Demonizing Sunday - Why?
The greater portion of this article was posted on the web. I have since re-edited it.
It is pretty well accepted by all bible scholars that the day of the week was never an issue between God and Israel. (Do you know what the main complaint God had concerning the Sabbath?) The actual day of the week became an issue some years after the first century. This happened as some Christians specifically came together on the first day of the week and taught against holding to the Jewish Sabbath.
History tells us that at that time the Jews had turned their Sabbath into a day of pleasure and it was common for them to attend the theater, etc. - All the while refusing to lift their finger to do anything that was against their interpretation of the proper mode of observing the Sabbath.
The Christians criticized this and taught that they were to do good things on the Sabbath. Most of them eventually began to observe the first day to the point of their making it a day of rest and meditation and for assembling together for worship. This was a natural progression and in no way violated the spirit of the Sabbath. That being based on God, Himself, leaving an example by resting on the seventh day and His instituting it even before He gave Moses the Commandments on the mountain; this happened while the children of Israel were gathering manna. The bible also speaks of seven day weeks early on.
The post -
This is to all - but I quote and point to what Ken David said.
"But there are those who want to pass the keeping of Sunday as God's law and enforcing it to the hurt of those who do not believe that way. And they are big names in religious circles. That to me is legalism when you pass a man made law off as being from God and then you want to inflict pain on those who do not believe as you do."
Ans. - I do know of one organization that sent out packets to its members saying this was going on - ahead of the last Presidential election. (1996 - Seventh Day Adventists.) That erroneous information helped to elect Clinton.
I have been involved in Church for almost sixty years and I know of no big name in any organization who has ever threatened to establish a law that would establish a hurtful Sunday observance.
I do know that many communities used to have blue laws that enforced the closure of certain establishments on Sunday.
And I have heard of efforts by business men who wanted them to be maintained for financial reasons. And I do know that for whatever reason the Church did not back that effort.
Most of these laws were established when Saturday Sabatarians were very few in number. At that time all churches, other then a very, very few Christian Saturday Sabatarians, and Jews, did observe Sunday as a day of rest.
Now that more people have made an issue out of the particular day - the Sunday observance has been apposed by both the secular and the Saturday observers to where the Christian majority has been stymied.
(I also know of several who observe Saturday and who hire Sunday observers and do expect their help to work both Saturday and Sunday while they observe Saturday.)
The necessity and the natural progression, that produced the start of the Sunday observance is long gone now, around 1700 or 1800 years.
However, the demonizing of Sunday has just recently helped to reduce the number of those who did observe a rest on one out of every seven days.
The commandment has to do with rest. It has been influential in maintaining a day off for the masses of workers around the world. This influence is waning and I have seen more and more people forced to work on the week ends in order to hold onto their jobs. Meanwhile the Church as a whole has not only turned their back on the Sunday Sabbath observance they have since ferociously attacked it. It has been savaged, by those who claim they love God. The family and society in general, has been terribly hurt by this. Sunday attendance has dwindled considerably over the last forty years. A tremendous number of Churches only have one service on Sunday.
The demonizing of Sunday has effectively reduced the numbers who now do observe one day out of every seven as a day of rest.
Please note that I am not saying it is the major cause, however, it is becoming more significant as time goes on.
This is a fact, and because I am so biased, I think that the issue of the specific day is nonsense and far more hurtful then beneficial. The priests that worked on the Sabbath in preparing the sacrifices took another day in the week as their day of rest. Jesus pointed to them when defending His having healed on the Sabbath.
The tirade that is coming against the Sunday observance is based on legalism,- pure and simple.
Jesus pointed to our need for having mercy rather then sacrifice.
His followers wanted to call down fire on some who were not doing it just right. What did He say?
The observance of Saturday in the face of the tradition that has covered this earth over the last 1700 years is an exact parallel to demanding a sacrifice while rejecting the intent of the 4th commandment.
There is no mercy being displayed in the tirade against Sunday, but there is a demand for a sacrifice and a demand that we follow the letter.
What ever happened to the spirit of the commandment?
Again - The tirade that is being leveled against a Sunday observance has nothing to do with the essence - which is rest. It in fact is contradictory of the very essence of the 4th commandment.
To put a Saturday observance in the forefront and demand that it is the only Day recognized by God and to say that the people who were being persecuted and dying then (first century), because they were easily recognized, while attending a synagogue and associating with the Jews, through their Saturday observance - should have all willingly died so as to preserve that observance - is to take a position that is diabolically opposed to what Jesus taught when he defended his healing of the sick on the Sabbath. (The Jews were known to have persecuted, and set Christians up for persecution.)
Take note - this demonizing of the Sunday observance - is very much in keeping with those who set out to closely Watch Christ - with but one thought on their mind - which was to see - if he was going to heal on the Sabbath.
This form of narrow watching and observance is mentioned in the NT and is described by one Greek word.
The context and usage of that word point to the worship of a Day, rather then worshipping God.
This is kin to the things God hates.
Prov. 21:3 To do justice and judgment is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice.
Mark 12:33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. 34 And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.
Matt 9:13 But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
Matt 12:7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day. (KJV)
A particular day was essential to the observance, but it was not the point.