Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rpi!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!wuarchive!psuvax1!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: rvp@softserver.canberra.edu.au (Rey Paulo) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: Re: the Sabbath Message-ID: Date: 17 May 91 07:08:50 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Organization: University of Canberra Lines: 87 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu In article tblake@bingvaxu.cc.binghamton.edu (Thomas Blake, yes Tom, it's you) writes: > >We celebrate Jesus' resurrection on Easter Sunday of course. And each >Sunday we once again celebrate his resurrection. > If your keeping the Sunday is a celebration of the resurrection, does it mean that you don't keep the Sabbath at all? I thought Sunday-keepers believe they keep the Sabbath, only it is on another day. >One possiblity from scripture: > >John 20:19-29 > >First we have the appearance of Jesus to the 11 (minus Thomas.) Thomas >of course says he won't believe that Jesus has risen unless he sees for >himself. One week later, (apparantly Sunday again) all of the disciples >including Thomas have gathered again, and Jesus appears again. > I think there's a slight error in your reckoning of days as reckoned by the Jews. The scripture read, in the evening of the same day. To the Jews, and of course to the apostles, the day starts at 6:00 PM to 6:PM the following day, so that Sunday starts in the evening of Saturday. It is therefore but natural, that after the disciples gathered for the Sabbath (Saturday), they stayed together late in the evening (onset of Sunday) for fellowship. The gathering was just a natural after-Sabbath activity and it was even unlikely that they purposely gathered to celebrate the resurrection. And even if Jesus appeared on Sunday, does it nullify or change the commandment of GOD with regards to the keeping of the Sabbath? I don't think any rational GOD-believing human being would think so, Tom. > >I am not trying to say that you *must* keep the Sabath on Sunday. Your >keeping of the traditional Sabbath you do to the glory of God. Many >other Christians have kept the Sabbath on Sunday, and through their >observance they have sought to glorify God. The issue here is obedience. If you are well aware that the Sabbath is Saturday and GOD said you must observe the day, but you insist to do the observance on Sunday because of such and such reason, I don't think you are obeying GOD. Do you, Tom? There are a number of national holidays in your country. Are you free to appoint any day you like to observe those holidays or you conform to the days set by your government? > >I simply cannot fathom God denying the many saints who have chosen to >observe the Sabbath on Sunday. This just does not seem consistant with >the loving father revealed by Jesus, and the apostles. > I cannot also fathom. I also don't understand why in 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Jews were allowed to collect manna only from Sunday trough Friday, and not on Saturday. Maybe you have some explanation Tom. And perhaps your explanation can tell you why the Sabbath has to be on Saturday and not on any other day as anyone pleases. >Please pardon my use of slang. What I had intended was that the >observance of the Sabbath on Sunday is acceptable. According to you, maybe. But according to the scriptures, I don't think so. -- Rey V. Paulo | Internet: rvp@csc.canberra.edu.au University of Canberra | I am not bound to please thee with my answer. AUSTRALIA | -Shylock, in "The Merchant of Venice" ------------------------------+---------------------------------------------- [There are two common responses to your first question. Some people regard that the Sabbath has been moved for Christians to Sunday, and thus they apply the commandment to honor the Sabbath to Sunday. Others believe that we are not bound to celebrate the Sabbath at all, and that Sunday is the Lord's Day, a completely Christian celebration based on the Resurrection. I suspect Tom's view is the second. It's probably easier to justify a complete abandonment of the Sabbath from Paul's letters. But I think the first approach is probably more common. Presumably it is based on the general attempt to separate the Law into ceremonial and moral components, only the latter of which are binding on Christians. The concept would be that the specific day and some of the detailed laws involved in its celebration are part of the ceremonial Law, but the general principle that we are required to worship one day a week is part of the moral (or spiritual) Law. --clh]