Posted on 04/03/2007 6:31:28 AM PDT by DouglasKC
It is very difficult to debate you. On one thread the Bible matters and on the next it does not. I am at a loss to know why you care what the Bible says when you have admittied that your church invented the key points that the majority of Christianity adheres to.
"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." Cardinal Gibbons (for many years head of the Catholic Church in America), The Faith of Our Fathers (92d ed., rev.; Baltimore: John Murphy Company), p.89.
The resurrection was not on Sunday, otherwise there would be a single line sanctifying the day.
FRegards,
Chris
Scripture explicitly exempts non Jews from those aspects of the Jewish customs.
It’s very difficult to debate someone that uses the Bible in a way that it says it should not be.
I never said that the One Holy and Apostolic Church of Christ invented anything. Pay attention please.
I said that we got our instruction directly from the Lord Jesus Christ. Over the next 300 years, we wrote down a lot of documentation and then chose what Scripture was to be. We rejected a lot of writings for a number of reasons.
The Bible matters; please don’t go there - it’s not worthy of you. But what also matters is what Jesus Christ Himself did and caused to happen here while on Earth.
When you reject His Church, then, in my opinion, you reject Him. He told us that His Church is the Pillar of Truth. Would you deny Truth?
I know that you’re sincere, Chris.
Now please understand. The sanctification of Sunday was done before the New Testament was written. It simply wasn’t included in what was chosen to be Scripture because the writings stopped the time period of coverage before the decision was made.
Maybe we should have included a final chapter in the Bible after Revelation entitled something like: Things that the Church has put into effect after the Epistles were written and are as important as the Epistles are, are documented here so that in 2000 years debates over what is right don’t occur.
St Thomas Sunday: Antipascha
Every day during the week of Easter, called Bright Week by the Church, the paschal services are celebrated in all their splendor. The Easter baptismal procession is repeated daily. The royal gates of the sanctuary remain open. The joy of the Resurrection and the gift of the Kingdom of eternal life continue to abound. Then, at the end of the week, on Saturday evening, the second Sunday after Easter is celebrated in remembrance of the appearance of Christ to the Apostle Thomas “after eight days” (Jn 20:26).
It is important to note that the number eight has symbolical significance in both Jewish and Christian spiritual tradition. It signifies more than completion and fullness; it signifies the Kingdom of God and the life of the world to come since seven is the number of earthly time. The sabbath, the seventh day, is the blessed day of rest in this world, the final day of the week. The “first day of the week,” the day “after Sabbath”; stressed in all of the gospels as the day of Christ’s Resurrection (Mk 16:1, Mt 28:1, Lk 24:1, Jn 20:1, 19), is therefore also the eighth day,” the day beyond the confines of this world, the day which stands for the life of the world to come, the day of the eternal rest of the Kingdom of God (see Hebrews 4).
The Sunday after Easter, called the Second Sunday, is thus the eighth day of the paschal celebration, the last day of Bright Week. It is therefore called the Antipascha, and it was only on this day in the early church that the newly-baptized Christians removed their robes and entered once again into the life of this world.
In the Church services the stress is on the Apostle Thomas’ vision of Christ and the significance of the day comes to us in the words of the gospel:
Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing.” Thomas answered him, “My Lord and my God!” Jesus said to him, “Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (John 20:27-29).
We have not seen Christ with our physical eyes nor touched his risen body with our physical hands, yet in the Holy Spirit we have seen and touched and tasted the Word of Life (1 Jn 1:1-4), and so we believe. At each of the daily services until Ascension Day we sing the Easter Troparion. At each of the Sunday services beginning with Antipascha, we sing the Easter canon and hymns, and repeat the celebration of the “first day of the week” on which Christ rose from the dead. At all of the liturgies the epistle readings are taken from the Book of Acts telling us of the first Christians who lived in communion with the Risen Lord. All of the gospel readings are taken from the Gospel of St John, considered by many to be a gospel written particularly for those who are newly-baptized into the new life of the Kingdom of God through death and new birth in Christ, in the name of the Holy Trinity. The reason for this opinion is that all of the “signs” — as the miracles in St John’s Gospel are called — deal with sacramental themes involving water: wine and bread. Thus, each of the Sundays after Thomas Sunday with the exception of the third, is dedicated to the memory of one of these “signs.”
The Myrrhbearing Women
The third Sunday after Pascha is dedicated to the myrrhbearing women who cared for the body of the Saviour at his death and who were the first witnesses of his Resurrection. The three troparia of Holy Friday are sung once again and from the theme of the day:
The noble Joseph, when he had taken down Thy most pure body from the Tree, wrapped it in fine linen and anointed it with spices, and placed it in a new tomb.
When Thou didst descend to death, O Life Immortal, Thou didst slay hell with the splendor of Thy Godhead.
The angel came to the myrrhbearing women at the tomb and said: Myrrh is fitting for the dead, but Christ has shown himself a stranger to corruption! So proclaim: The Lord is risen, granting the world great mercy.
The Paralytic
The fourth Sunday is dedicated to Christ’s healing of the paralytic (Jn 5). The man is healed by Christ while waiting to be put down into the pool of water. Through baptism in the church we, too, are healed and saved by Christ for eternal life. Thus, in the church, we are told, together with the paralytic, to sin no more that nothing worse befall you” (Jn 5:14).
The Feast of Mid-Pentecost
In the middle of this fourth week, the middle day between Easter and Pentecost is solemnly celebrated. It is called the feast of Mid-Pentecost, at which Christ, “in the middle of the feast” teaches men of his saving mission and offers to all “the waters of immortality” (Jn 7:14). Again we are reminded of the Master’s presence and his saving promise: “If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink” (Jn 7:37). We think also once again of our death and resurrection with Christ in our baptism, and our reception of the Holy Spirit from him in our chrismation. We “look back to one, and anticipate the other” as one of the hymns of the feast puts it. We know that we belong to that kingdom of the Risen Christ where “the Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who is thirsty come, let him who desires take the water of life without price” (Rev 22:17. Is 55:1).
In the middle of the feast, 0 Saviour, fill my thirsting soul with the waters of godliness, as Thou didst cry unto all: If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! 0 Christ God, Fountain of life, glory to Thee! (Troparion).
Christ God, the Creator and Master of all, cried to all in the midst of the feast of the law: Come and drink the water of immortality! We fall before Thee and faithfully cry: Grant us Thy bounties, for Thou art the Fountain of our life! (Kontakion)
The Samaritan Woman
The fifth Sunday after Easter deals with the woman of Samaria with whom Christ spoke at Jacob’s Well (Jn 4). Again the theme is the “living water” and the recognition of Jesus as God’s Messiah (Jn 4:10-11; 25-26). We are reminded of our new life in him, of our own drinking of the “living water,” of our own true worship of God in the Christian messianic age “in Spirit and in Truth” (Jn 4:23-24). We see as well that salvation is offered to all: Jews and Gentiles, men and women, saints and sinners.
The Blind Man
The sixth Sunday commemorates the healing of the man blind from birth (Jn 9). We are identified with that man who came to see and to believe in Jesus as the Son of God. The Lord has anointed our eyes with his own divine hands and washed them with the waters of our baptism (John 9:6-ll).
Jesus used clay of spittle and told the man to wash in the waters of Siloam. He did so because it was the Sabbath day on which spitting, clay-making and washing were strictly forbidden. By breaking these ritual laws of the Jews, Jesus showed that he is indeed the Lord of the Sabbath, and, as such, that he is equal to God the Father Who alone, according to Jewish tradition, works on the Sabbath day in running his world.
There is scandal over the healing of the blind man on the Sabbath day. He is separated from the synagogue because of his faith in Christ. The entire Church follows this man in his fate, knowing that it is those who do not see Jesus as the Lord who are really blind and still in their sins (Jn 9:41). The others have the light of life and can see and know the Son of God, for “you have seen him, and it is he who speaks to you” (Jn 9:37).
I come to Thee, O Christ, blind from birth in my spiritual eyes, and call to Thee in repentance: Thou art the most radiant Light of those in darkness! (Kontakion)
http://www.oca.org/OCchapter.asp?SID=2&ID=77
Lord’s Day
(Redirected from Sunday)
For the Orthodox Christian the Lord’s Day is the first day of the week. Often it is also called the eighth day in honor Our Lord’s Resurrection and the new life he brought. In the English language, and other languages of Germanic origin, the day is called Sunday or some linguistic variation. In many languages around the Mediterranean Sea the name for this day is derived from Lord’s Day, while other languages including Slavic languages use a word derived from the word Resurrection.
History
In the Judeo-Christian Scriptures, in Genesis, the seven-day week is defined after the description of God’s efforts in establishing the world, and universe with the seventh day being the Sabbath, commemorating God’s day of rest. In Apostolic times the practice is noted in Acts of meeting together on the first day of the week for Eucharistic Sacrifice which is called the Lord’s Day in remembrance of our Lord’s Resurrection. By the second century the Lord’s Day was looked upon as the day of rest and the day for celebrating the Divine Liturgy, replacing the Jewish Sabbath. Then in 325, the Council of Nicea formally declared that the Lord’s Day, Sunday, was the day of worship for Orthodox Christians.
[edit]Civil calendars
Naming of the days of the week began when the Romans adopted the seven-day week from Egypt during the early centuries of the Christian era using names from the then-known planets. When the Germanic peoples adopted the seven-day week from the Romans, they applied the names of the Teutonic deities to the days of the week. These Roman and Teutonic names have continued to be used today except that in some languages the first day has been renamed for the Lord’s Day or the Resurrection while the seventh day may be called the Sabbath.
In a large part of the world, the civil calendars have been altered, making Monday the first day of the week, thus placing Sunday as the seventh day.
[edit]Practice
The practice of observing the Divine Liturgy on the first day of the week has its origin in Apostolic times. Then, the first day of the week was a day of special observance for the Christian community as it assembled to celebrate the breaking of the bread as indicated in Acts 20:7 and I Cor 16:2. Later, the Didache of the first or second century gives the injunction: “On the Lord’s Day come together and break bread. And give thanks, after confessing your sins that your sacrifice may be pure.” The Christian writers St Justin Martyr and Tertullian of the third century mention assembling for worship on the first day of the week. By the fourth century the practice of the earlier times of setting aside first day of the week for assembly and rest began to be codified in both civil and church canons and specifically for the Orthodox Church in the canons of the Council of Nicea.
This is highly doubtful.....the Jews were the oracles of God [Romans 3:2]. You folks have done everything in your power to distance yourself from the appearance of anything "Jewish".
Our church was founded by Jesus Christ.
Your church was founded by Constantine. By 325 A.D. you folks had nothing in common with Biblical Christianity.
Most of our doctrines predate the Bible. (New Testament)
Here.....we agree. Your doctrines are those of Babylon, Samaria and Simon Magus. As I said....nothing in common. Unfortunately, many of the Protestants don't realize this when they emulate your rites and theology.
Does the Bible matter to you and how much? If it doesn't, and your church is the standard, then we have nothing to discuss.
The resurrection was on Sunday. That's why so many Christian Churches gather on that day. And they were gathering on that day, and as well as others, long before Constantine's decree.
There is no requirement in the New Testament to keep the 4th commandment and its Saturday sabbath. Everyone is free to choose their day and Sunday as the day of Resurrection and Pentecost is quite appropriate.
The Day after the sabbath (The Lords Day) is actually referenced in the Bible, you might try reading one.
The Didache, The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations, 70 A.D.
You have a very bizarre perspective on what happened with the early church. I just read a book called Early Christian Heresies that I think was written by a Catholic because The Church was always capitalized. The reality of how doctrines came about is very different from what you describe here on FR.
Can you give me a scripture eliminating the Sabbath command? It is very interesting to see how quickly you have mended fences with the apostolics. My Bible reads from Genesis to Revelation, the faith is to the same God throughout, the same God who sanctified the 7th Day in Genesis is the same God I worship.
Try reading THIS book about Heresies:
http://www.amazon.com/55-St-Irenaeus-Lyons-Christian/dp/0809104547
by Irenaeus of Lyons c. 175-185
Read Acts 15.
Give me one scripture requiring Gentiles to keep the Law of Moses. Before they can be absolved of it, they have to first be keeping it. When were the Gentiles or the Gentile Church ever keeping the Saturday sabbath?
It is very interesting to see how quickly you have mended fences with the apostolics.
I have plenty to dispute with the RCC about, but this is not one of them. Sabbatarians are making a mountain out of a molehill.
My Bible reads from Genesis to Revelation, the faith is to the same God throughout, the same God who sanctified the 7th Day in Genesis is the same God I worship.
And that 7th day was a sign between He and the Jews, not the Gentiles. Nine of the Ten Commandments are brought forward into the New Testament for the Gentile Church, except the 4th. To demand Saturday sabbath observance of Gentile Christians is just as bad as Constantine's demand that Jewish Christians abandon Saturday and observe only Sunday.
1Th 5:2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
Mat 12:8 "For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath."
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.