The Decline of the Sabbath, Less praying, more working and playing

WSJ ^ | 06.15.07 | MOLLIE ZIEGLER HEMINGWAY

[Coleus]

For many Americans, Sunday is unlike any other day of the week. They spend its luxurious hours curled up in bed with the paper, meeting friends for brunch, working off hangovers, watching golf, running errands and preparing themselves for the workweek ahead. But Sunday is also, for many, the Sabbath--a special day for religious reasons. Not that you would notice.

"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy," we are told in Exodus. Of all the gifts Jews gave the world, that of a weekly day of rest is certainly one to be cherished. And yet the Sabbath is now marked more by its neglect than its keeping. Or so says Christopher Ringwald in his new book "A Day Apart."

Mr. Ringwald notes that in the late 18th century, states banned entertainment, hunting or unnecessary travel on Sundays. The Second Great Awakening in the early 1800s spread Sabbath-keeping to the frontiers. Church membership doubled, Sunday schools proliferated and long sermons dominated the morning. It was unthinkable that the general store would remain open on the Sabbath. "Nothing strikes a foreigner on his arrival in America more forcibly than the regard paid to the Sabbath," Alexis de Tocqueville wrote in 1840. "Not only have all ceased to work, but they appear to have ceased to exist." The so-called blue laws that were a part of American culture--closing down bars and preventing the sale of liquor on Sunday--were commonplace well into the 20th century.

But the Sabbath today is at odds with commercial culture. To generalize shamelessly from personal experience: My brother-in-law, who manages a national retail store in Colorado, works on Sundays, following church. He was shocked recently to find out he is now required to open the store on Easter Sunday.

[Coleus]

.

[goldstategop]

Orthodox Jews just turn everything off from Friday afternoon to well after sundown Saturday night. No interruptions are allowed. The idea of Sabbath is to break away from being enslaved by the demands of life and our work and bring ourselves back into a state of peace with Nature and with God. True freedom can be found by giving oneself the gift of rest to thank God for letting us pause to appreciate the beautiful world He created in which we are privileged to live.

[Shery]

It is sad to see that it is no different than any other day now. Here in Germany, the law passed that stores can be open on Sunday, but it probably won’t happen until the Christmas season. Some car dealerships have been having Sunday showings for a couple years now, but I don’t think that they have actually sold on Sunday. All is changing. But, even with Sunday a non-working day, one cannot even vacuum or do any other “work” that makes noise, and there is little church-going.

[Larry Lucido]

Exactly. No laws needed (especially laws that discriminate against those who observe Sabbath on Saturday by making criminals out of those who engage in normal activities on Sunday).

[no dems]

The total disregard for the things of God, in general, not just ignoring The Lord’s Day (Christian)or Sabbath (Jewish), is a large part of the downfall of America today.

[Star Traveler]

The day, Sunday, is not the Sabbath. The article is mixing up the Sabbath with Sunday...

[LaineyDee]

From my understanding.....you are correct. The “Sabbat” or Sabbath is on Saturday.

[fso301]

People might find that their productivity actually increases if they take one day per week off.

[LiteKeeper]

Hello - the Sabbath is Saturday, not Sunday.

[GOP Poet]

Bookmark

[trek]

Good post.

I find myself more and more hoping for another Great Awakening in America. It is becoming more and more evident that the political class is leading us over the cliff. Historically, this has lead to a return to religion in America. Perhaps we will be saved yet again.

[GWB00]

With so many family & work demands in my own life, I can understand why this day does not hold the meaning it had in the past.

However, I have dedicated the last 6 month to getting up an hour earlier and spend time walking and reflecting on my life and the Giver of my life.

I borrowed the idea from Tony Robbins concept, "Hour of Power"

Some may snicker of the originator (TR), and I don't want to sound like his informercial,but it literally has transformed my life.

[naturalized]

23One Sabbath Jesus was going through the grainfields, and as his disciples walked along, they began to pick some heads of grain. 24The Pharisees said to him, “Look, why are they doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath?”
25He answered, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? 26In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions.”
27Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

[BamaCharm]

Saturday is indeed the Biblical Sabbath but not the traditional sabbath for Christians.

Early Christians observed Saturday as the day of rest and the first day of the week as “The Lord’s Day” when they gathered and worshipped. They observed both because the early Christians were predominantly Jewish by birth and still upheld Jewish practices. The first day of the week was the Lord’s Day because Jesus arose on Sunday, first appeared again to the disciples who had gathered on Sunday, and was the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descended upon the church in power (Acts 2).

The early church continued to observe Saturday as a day of rest and Sunday as a day of worship for the first few centuries of church history. On March 7, 321, the emperor Constantine issued a decree that made Sunday the day of rest in the Eastern Roman Empire. In Cannon 29, the Roman church in the Council of Laodicea (about A.D. 364) stated that although Christians should respect Saturday, the Lord’s Day (Sunday) should be especially honored and that no work should be done on the day of Christian worship. Pope Gregory (AD 590-604) demanded that all secular activities should cease on Sunday so that the people could devote their time to prayer. The overwhelming majority of Christian churches have observed Sunday as the day of rest and worship since then, both Catholic and Protestant.

Students of the Bible know that God judges the heart. If Christians obey His command to observe a day of rest in faith and obedience, especially honoring the Son who rose to give them new life on that day, I think God will be pleased. Likewise, I think He will be pleased with those who do so in faith and obedience on Saturday. It is the act of faith and the attitude (the heart) that matters. Observing NEITHER reveals one’s faith and attitude (heart) toward God as well. Nonbelievers should not be forced to observe those things that apply only to believers. Believers should not need a secular law to force them to obey God.

[RoadTest]

The Sabbath was and is on Saturday.

The Sunday Sabbath was instituted by the Catholic Church.

[safisoft]

The early church continued to observe Saturday as a day of rest and Sunday as a day of worship for the first few centuries of church history. On March 7, 321, the emperor Constantine issued a decree that made Sunday the day of rest in the Eastern Roman Empire.

If you have read the Nicean canons, or the decrees of Laodicea then you must know that a decree to establish the "venerable day of the Sun" as a religious day for "Christians" speaks volumes.

Think about it for a moment - why did Constatine have to forbid "Christians" from keeping the Sabbath (on what is called the day of "Saturn", i.e. Saturday)? The answer should be obvious, but anachronism keeps many from seeing it. The first century believers did not meet on Sunday. The "L-rd's Day" is a phrase that anachronisitically came to mean "Sunday." Learn a little Greek and you will be amazed at the complete and utter lack of Biblical support there is for Constantine's decree that abolished the Sabbath.

Putting aside the commandments of G-d, in order to keep the traditions of men...

[BamaCharm]

From what I’ve studied, Constantine did NOT “fobid” observance of the sabbath. He merely said that workshops and other activities be closed on Sunday.

From the very beginning, Christians NEVER worshipped the Lord on Saturday. That should not be in dispute. They came together on the Lord’s Day (first day of the week) but also kept the Jewish Sabath. One can cast dispersions on ANY DAY by associating it with what pagans happen to do on that day but it is probably not coincidental that the Lord specifically chose the first day of the week for the ressurection and to baptize the church with the Holy Spirit.

All that said. I think believers who place greater emphasis on their particular day of worship moreso than the creator of it are on very dangerous turf. Has it become a “law unto itself” and does it resemble the attitude for which Jesus chastized the scribes and pharisees? EVERY DAY is a day when believers should study the word, pray, meditate on the things of God and, most importantly, live in accordance with it. Neither are we limited on the assembling of ourselves together on any particular day.

Whether Saturday or Sunday is recognized as the sabbath is, in my opinion, of little consequence. The day a believer chooses to assemble themselves together will NOT be the determining factor for eternity. What matters for Christians, is Christ’s attonement and the salvation available through Him. Anything else is merely religion that will be separated with the chaff. All those who are saved by Him will be together with Him and the Bible says the saints will praise God continually (not just at some time reserved for it).

[safisoft]

From the very beginning, Christians NEVER worshipped the Lord on Saturday. That should not be in dispute. They came together on the Lord’s Day (first day of the week) but also kept the Jewish Sabath.

First, a few definitions.

What do you mean by "Christians"? Do you mean to include the earliest believers also, or only those who repudiated the Hebrew roots of the faith and took the name "Christian" to emphasize the shift? In other words, do you mean the early believers in Antioch who bore the derisive name with honor, or the later ilk like Chrystostom who used it as a weapon against Jews?

The "L-rd's Day"? Please define this biblically. You will find only one reference in the New Testament - yet many in the "Old Testament." Please limit your definition to Scripture only.

"First day of the week." As above, please define this biblically. You will need a Greek lexicon. Pay attention to the plurals used in the phrase as well (hint: the word "week" is not "week" in Greek, and it is a plural. Compare to Exodus 31:13. In the ancient Greek version of Exodus, the Septuagint, it is the same Greek word used in every one of the "First day of the week" phrases in the New Testament.)

Please show me in Scripture where it says Jesus was raised from the dead on the "First day of the week." Even in the English it never says that. When many begin to investigate Scripture as opposed to mans' tradition they are somewhat shocked what Scripture does not say, but they assume it does.

Why does Isaiah 66:22-23 speak of Sabbaths, if "all days are the same." A followup to that... do you treat Easter or Christmas as any other day, or just the Biblical days (i.e the ones actually mentioned in the Bible)?

Lastly, why do you think Jesus said in Matthew 24:20, "And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath." ? Whether you are a praeterist or not, why would His warnings to His disciples include a reference to not wanting to see the "day of the L-rd" (ah, there is a correct usage of the phrase) occur on a Sabbath?

As for Constantine forbidding Sabbath worship, you are quite wrong. He forbade it and the Passover celebration. The Council of Laodecia in 365 CE repeated it, and John Chrystosom among others threatened excommunication for Sabbath-keeping.

For the record, I am not Adventist or anything like that. I just read and study Scripture itself, and am often amazed how little about the Bible people know in spite of being well-versed in theology and their denomination's "beliefs."

[Star Traveler]

Saturday is indeed the Biblical Sabbath but not the traditional sabbath for Christians.

Students of the Bible know that God judges the heart. If Christians obey His command to observe a day of rest in faith and obedience, especially honoring the Son who rose to give them new life on that day, I think God will be pleased.

I can just as easily go to church on Saturday, or Sunday, or Wednesday or Thursday, or any day, actually. It doesn't matter to me, although it may matter to some others.

To some, they may want to keep one day, to others, all days are the same. God will respect each according to his convictions on the matter, as the Apostle Paul says.

As to whether the church (those called to salvation through their faith in Jesus Christ, in this present age of Grace) is to keep the Sabbath, I think not, according to the Bible. The Sabbath was meant to be a sign between God and the children of Israel (the Jews).

Even though there is a significance to Sunday, it's not a significance that results from a commandment to adhere to and keep.

Exodus 31:12-17

12 And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying,

13 "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: 'Surely My Sabbaths you shall keep,
     for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations, that you may know
     that I am the Lord who sanctifies you.

14 You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes
     it shall surely be put to death; for whoever does any work on it, that person shall
     be cut off from among his people.

15 Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the
     Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

16 Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath
     throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.

17 It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord
     made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was
     refreshed.' "

Ezekiel 20:10-12

10 "Therefore I made them go out of the land of Egypt and brought them into the
     wilderness.

11 And I gave them My statutes and showed them My judgments, 'which, if a man
    does, he shall live by them.'

12 Moreover I also gave them My Sabbaths, to be a sign between them and Me, that
     they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them.

Romans 14:5-6

5 One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let
   each be fully convinced in his own mind.

6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; and he who does not observe the
   day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives
   God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God
   thanks.

Regards,
Star Traveler