to spend the day in slothfulness and idleness".[45] Though first-day Sabbatarian practice declined in the 18th century, the First Great Awakening in the 19th century led to a greater concern for strict Sunday observance. The founding of the Day One Christian Ministries in 1831 was influenced by the teaching of Daniel Wilson.[40] Common theology Edit See also: Christian views on the Old Covenant Many Christian theologians believe that Sabbath observance is not binding for Christians today,[46][47] citing for instance Col. 2:16-17.[48] Some Christian non-Sabbatarians advocate physical Sabbath rest on any chosen day of the week,[49] and some advocate Sabbath as a symbolic metaphor for rest in Christ; the concept of "Lord's Day" is usually treated as synonymous with "Sabbath". This non-Sabbatarian interpretation usually states that Jesus's obedience and the New Covenant fulfilled the laws of Sabbath, the Ten Commandments, and the Law of Moses, which are thus considered not to be binding moral laws, and sometimes considered abolished or abrogated. While Sunday is often observed as the day of Christian assembly and worship, in accordance with church tradition, Sabbath commandments are dissociated from this practice. Non-Sabbatarian Christians also cite 2 Cor. 3:2-3, in which believers are compared to "a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written ... not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts"; this interpretation states that Christians accordingly no longer follow the Ten Commandments with dead orthodoxy ("tablets of stone"), but follow a new law written upon "tablets of human hearts". 3:7-11 adds that "if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory ..., will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? .... And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!" This is interpreted as teaching that New Covenant Christians are not bound by the Mosaic Law, and that Sabbath-keeping is not required. Further, because "love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:10), the new-covenant "law" is considered to be based entirely upon love and to rescind Sabbath requirements. Spiritual rest Edit Non-Sabbatarians who affirm that Sabbath-keeping remains for God's people (as in Heb. 3:7-4:11) frequently regard this as present weeklong spiritual rest or future heavenly rest rather than as physical weekly rest. For instance, Irenaeus saw Sabbath rest from secular affairs for one day each week as a sign of the way that Christians were called to permanently devote themselves to God[50] and an eschatological symbol.[51] One such interpretation of Hebrews states that seventh-day Sabbath is no longer relevant as a regular, literal day of rest, but instead is a symbolic metaphor for the eternal salvation "rest" that Christians enjoy in Christ, which was in turn prefigured by the promised land of Canaan. "The NT indicates that the sabbath followed its own channel and found its goal in Christ's redemptive work [John 5:17, cf. 7:23, Colossians 2:16, Matthew 11:28–12:14, Hebrews 3:7–4:11]. It is true to the NT to say that the Mosaic sabbath as a legal and weekly matter was a temporary symbol of a more fundamental and comprehensive salvation, epitomized by and grounded in God's own creation sabbath, and brought to fulfillment (in already–not yet fashion) in Christ's redemptive work. Believers are indeed to 'keep sabbath,' no longer by observance of a day of the week but now by the upholding of that to which it pointed: the gospel of the [Kingdom of God]."[52] Weekly rest Edit Lutheran writer Marva Dawn keeps a whole day as Sabbath, advocating for rest during any weekly complete 24-hour period[49] and favoring rest from Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset,[53] but regarding corporate worship as "an essential part of God's Sabbath reclamation."[54] Non-sabbatarian churches Edit See also: Sabbatarianism and Lord's Day Much of Western Christianity came to view Sunday as a transference of Sabbath observance to the first day, identifying Sunday with a first-day "Christian Sabbath". While first-day Sabbatarian practice declined during the 18th century, leaving few modern followers, its concern for stricter Sunday observances did have influence in the west, shaping the origin of the Christian Sabbath. The term no longer applies to a specific set of practices, but tends to be used to describe the general establishment of Sunday worship and rest observances within Christianity. It does not necessarily imply the displacement of the Sabbath itself, which is often recognized as remaining on Saturday. As such, the Christian Sabbath generally represents a reinterpretation of the meaning of the Sabbath in the light of Christian law, emphases of practice, and values. Roman Catholicism Edit In 1998 Pope John Paul II wrote an apostolic letter Dies Domini,[55] "on keeping the Lord's day holy". He encourages Catholics to remember the importance of keeping Sunday holy, urging that it not lose its meaning by being blended with a frivolous "weekend" mentality. Going beyond the traditional Catholic position and seeing to uphold the Lord's Day Act in French Quebec, the Catholic Sunday League was formed in 1923 to promote first-day sabbatarian restrictions in the province, especially against movie theaters.[56] In the Latin Church, Sunday is kept in commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus and celebrated with the Eucharist (Catholic Catechism 2177).[57] It is also the day of leisure. The Lord's Day is considered both the first day and the 'eighth day' of the week, symbolizing both first creation and new creation (2174).[57] Roman Catholics view the first day as a day for assembly for worship (2178, Heb. 10:25),[57] but consider a day of rigorous rest not obligatory on Christians (Rom. 14:5, Col. 2:16).[58] Catholic recommendations to rest on Sunday do not hinder participation in "ordinary and innocent occupations".[59] In the spirit of the Sabbath, Catholics ought to observe a day of rest from servile work, which also becomes "a day of protest against the servitude of work and the worship of money" (Catholic Catechism 2172). This day is often (traditionally) observed on Sunday in conjunction with the Lord's Day (Catholic Catechism 2176).[60] Cardinal James Gibbons affirmed Sunday observances as one of the examples of the Roman Catholic Church's sufficiency as guide: Now the Scriptures alone do not contain all the truths which a Christian is bound to believe, nor do they explicitly enjoin all the duties which he is obliged to practice. Not to mention other examples, is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify. — Faith of Our Fathers, Cardinal Gibbons, p. 72 [61] Eastern Orthodoxy Edit Orthodox Sunday worship is not a direct Sabbath observance. The Eastern Orthodox Church observes the first day (liturgical Sunday, beginning Saturday evening) as a weekly feast, the remembrance of Christ's resurrection, and a mini-Pascha. As such, it tends to hold the first place within a week's observances, sharing that place only with other major feasts which occur from time to time. The Divine Liturgy is always celebrated, joining the participants on earth with those who offer the worship in God's kingdom, and hence joining the first day to the eighth day, wherein the communion of the whole Church with Christ is fully realized. As such, it is never surpassed as a time for the Orthodox to assemble in worship. The Church affirms its authority to appoint the time of this feast (and all observances) as deriving from the authority given to the apostles and passed to the bishops through the laying-on of hands, for the sake of the governance of the Church on earth, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit (John 20:22, John 14:26, Rom. 6:14-18, Rom. 7:6). It does not treat Sunday worship as a transference of Sabbath worship, but identifies the Sabbath, still on Saturday, as a Biblical "type", a precursor, realized fully only after Christ's fulfillment of the Mosaic Law (Mat. 5:17-18). Thus, the Sabbath and the Mosaic Law both remain as a teacher, reminding Christians to worship in holiness, but now according to grace, in Christian observations and Sunday worship. The grace received in baptism binds the Church to Christ, Who has given his people the freedom to seek him directly in relationship, not to pursue whatever suits one's fancy. The goal of that freedom is always union with Christ in theosis, and the maintenance of that union all the time, throughout this life and into the next, which is sometimes described as the "sanctification of time". Grace therefore never permits of whatever is sinful or unhelpful to salvation, such as laziness or hedonistic revelry. Rather, it becomes a stricter guide for behavior than any legal code, even the Mosaic, and disciplines the believer in some degree of ascetic endeavor (Rom. 6:14-18).[62] Orthodoxy recognizes no mandated time for rest, a day or any other span, but the Church leads the individual to holiness in different ways, and recognizes the need for economy and for rest. Activities such as sleep, relaxation, and recreation become a matter of balance and proper handling, and acceptance of God's mercy. St. Basil the Great expresses thanks for this in a prayer often said by Orthodox Christians in the morning, after rising: "You do we bless, O Most High God and Lord of mercy, ... Who has given unto us sleep for rest from our infirmity, and for repose of our much-toiling flesh."[63] In recognition of God's gifts, therefore, the Church welcomes and supports civil laws that provide a day away from labor, which then become opportunities for Christians to pray, rest, and engage in acts of mercy. In grace do Christians respond, remembering both the example of the Sabbath rest, and Christ's lordship (Mk. 2:21-28). Eastern Christianity and Saturday vs. Sunday observances Edit Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches distinguish between the "Sabbath" (Saturday) and the "Lord's Day" (Sunday), and both continue to play a special role for the faithful. Many parishes and monasteries will serve the Divine Liturgy on both Saturday morning and Sunday morning. The church never allows strict fasting on any Saturday (except Holy Saturday) or Sunday, and the fasting rules on those Saturdays and Sundays which fall during one of the fasting seasons (such as Great Lent, Apostles' Fast, etc.) are always relaxed to some degree. During Great Lent, when the celebration of the Liturgy is forbidden on weekdays, there is always Liturgy on Saturday as well as Sunday. The church also has a special cycle of Bible readings (Epistle and Gospel) for Saturdays and Sundays which is different from the cycle of readings allotted to weekdays. However, the Lord's Day, being a celebration of the Resurrection, is clearly given more emphasis. For instance, in the Russian Orthodox Church Sunday is always observed with an all-night vigil on Saturday night, and in all of the Eastern Churches it is amplified with special hymns which are chanted only on Sunday. If a feast day falls on a Sunday it is always combined with the hymns for Sunday (unless it is a Lord's Great Feast). Saturday is celebrated as a sort of afterfeast for the previous Sunday, on which several of the hymns from the previous Sunday are repeated. In part, Eastern Christians continue to celebrate Saturday as Sabbath because of its role in the history of salvation: it was on a Saturday that Jesus "rested" in the cave tomb after the Passion. For this reason also, Saturday is a day for general commemoration of the departed, and special requiem hymns are often chanted on this day. Orthodox Christians make time to help the poor and needy as well on this day. Lutheranism Edit Lutheran founder Martin Luther stated "I wonder exceedingly how it came to be imputed to me that I should reject the law of Ten Commandments...Whosoever abrogates the law must of necessity abrogate sin also."[64] The Lutheran Augsburg Confession, speaking of changes made by Roman Catholic pontiffs, states: "They refer to the Sabbath-day as having been changed into the Lord's Day, contrary to the Decalog, as it seems. Neither is there any example whereof they make more than concerning the changing of the Sabbath-day. Great, say they, is the power of the Church, since it has dispensed with one of the Ten Commandments!"[65] Lutheran church historian Augustus Neander[66] states "The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance".[67] Lutheran writer Marva Dawn keeps a whole day as Sabbath, advocating for rest during any weekly complete 24-hour period[68] and favoring rest from Saturday sunset to Sunday sunset,[69] but regarding corporate worship as "an essential part of God's Sabbath reclamation."[70] Latter Day Saints Edit See also: Sacrament meeting and Worship services of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints In 1831, Joseph Smith published a revelation commanding his related movement, the formative Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, to go to the house of prayer, offer up their sacraments, rest from their labors, and pay their devotions on the Lord's day (D&C 59:9–12). Mormons believe this means performing no labor that would keep them from giving their full attention to spiritual matters (Ex. 20:10). LDS prophets have described this as meaning they should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or participate in similar activities on that day. Elder Spencer W. Kimball wrote in his The Miracle of Forgiveness that mere idle lounging on the Sabbath does not keep the day holy, and that it calls for constructive thoughts and acts.[71] Mormons are encouraged to prepare their meals with "singleness of heart" on the Sabbath [72](D&C 59:13) and believe the day is only for righteous activities (Is. 58:13.) In most areas of the world, Mormons worship on Sunday.[73] First-day sabbatarian churches and organizations Edit Main article: Sabbatarianism § Sunday Sabbatarians The observance of the Lord's Day (Sunday) as the Christian Sabbath is known as first-day Sabbatarianism and this view was historically heralded by nonconformist denominations, such as Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists, as well as many Episcopalians.[74][75][76][77] First-day sabbatarianism impacted popular Western Christian culture, with influences remaining to the present day, e.g. Sunday laws.[78] The Sabbath Breakers by J.C. Dollman (1896) For example, The Westminster Confession, historically upheld by Presbyterians, commands the belief of first-day Sabbatarian doctrine:[79] As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in his Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, he hath particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him: which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week; and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week, which, in Scripture, is called the Lord’s day, and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath. This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe a holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy. The Savoy Declaration, upheld by Puritan Congregationalists,[80] as well as the Second London Baptist Confession, upheld by Reformed Baptists, advanced first-day Sabbatarian views identical to those expressed in the Westminster Confession.[81] General Baptists also advocate first-day Sabbatarian doctrine in their confessions of faith; for example, the Treatise on the Faith and Practice of the Free Will Baptists states:[82] This is one day in seven, which from the creation of the world God has set apart for sacred rest and holy service. Under the former dispensation, the seventh day of the week, as commemorative of the work of creation, was set apart for the Lord's Day. Under the gospel, the first day of the week, in commemoration of the resurrection of Christ, and by authority of Christ and the apostles, is observed as the Christian Sabbath. On this day all men are required to refrain from secular labor and devote themselves to the worship and service of God.[82] In keeping with historic Methodism,[83] the Discipline of the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches enshrines first-day Sabbatarianism:[84] We believe that the Lord’s Day, celebrated on Sunday, the first day of the week, throughout the Christian church, is the Christian sabbath, which we reverently observe as a day of rest and worship and as the continuing memorial of our Savior’s resurrection. For this reason, we abstain from secular work and from all merchandising on this holy day, except that required by mercy or necessity.[84] Organizations that promote Sunday Sabbatarianism include Day One Christian Ministries (formerly known as the Lord's Day Observance Society) in the UK. With unwavering support by mainstream Christian denominations, Sabbatarian organizations were formed, such as the American Sabbath Union (also known as the Lord's Day Alliance) and the Sunday League of America, following the American Civil War, to preserve the importance of Sunday as the Christian Sabbath.[7] Founded in 1888, the Lord's Day Alliance continues to "encourage all people to recognize and observe a day of Sabbath rest and to worship the risen Lord Jesus Christ, on the Lord’s Day, Sunday".[85] The Board of Managers of the Lord's Day Alliance is composed of clergy and laity from Christian churches, including Baptist, Catholic, Episcopalian, Friends, Lutheran, Methodist, Non-Denominationalist, Orthodox, Presbyterian, and Reformed traditions.[85] The Woman's Christian Temperance Union also supports Sabbatarian views and worked to reflect these in the public sphere.[86] In Canada, the Lord's Day Alliance (renamed the People for Sunday Association of Canada) was founded there and it lobbied successfully to pass in 1906 the Lord's Day Act, which was not repealed until 1985.[87] Throughout their history, Sabbatarian organizations, such as the Lord's Day Alliance, have mounted campaigns, with support in both Canada and Britain from labour unions with the goals of preventing secular and commercial interests from hampering freedom of worship and preventing them from exploiting workers.[88] The founder of the Moody Bible Institute declares, "Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word 'remember,' showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote the law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?"[89] Seventh-day sabbatarian churches Edit Oldest Sabbatarian Meeting House in America (Seventh Day Baptists), built in 1729 in Newport, Rhode Island, now owned by Newport Historical Society. Main article: Sabbath in seventh-day churches Seventh-day Protestants regard Sabbath as a day of rest for all mankind and not Israel alone, based on Jesus's statement, "the Sabbath was made for man" (i.e., purposed for humankind at the time of its creation, Mark 2:27, cf. Heb. 4), and on early-church Sabbath meetings. Seventh-day Sabbatarianism has been criticized as an effort to combine Old Testament laws, practiced in Judaism, with Christianity, or to revive the Judaizers of the Epistles or the Ebionites. Seventh-day Sabbatarians practice a strict seventh-day Sabbath observance, similar to Shabbat in Judaism. John Traske (1586–1636) and Thomas Brabourne first advocated seventh-day Sabbatarianism in England. Their ideas gave rise to the Seventh Day Baptists, formed in early 17th-century in England. Samuel and Tacy Hubbard began the first American congregation on Rhode Island in 1671. Grace Communion International (Armstrongism) taught seventh-day Sabbath observance. The United Church of God teaches seventh-day Sabbath observance. Seventh-day Adventist Church Edit A Seventh-day Adventist Church. See also: Seventh-day Adventist worship, Armstrongism, and Seventh-day Adventist eschatology The Seventh-day Adventist Church arose in the mid-19th century in America after Rachel Oakes, a Seventh Day Baptist, gave a tract about the Sabbath to an Adventist Millerite, who passed it on to Ellen G. White. Fundamental Belief # 20 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church states: The beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God's unchangeable law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God's kingdom. The Sabbath is God's perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God's creative and redemptive acts. (Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; Luke 4:16; Isa. 56:5, Isa. 6; Isa. 58:13, Isa. 14 ; Matt. 12:1-12; Ex. 31:13-17; Eze. 20:12, Eze. 20; Deut. 5:12-15; Heb. 4:1-11; Lev. 23:32; Mark 1:32.) — Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Beliefs[90] Other definitions Edit Main article: week By synecdoche the term "Sabbath" in the New Testament may also mean simply a "se'nnight"[91] or seven-day week, namely, the interval between two Sabbaths. Jesus's parable of the Pharisee and the Publican describes the Pharisee as fasting "twice a week" (Greek dis tou sabbatou, literally, "twice of the Sabbath"). Main article: High Sabbaths Seven annual Biblical festivals, called by the name miqra ("called assembly") in Hebrew and "High Sabbath" in English, serve as supplemental testimonies to Sabbath. These are recorded in the books of Exodus and Deuteronomy and do not necessarily occur on the Sabbath. They are observed by Jews and a minority of Christians. Three of them occur in spring: the first and seventh days of Passover, and Pentecost. Four occur in fall, in the seventh month, and are also called Shabbaton: the Feast of Trumpets; Yom Kippur, "Sabbath of Sabbaths"; and the first and eighth days of Tabernacles. Main article: Shmita The year of Shmita (Hebrew שמיטה, literally, "release"), also called Sabbatical Year, is the seventh year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by the Torah for the Land of Israel. During Shmita, the land is to be left to lie fallow. A second aspect of Shmita concerns debts and loans: when the year ends, personal debts are considered nullified and forgiven. Main article: Shabbat Jewish Shabbat is a weekly day of rest cognate to Christian Sabbath, observed from sundown on Friday until the appearance of three stars in the sky on Saturday night; it is also observed by a minority of Christians. Customarily, Shabbat is ushered in by lighting candles shortly before sunset, at halakhicallly calculated times that change from week to week and from place to place. Main article: New moon The new moon, occurring every 29 or 30 days, is an important separately sanctioned occasion in Judaism and some other faiths. It is not widely regarded as Sabbath, but some Hebrew Roots and Pentecostal churches, such as the native New Israelites of Peru and the Creation Seventh Day Adventist Church, do keep the day of the new moon as Sabbath or rest day, from evening to evening. New-moon services can last all day. Main article: Day of the Vow In South Africa, Christian Boers have celebrated December 16, now called the Day of Reconciliation, as annual Sabbath (holy day of thanksgiving) since 1838, commemorating a famous Boer victory over the Zulu Kingdom. Main article: Millennialism Many early Christian writers from the 2nd century, such as pseudo-Barnabas, Irenaeus, Justin Martyr and Hippolytus of Rome followed rabbinic Judaism (the Mishna) in interpreting Sabbath not as a literal day of rest, but as a thousand-year reign of Jesus Christ, which would follow six millennia of world history.[25] Main article: Blue law Secular use of "Sabbath" for "rest day", while it usually refers to Sunday, is often stated in North America to refer to different purposes for the rest day than those of Christendom. In McGowan v. Maryland (1961), the Supreme Court of the United States held that contemporary Maryland blue laws (typically, Sunday rest laws) were intended to promote the secular values of "health, safety, recreation, and general well-being" through a common day of rest, and that this day coinciding with majority Christian Sabbath neither reduces its effectiveness for secular purposes nor prevents adherents of other religions from observing their own holy days. See also Edit Gregorian calendar Notes Edit ^ The civil calendar of the ancient Roman Empire, the Julian calendar (founded in 45 BC), marked days loosely in general practice, since the timing of midnight was difficult to determine widely at that time. Thus, the early church easily adopted for its own use the Hebrew calendar's sunset-to-sunset formula for marking the days, even after it began to calculate Easter according to the Julian calendar. Its daily cycle of church services began with Vespers, which was often celebrated just after sunset, in the early evening. This pattern made its way into both Roman and Eastern liturgical practice, and continues in use in the Eastern Orthodox Church to this day. References Edit ^ Exodus 20:8 ^ Genesis 2:2-3Mark 2:27 ^ Donato, Christopher John (15 March 2011). Perspectives on the Sabbath. B&H Publishing Group. p. 149. ISBN 9781433673375. The fathers did not regard the Christian Sunday as a continuation of, but as a substitute for, the Jewish Sabbath. ^ Ferguson, Everett (8 October 2013). Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, Second Edition. Routledge. pp. 1007–1008. ISBN 9781136611582. ^ "Council of Laodicea, (336 A.D.)". ^ Selassie, Brahana (2000). Towards a Fuller Vision: My Life & the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. Minerva Press. ISBN 9781861069481. Retrieved 23 June 2017. The main reason they gave for the two-day Sabbath was that these two days commemorated the Lord's body that rested in the grave, and His resurrection the following day. ^ a b Tucker, Karen B. Westerfield (27 April 2011). American Methodist Worship. Oxford University Press. p. 45. ISBN 9780199774159. ^ Canon of Holy Saturday (Orthodox), Kontakion: "Exceeding blessed is this Sabbath, on which Christ has slumbered, to rise on the third day." ^ Code of Canon Law, COMPUTATION OF TIME (Cann. 200 - 203) ^ a b c "Sabbath." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005 ^ "Sunday." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005 ^ Bauckham, R.J. (1982). "The Lord's Day". In Carson, D. A. From Sabbath to Lord's Day. Wipf & Stock Publishers/Zondervan. pp. 221–50. ISBN 978-1-57910-307-1. ^ Guy, Laurie (4 November 2004). Introducing Early Christianity: A Topical Survey of Its Life, Beliefs and Practices. InterVarsity Press. p. 213. ISBN 9780830826988. Significantly, the first Christian writer to suggest that the sabbath had been transferred to Sunday is Eusbius of Caesarea (post 330). ^ "Sunday." Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford dictionary of the Christian church. New York: Oxford University Press. 2005 ^ http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/sabbath_to_sunday/ ^ Socrates Scholasticus, "Ecclesiastical History, Book V, Chapter 22", Philip Schaff et al., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series (NPNF2, Vol 2) ^ Sozomen, "Ecclesiastical History, Book VII, Chapter 19", Philip Schaff et al., Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series (NPNF2, Vol 2) ^ a b c Schaff, Philip; Wace, Henry (eds.), "Synod of Laodicea, Canon 16", Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series (NPNF2, Vol 14), [Editorial notes of Van Espen]: Among the Greeks the Sabbath was kept exactly as the Lord's day except so far as the cessation of work was concerned ^ Justin Martyr. "First Apology". 67. ^ Justin Martyr. "Dialogue with Trypho". 21. ^ Justin Martyr. "Dialogue with Trypho". 23. ^ Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho 12:3 ^ Irenaeus (late 2d cen.). "Demonstration of the Apostolic Preaching". 96. ^ Tertullian, Adv. Jud. 4:2 ^ a b Bauckham, R.J. (1982). "Sabbath and Sunday in the Post-Apostolic Church". In Carson, Don A. From Sabbath to Lord's Day. Wipf & Stock Publishers/Zondervan. pp. 252–98. ISBN 978-1-57910-307-1. ^ Ignatius of Antioch, The Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians, chapters 8,10, New Advent ^ Ignatius. "Epistle to the Magnesians". 9. Christian Classics Ethereal Library. ^ Tertullian, On Idolatry, 14 ^ Sozomen. "Ecclesiastical History, Book VII, Chapter 18". ^ Schaff, Philip; Wace, Henry (eds.), "The Synodal Letter (of the First Council of Nicea)", Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series (NPNF2, Vol 14), Christian Classics Ethereal Library ^ a b Schaff, Philip; Wace, Henry (eds.), "Synod of Laodicea, Canon 29", Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Second Series (NPNF2, Vol 14), retrieved 25 Jun 2015 ^ Ayer, Joseph Cullen (1913). A Source Book for Ancient Church History. 2.1.1.59g. New York City: Charles Scribner's Sons. pp. 284–5. ^ a b Bauckham, R.J. (1982). "Sabbath and Sunday in the Medieval Church in the West". In Carson, Don A. From Sabbath to Lord's Day. Wipf & Stock Publishers/Zondervan. pp. 299–310. ISBN 978-1-57910-307-1. ^ Adomnan of Iona. Life of St Columba. Penguin books, 1995 ^ Neander, fourth period, 6, 428. ^ Kirchengeschichte, I, 527 ^ See quotation of Strong's Cyclopedia, New York, 1874, I, 660 ^ Marcus, Harold G. (1994). A History of Ethiopia. University of California Press. ISBN 978-0-520-08121-5. ^ Abir, Mordechai (28 October 2013). Ethiopia and the Red Sea: The Rise and Decline of the Solomonic Dynasty and Muslim European Rivalry in the Region. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-136-28090-0. ^ a b Bauckham, R.J. (1982). "Sabbath and Sunday in the Protestant Tradition". In Carson, D. A. From Sabbath to Lord's Day. Wipf & Stock Publishers/Zondervan. pp. 311–42. ISBN 978-1-57910-307-1. ^ Martin Luther, Wider die Antinomer (Against the Antinomians), secs. 6, 8, in his Sämmtliche Schriften, ed. by Joh[ann] Georg Walch, Vol. 20 (St. Louis: Concordia, 1890), cols. 1613, 1614. German. ^ John Wesley, "Sermons on Several Occasions," 2-Vol. Edition, Vol. I, pages 221, 222. ^ Marsden, George (1991). Understanding Fundamentalism and Evangelicalism. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 25. ^ Heidelberg Catechism, Q & A 103. ^ Ursinus, Zacharias (1956). Commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism. William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company. p. 558. ^ S. Bacchiocchi, From Sabbath to Sunday (Rome: The Pontifical Gregorian University Press, 1977); R. J. Bauckham, "The Lord's Day" and "Sabbath and Sunday in the Postapostolic Church" in From Sabbath to Lord's Day, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982), 221–98; R. T. Beckwith and W. Stott, This Is the Day (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1978); H. Bietenhard, "Lord, Master," NIDNTT, 2:508–20; R. H. Charles, Revelation of St. John (2 vols.; ICC; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1920); J. S. Clemens, "Lord's Day" in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, ed. J. Hastings (2 vols.; Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1915), 1:707–10; A. Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1965, repr.); J. D. G. Dunn, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon (NIGTC; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996); T. C. Eskenazi et al., eds., The Sabbath in Jewish and Christian Traditions (New York: Crossroad, 1991); J. A. Fitzmyer, "κύριος, κυριακός", EDNT 2:331; W. Foerster, "κυριακός", TDNT 3:1095–96; C. N. Jefford, "Did Ignatius of Antioch Know the Didache?" in The Didache in Context, ed. C. N. Jefford (NovTSup 77; Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1995), 330–51; J. Jeremias, "πάσχα," TDNT 5:896–904; P. K. Jewett, The Lord's Day (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1971); J. Laansma, "'I Will Give You Rest': The Background and Significance of the Rest Motif in the New Testament with Special Reference to Mt 11 and Heb 3–4" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Aberdeen, 1995; Tübingen: J. C. B. Mohr, forthcoming); Martin, R. P., & Davids, P. H. (2000) [1997], Dictionary of the later New Testament and its developments (electronic ed.), Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press; J. Murray, "Romans 14:5 and the Weekly Sabbath" in Epistle to the Romans (NICNT; Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1959, 1965) 257–59; W. Rordorf, Sabbat und Sonntag in der Alten Kirche (Zürich: Theologischer Verlag, 1972) [texts of primary sources]; W. Rordorf, "Sunday" (London: SCM, 1968); W. Rordorf, "Sunday: The Fullness of Christian Liturgical Time," StudLit 14 (1982) 90–96; W. R. Schoedel, Ignatius of Antioch (Herm; Philadelphia: Fortress, 1985); C. Spicq, "κυριακός" in Theological Lexicon of the New Testament (3 vols.; Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 1994) 2:338–40; W. Stott, "A Note on the Word ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ in Rev. 1:10", NTS 12 (1965) 70–75; W. Stott, "Sabbath, Lord's Day," NIDNTT 3:405–15; K. A. Strand, ed., The Sabbath in Scripture and History (Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association, 1982); M. M. B. Turner, "The Sabbath, Sunday and the Law in Luke-Acts" in From Sabbath to Lord's Day, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1982) 99–157. ^ P. S. Alexander, "Aqedah", in Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation, ed. R. J. Coggins and J. L. Houlden (Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1990) 44–47; J. Behm, "θύω κτλ," TDNT III.180–90; R. J. Daly, The Origins of the Christian Doctrine of Sacrifice (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978) 59–65; R. J. Daly, "The Soteriological Significance of the Sacrifice of Isaac", CBQ 39 (1977) 45–75; P. R. Davies and B. D. Chilton, "The Aqedah: A Revised Tradition History", CBQ 40 (1978) 514–46; G. D. Fee, "II Corinthians vi.14—vii.1" NTS 23 (1976–77) 140–61; E. Ferguson, "Spiritual Sacrifice in Early Christianity and Its Environment", ANRW 2.23.2.1151–89; Hawthorne, G. F., Martin, R. P., & Reid, D. G. (1993), Dictionary of Paul and his letters (857), Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press; M. Hengel, The Atonement: The Origins of the Doctrine in the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1981); J. Jeremias, "πάσχα" TDNT V.896–904; E. L. Kendall, A Living Sacrifice (London: SCM, 1960); H.-J. Klauck, "Kultische Symbolsprache bei Paulus" in Gemeinde—Amt—Sacrament: Neutestamentliche Perspektiven, ed. H. J. Klauck (Würzburg: Echter, 1989), 348–58; J. Lambrecht, "'Reconcile Yourselves' ... A Reading of 2 Cor 5:11–21" in The Diakonia of the Spirit (2 Cor 4:7–7:4) (Rome: Benedictina, 1989); S. Lyonnet and L. Sabourin, Sin, Redemption and Sacrifice (AnBib 48; Rome: Pontifical Biblical Institute, 1970); L. Morris, The Atonement (Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity, 1983) 43–67; F. Thiele and C. Brown, "Sacrifice etc.," NIDNTT 3.415–38; H. Thyen, "θυσία, θύω" EDNT 2.161–63; R. K. Yerkes, Sacrifice in Greek and Roman Religions and Early Judaism (New York: Scribners, 1952); F. M. Young, Sacrifice and the Death of Christ (London: SCM, 1975). ^ "Colossians 2:16, 17, notes". ESV Study Bible. The false teachers were advocating a number of Jewish observances, arguing that they were essential for spiritual advancement. On 'new moon,' see note on Num. 28:11–15 .... The old covenant observances pointed to a future reality that was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ (cf. Heb. 10:1) .... Christians are no longer obligated to observe ... 'a festival ... new moon ... Sabbath' [Col. 2:16], for what these things foreshadowed has been fulfilled in Christ. It is debated whether the Sabbaths in question included the regular seventh-day rest of the fourth commandment, or were only the special Sabbaths of the Jewish festal calendar. ^ a b Dawn, Marva J. (2006). The Sense of the Call: A Sabbath Way of Life for Those Who Serve God, the Church, and the World. pp. 55–6. ^ "Against Heresies". 3.16.1. ^ "Against Heresies". 4.33.2. ^ Martin, R. P. & Davids, P. H. (2000) [1997]. Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments (electronic ed.). Downers Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press. ^ Dawn, Marva J. (1989). "Appendix". Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting. Grand Rapids. In Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1998). "7". The Sabbath Under Crossfire: A Biblical Analysis Of Recent Sabbath/Sunday Developments. Biblical Perspectives. ^ Dawn, Marva J. (2006). The Sense of the Call: A Sabbath Way of Life for Those Who Serve God, the Church, and the World. pp. 69–71. ^ http://www.vatican.va/holy_father/john_paul_ii/apost_letters/documents/hf_jp-ii_apl_05071998_dies-domini_en.html ^ Roy, Christian (2005). Traditional Festivals: A Multicultural Encyclopedia. ABC-CLIO. p. 457. ISBN 9781576070895. However, an amendment was made that left is enforcement to the discretion of the provinces, so that it remained a dead letter in mostly French Quebec. A Catholic Sunday League was formed in 1923 to combat this laxity and promote sabbatarian restrictions in that province--especially against movie theaters. ^ a b c U.S. Catholic Conference 1997, pp. 580–6. ^ "Sabbath". The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913. ^ "Sabbatarians". The Catholic Encyclopedia. 1913. ^ Celebrating the Lord's Day (PDF), U.S. Council of Catholic Bishops, retrieved 8 July 2015 ^ Gibbons, James (1917). "VIII. The Church and the Bible". Faith of Our Fathers. p. 72. Archived from the original on 2006-08-29.. First published in 1876. ^ Orthodox Study Bible, St. Athanasius Academy of Orthodox Theology, 2008, p. 1533 ^ A Prayer Book for Orthodox Christians, Holy Transfiguration Monastery, Boston, MA, 1987, p. 7 ^ Martin Luther, Spiritual Antichrist. pp. 71–2. ^ The Augsburg Confession, 1530 AD. (Lutheran), part 2, art 7, in Philip Schaff, the Creeds of Christiandom, 4th Edition, vol 3, p64 ^ Biography of Augustus Neander ^ Augustus Neander, "History of the Christian Religion and Church," Vol. 1, page 186 ^ Dawn 2006, pp. 55–6. ^ Dawn 1989, Appendix. In Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1998). "7". The Sabbath Under Crossfire: A Biblical Analysis Of Recent Sabbath/Sunday Developments. Biblical Perspectives. ^ Dawn 2006, pp. 69–71. ^ The Miracle of Forgiveness, pp. 96–97 ^ LDS.org D&C 59:13 ^ LDS.org - Study by Topic - Sabbath ^ Roth, Randolph A. (25 April 2002). The Democratic Dilemma: Religion, Reform, and the Social Order in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, 1791-1850. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 9780521317733. Except for the strong support of Episcopalians in Windsor and Woodstock, the Sabbatarians found their appeal limited almost exclusively to Congregationalists and Presbyterians, some of whom did not fear state action on religious matters of interdenominational concern. ^ Heyck, Thomas (27 September 2013). A History of the Peoples of the British Isles: From 1688 to 1914. Taylor & Francis. p. 251. ISBN 9781134415205. Yet the degree of overlap between the middle class and nonconformity-Baptists, Congregregationalists, Wesleyan Methodists, Quakers, Presbyterians, and Unitarians-was substantial. ... Most nonconformist denominations ...frowned on drink, dancing, and the theater, and they promoted Sabbatarianism (the policy of prohibiting trade and public recreation on Sundays). ^ Vugt, William E. Van (2006). British Buckeyes: The English, Scots, and Welsh in Ohio, 1700-1900. Kent State University Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780873388436. As predominantly Methodists and other nonconformists, British immigrants were pietists, committed to conversion and the reform of society. They did not separate religion from civil government, bur rather integrated right belief with right behavior. Therefore they embraced reform movements, most notably temperance and abolitionism, as well as Sabbatarian laws. ^ O'Brien, Glen; Carey, Hilary M. (3 March 2016). Methodism in Australia: A History. Routledge. p. 83. ISBN 9781317097099. Sabbatarianism: For the non-Anglican Protestants of colonial Queensland (Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists), desecration of the Sabbath was one of the great sins of the late nineteenth century. ^ Watts, Michael R. (March 19, 2015). The Dissenters: Volume III: The Crisis and Conscience of Nonconformity, Volume 3. Oxford University Press. pp. 156–160. ISBN 9780198229698. ^ Wigley, John (1980). The Rise and Fall of the Victorian Sunday. Manchester University Press. p. 800. ISBN 9780719007941. Following the formulation of the Westminster Confession, fully fledged Sabbatarianism quickly took root too, being embodied in an Act of 1661, then spreading northwards and westwards as the Highlands were opened up after the '45, during which time the doctrine lost its original force and vigour in the Lowlands. ^ McGraw, Ryan M. (18 June 2014). A Heavenly Directory: Trinitarian Piety, Public Worship and a Reassessment of John Owen's Theology. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 23–24. ISBN 9783525550755. ^ Smither, Edward L. (25 September 2014). Rethinking Constantine: History, Theology and Legacy. James Clarke & Co. p. 121. ISBN 9780227902721. Many Baptists have insisted upon the observance of Sunday as the Christian Sabbath, as a day of rest from "secular" work. For example, the Lord's Day article from the Westminster Confession (and its insistence upon Sunday rest) was transferred almost word-for-word into the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689. ^ a b Smither, Edward L. (25 September 2014). Rethinking Constantine: History, Theology and Legacy. James Clarke & Co. p. 121. ISBN 9780227902721. ^ Journal of the North Carolina Annual Conference of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. 1921. p. 62. ^ a b "Discipline of the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches" (PDF). 2014. p. 30. Retrieved 19 June 2017. ^ a b "About". The Lord’s Day Alliance of the U.S. 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2017. ^ Vincent, Ted (1994). The Rise and Fall of American Sport: Mudville's Revenge. University of Nebraska Press. p. 115. ISBN 9780803296138. ^ Darrow, Clarence (2005). Closing Arguments: Clarence Darrow on Religion, Law, and Society. Ohio University Press. p. 39. ISBN 9780821416327. ^ Fahlbusch, Erwin; Bromiley, Geoffrey William (2005). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 787. ISBN 9780802824165. ^ D.L. MOODY, "Weighed and Wanting," page 47 ^ Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Beliefs ^ Strong's Concordance. Works cited Edit First-day: Dawn, Marva J. (1989). Keeping the Sabbath Wholly: Ceasing, Resting, Embracing, Feasting. Grand Rapids. Dawn, Marva J. (2006). The Sense of the Call: A Sabbath Way of Life for Those Who Serve God, the Church, and the World. United States Catholic Conference, Inc. (1997). "You Shall Love the Lord Your God with All Your Heart, and with All Your Soul, and with All Your Mind, Article 3, The Third Commandment". Catechism of the Catholic Church (2d ed.). New York City: Doubleday. 2168–2195. Seventh-day: Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1977). From Sabbath to Sunday. Pontifical Gregorian University Press; Biblical Perspectives. Bacchiocchi, Samuele (June 1980). Divine Rest for Human Restlessness. Biblical Perspectives. ISBN 978-99946-1-024-2. Bacchiocchi, Samuele (1998). The Sabbath Under Crossfire: A Biblical Analysis Of Recent Sabbath/Sunday Developments. Biblical Perspectives. Ford, Desmond (1981). The Forgotten Day. Strand, Kenneth A., ed. (July 1982). The Sabbath in Scripture and History. Washington, D.C.: Review and Herald Publishing Association. ISBN 978-0-8280-0037-6. Tonstad, Sigve K. (November 2009). The Lost Meaning of the Seventh Day. Berrien Springs, Michigan: Andrews University Press. ISBN 978-1-883925-65-9. Non-Sabbatarian: Brinsmead, Robert (June 1981). Sabbatarianism Re-examined. Verdict Publishing 4:4. Ratzlaff, Dale; Muth, Don; Tinker, Richard; Fredericks, Richard (2003) [1990]. Sabbath in Christ. Varying: Carson, Don A., ed. (1982). From Sabbath to Lord's Day. Wipf & Stock Publishers/Zondervan. ISBN 978-1-57910-307-1. Further reading Edit Cotton, John Paul. From Sabbath to Sunday: a study in early Christianity (1933) Kraft, Robert A. (1965). "Some Notes on Sabbath Observance in Early Christianity". Andrews University Seminary Studies. 3 (1): 18–33. Land, Gary. Historical Dictionary of the Seventh-day Adventists (Rowman & Littlefield, 2014) External links Edit The Lord’s Day, the Christian Sabbath by James Chrystie - Reformed Presbyterian Church The Christian Week and Sabbath by Methodist theologian, Daniel D. Whedon Last edited 21 days ago by an anonymous user RELATED ARTICLES Sabbath desecration Biblical Sabbath Sabbatarianism Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Terms of UsePrivacyDesktop

Shabbat and Decretion

Open main menu Search EditWatch this pageRead in another language Sabbath desecration The Sabbath Breakers by J.C. Dollman (1896) The Ten Commandments on a monument on the grounds of the Texas State Capitol. The fourth commandment listed is "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy", see also Biblical law in Christianity. Sabbath desecration is the failure to observe the Biblical Sabbath, and is usually considered a sin and a breach of a holy day in relation to either the Jewish Shabbat (Friday sunset to Saturday nightfall), the Sabbath in seventh-day churches, or to the Lord's Day (Sunday), which is recognized as the Christian Sabbath in first-day Sabbatarian denominations. Judaism Edit Further information: Shabbat According to Mosaic Law, to desecrate shabbat intentionally, despite warning, is a capital offense (Exodus 31:15). All work was prohibited during shabbat, even minor tasks, such as "gathering wood" (Numbers 15:32-36). Since the decline of classical semicha (rabbinic ordination) in the 4th century C.E., the traditional Jewish view is that Jewish courts have lost the power to rule on criminal cases. As such, it would be practically impossible for Orthodox courts to enforce the death penalty in modern times, even if they had the political standing to do so. Talmudic protections for defendants make execution very difficult even by the Great Sanhedrin, e.g., requiring two competent witnesses to the shabbat violation, and an official court warning prior to the violation. Some Reform and Conservative rabbis condemn capital punishment generally, partly based on this stringency. There are 39 categories of activity prohibited on Shabbat, derived in the tractate Shabbat (Talmud) from the construction of the Biblical tabernacle. Halakha (Jewish law) derives many further forbidden acts from these categories (toledoth and shevuth), with varying severity, that may not be performed except for preventing severe illness or death. Unwarranted violation of any of these precepts is termed chillul shabbat (profanation of shabbat). People who consistently violate shabbat today are generally not considered reliable in certain matters of Jewish law. Christianity Edit Further information: Christian views on the Old Covenant Congregationalists, Presbyterians, Methodists, and Baptists, as well as many Episcopalians, have historically espoused the view of first-day Sabbatarianism, which teaches that the Lord's Day (Sunday) is the Christian Sabbath, in keeping with the understanding that the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments stands eternally.[1][2][3][4] Seventh-day Sabbatarians believe that the Sabbath should be observed on Saturday, holding that it was not transferred from Saturday to Sunday. Other Christians do not observe the Sabbath or apply it to a "day of rest," believing that it is a part of the Mosaic Law that has no application to Christians. Traditional application to Sunday Edit Main article: Sunday Sabbatarianism Further information: Sabbath in Christianity The traditional application of the Christian Sabbath to Sunday is based on the claim that the Sabbath was moved to the Lord's Day, the day that Jesus rose from the dead. The Westminster Confession, held by Presbyterian Churches, teaches first-day Sabbatarianism: As it is the law of nature, that, in general, a due proportion of time be set apart for the worship of God; so, in His Word, by a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment binding all men in all ages, He has particularly appointed one day in seven, for a Sabbath, to be kept holy unto him (Ex. 20:8, 20:10-11, Is. 56:2, 56:4, 56:6-7): which, from the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ, was the last day of the week: and, from the resurrection of Christ, was changed into the first day of the week (Ge. 2:2-3, 1 Cor. 16:1-2, Ac. 20:7), which, in Scripture, is called the Lord's Day (Rev. 1:10), and is to be continued to the end of the world, as the Christian Sabbath (Ex. 20:8, 20:10, Mt. 5:17). This Sabbath is to be kept holy unto the Lord when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest all the day from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations (Ex. 20:8, 16:23, 16:25-26, 16:29-30, 31:15-17, Is. 58:13, Neh. 13:15-19, 13:21-22), but also are taken up the whole time in the public and private exercises of His worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy (Is. 58:13).[5] This statement was adopted by the Congregationalist Churches, which are descended from the Puritans, in their Savoy Declaration.[6] The 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith of the Reformed Baptists advances the same first-day Sabbatarian obligation of the Presbyterian's Westminster Confession and the Puritan Congregationalists' Savoy Declaration.[7][8] The General Rules of the Methodist Church similarly require "attending upon all the ordinances of God" including "the public worship of God" and prohibit "profaning the day of the Lord, either by doing ordinary work therein or by buying or selling".[9][10] Blue laws Edit Further information: Blue law The law in North Dakota at one time stated: "The fine for Sabbath-breaking is not less than one dollar or more than ten dollars for each offence." Other laws have been passed against Sabbath breaking, e.g., by the Puritans. First-day Sabbatarian organizations, such as the Lord's Day Alliance in North America, as well as the Lord's Day Observance Society in the British Isles, have mounted campaigns with support in both Canada and Britain from labour unions, with the goal of preventing secular and commercial interests from hampering freedom of worship and preventing them from exploiting workers.[11] Seventh-day churches, application to Saturday Edit Further information on Sabbath in seventh-day churches: Sabbath in Christianity Fundamental Belief # 20 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church states... The beneficent Creator, after the six days of Creation, rested on the seventh day and instituted the Sabbath for all people as a memorial of Creation. The fourth commandment of God's law requires the observance of this seventh-day Sabbath as the day of rest, worship, and ministry in harmony with the teaching and practice of Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is a day of delightful communion with God and one another. It is a symbol of our redemption in Christ, a sign of our sanctification, a token of our allegiance, and a foretaste of our eternal future in God's kingdom. The Sabbath is God's perpetual sign of His eternal covenant between Him and His people. Joyful observance of this holy time from evening to evening, sunset to sunset, is a celebration of God's creative and redemptive acts. (Gen. 2:1-3; Ex. 20:8-11; Luke 4:16; Isa. 56:5, 6; 58:13, 14; Matt. 12:1-12; Ex. 31:13-17; Eze. 20:12, 20; Deut. 5:12-15; Heb. 4:1-11; Lev. 23:32; Mark 1:32.) — Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Beliefs[12] See also Edit Christianity Judaism Lord's Day Observance Society Heresy Shabbat Sabbath in Christianity Sabbath in seventh-day churches Biblical law in Christianity Plucking grain on Sabbath Holy day of obligation References Edit ^ Roth, Randolph A. (25 April 2002). The Democratic Dilemma: Religion, Reform, and the Social Order in the Connecticut River Valley of Vermont, 1791-1850. Cambridge University Press. p. 171. ISBN 9780521317733. Except for the strong support of Episcopalians in Windsor and Woodstock, the Sabbatarians found their appeal limited almost exclusively to Congregationalists and Presbyterians, some of whom did not fear state action on religious matters of interdenominational concern. ^ Heyck, Thomas (27 September 2013). A History of the Peoples of the British Isles: From 1688 to 1914. Taylor & Francis. p. 251. ISBN 9781134415205. Yet the degree of overlap between the middle class and nonconformity-Baptists, Congregregationalists, Wesleyan Methodists, Quakers, Presbyterians, and Unitarians-was substantial. ... Most nonconformist denominations ...frowned on drink, dancing, and the theater, and they promoted Sabbatarianism (the policy of prohibiting trade and public recreation on Sundays). ^ Vugt, William E. Van (2006). British Buckeyes: The English, Scots, and Welsh in Ohio, 1700-1900. Kent State University Press. p. 55. ISBN 9780873388436. As predominantly Methodists and other nonconformists, British immigrants were pietists, committed to conversion and the reform of society. They did not separate religion from civil government, bur rather integrated right belief with right behavior. Therefore they embraced reform movements, most notably temperance and abolitionism, as well as Sabbatarian laws. ^ O'Brien, Glen; Carey, Hilary M. (3 March 2016). Methodism in Australia: A History. Routledge. p. 83. ISBN 9781317097099. Sabbatarianism: For the non-Anglican Protestants of colonial Queensland (Methodists, Presbyterians, Congregationalists and Baptists), desecration of the Sabbath was one of the great sins of the late nineteenth century. ^ "Westminster Confession of Faith". 21.7-8. ^ McGraw, Ryan M. (18 June 2014). A Heavenly Directory: Trinitarian Piety, Public Worship and a Reassessment of John Owen's Theology. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. pp. 23–24. ISBN 9783525550755. ^ Haykin, Michael A. G.; Jones, Mark (2011). Drawn Into Controversie: Reformed Theological Diversity and Debates Within Seventeenth-century British Puritanism. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht. p. 284. ISBN 9783525569450. The seventeenth-century Particular Baptists regarded themselves as being very much an integral part of the wider Reformed community in the British Isles and Ireland. Their substantial employment of the Presbyterian Westminster Confession (1646) and Congregationalist Savoy Declaration (1658) in the writing of their Second London Confession of Faith (1677/1688) is but one indication of the real sense of solidarity they had with other Reformed communities in the British archipelago. ^ Smither, Edward L. (25 September 2014). Rethinking Constantine: History, Theology and Legacy. James Clarke & Co. p. 121. ISBN 9780227902721. Many Baptists have insisted upon the observance of Sunday as the Christian Sabbath, as a day of rest from "secular" work. For example, the Lord's Day article from the Westminster Confession (and its insistence upon Sunday rest) was transferred almost word-for-word into the Second London Baptist Confession of 1689. ^ Tucker, Karen B. Westerfield (27 April 2011). American Methodist Worship. Oxford University Press. p. 46. ISBN 9780199774159. ^ Abraham, William J.; Kirby, James E. (24 September 2009). The Oxford Handbook of Methodist Studies. Oxford University Press. p. 253. ISBN 9780191607431. ^ Fahlbusch, Erwin; Bromiley, Geoffrey William (2005). The Encyclopedia of Christianity. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. p. 787. ISBN 9780802824165. ^ Seventh-day Adventist Fundamental Beliefs Last edited 7 months ago by Tom.Reding RELATED ARTICLES Sabbath in Christianity Sabbatarianism Puritan Sabbatarianism Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted. Terms of UsePrivacyDesktop