Every Sunday my Twitter and Facebook feeds all say the same thing. Everybody feels the need to tell the world they went to church and post a picture of their Sunday get-up. Some people just post the basics: that they went, where they went, that they had a good time, who they went with. Other people use the moment to "remind" people that they "should" be going to church or to encourage people that the voice telling them not to go is "the devil."
Why am I bringing this up? My opinion on this stems from a long journey, so it might take more than one post to explain it, but let's give it a try shall we?
Why am I bringing this up? My opinion on this stems from a long journey, so it might take more than one post to explain it, but let's give it a try shall we?
The Beginning
In order to discuss any religious practice, you have to start at the beginning--it only makes sense. So the beginning of Sunday Church springs from the 5th commandment (for Protestants)
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy (Exodus 20:8 KJV)
or the 3rd commandment (for Catholics) sited here:
Remember to keep holy the LORD's day
This is the basis sited for why most Christians attend church on Sunday. However, two questions arise from this point: what does it actually mean to keep the Sabbath day holy and when is the Sabbath?
Questions
1) What does it mean to keep the Sabbath day holy?
Obviously, this does not mean that you can sin every other day. If you continue reading Exodus 20:9-11 (KJV) it says:
9Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Now, if you think about it, the Bible does not say that Jesus only ministered on the Sabbath day and the only real definition that the Bible gives is that you shouldn't work on the Sabbath day. Which of course brings about the question, what is considered work? Exodus specifies you shouldn't work your cattle on the Sabbath, does that mean that you should also not work your mule or horse? So before the invention of cars, all of the people who rode a horse or mule to church, especially those who forced the mule/horse to pull a wagon were working their animals, which is implicitly forbidden. Maybe this passage says cattle for a reason though; maybe you're allowed to work other animals... It still doesn't nullify the fact that people work during church services: the ushers, the musicians, the camera/lights/stage crew (if you attend a mega church), the preacher... Is this not considered work? Honestly, I haven't fully answered this question for myself, so I'll leave it for you to ponder (and if you think of a concrete answer, let me know).
2) When is the the Sabbath day?
If you look at a standard calendar, most of the time, the week begins on Sunday, however you can buy calendars that start on Monday. Also, for digital calendars you often have the option to choose if you what the week to start on Monday or Sunday. No one can deny that the Sabbath day is the seventh day, but many will argue that Sunday is not the seventh day. The obvious way to answer this question is to consult the same book that refers to the Sabbath as the seventh day. After all, it tells us that the chosen people of God, the Hebrews, celebrated the Sabbath. If you study The Word, or history in general, you know that Christianity evolved out of Judaism and the Hebrews of the Bible are the Jews of today. The significant difference being our belief in the New Testament and the fulfillment of the Messiah in Jesus Christ. Both religions share the belief in the Old Testament (called the Torah for Jews). So when do they celebrate the Sabbath? The Jewish faith defines the Sabbath as the time from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday (if you're skeptical check the website of your local synagogue for their times of service). So why is it that Christianity is full of people who proclaim Sunday as the Sabbath?
To be continued...
Next time:
How did Christians come about celebrating the Sabbath on Sunday?
Does it matter which day is marked the seventh day?
(Click to read the next post in the series)
