Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!mips!dimacs.rutgers.edu!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: tblake@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Thomas Blake) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: the Sabbath Message-ID: Date: 2 May 91 08:38:16 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: State University of New York at Binghamton Lines: 69 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article george@electro.com (George Reimer) writes: > To be saved you must endure to the end in the > lifestyle which Christ set for us as an example. > That lifestyle includes keeping the Sabbath . > Not whenever either, but rather, according to God's word, > on the seventh day of the week. There is absolutely > no Biblical support for keeping it on any other day. So then, is it your suggestion that in order to be saved we must celebrate the Sabbath starting in the evening on Friday and continuing through the evening on Saturday. (God will accept no other way of celebrating the Sabbath. Paul was absolutely wrong, [or we have misinterpreted him terribly.]) Jesus seems to be quite clear that the purpose of the Sabbath was being perverted. (At least it seems clear to me.) But I will grant you that I don't recall him saying, "From now on, the Sabbath must be celebrated on Sundays." (I said...) >>God the Father taught us to take one day off in seven for our own good. >>(Jesus said that the Sabbath was created for man, not man for the >>Sabbath.) My parents taught me to brush my teeth every night before >>going to bed for my own good. They never punished me for not doing it, >>they just taught me to do it, and reminded me when I forgot. (Follows a short skit of my Mother telling to me to brush my teeth, and also how to do it. [Which she never actually did, but hey!]) > God never said you had to either. > He does say that if you do decide to keep His way of life, then > there is a specfic way to do it. Well, now how can I argue with that? (I'm a METHODist after all.) John Wesley taught about interpretting things through four factors: Scripture Reason Tradition Experience Obviously, we on this list don't all subscribe to Wesley, (it's not soc.religion.wesleyan), however I've always found his quadrilateral to be helpful. Scripture: While it is clear that in the Old Testament the seventh day of the week was set aside for the Sabbath, Paul seems to contradict this. (My understanding of Scripture doesn't seem to lean either way.) Reason: It just doesn't seem reasonable to me that God would say, yes, you *did* worship me once in every seven days, *but* it was the wrong day, sorry, you lose. (Take this man off to burn in Hell). Tradition: For almost 2000 years now Christians have been celebrating the Sabbath on Sunday. They must have had some good reason to, should we just ignore it? Experience: It is my experience that true worship of God by true believers can take place on any day. (Perhaps God wasn't really listening on the other days, but I'm sure I've seen blessed worship services on days besides Saturday. [For instance, ordination for our Annual Conference in June will occur on a Wednesday this year, and this service is a high point of the year for most of us in the conference.]) Okay, now I can't set your own beliefs or practices by the quadrilateral, but for me, with my upbringing, it seems that Sunday is cool. Tom Blake SUNY-Binghamton