k111@sphinx.UChicago.UUCP (Peter Kim) (10/24/85)
A friend of mine insists that it is not right for Christians
to go to churches on Sunday instead of Saturday. Until I heard
his view, I took it for granted that Sunday is the day of worship.
I think now that I would not change my mind, until someone proves
to me that it is wrong. My friend could not convince me. So I am
soliciting your opinions about the right day of worship. Of course
it does not matter really, since we worship God everyday. Yet, I
would like to provide my friend with verses from the Bible and with
historical facts.
Peter Kim ihnp4!gargoyle!sphinx!k111charli@cylixd.UUCP (Charli Phillips) (10/25/85)
>A friend of mine insists that it is not right for Christians >to go to churches on Sunday instead of Saturday. . . . . Of course >it does not matter really, since we worship God everyday. Yet, I >would like to provide my friend with verses from the Bible and with >historical facts. > Peter Kim Peter, you said exactly what the Apostle Paul said in Romans 14 when discussing "disputable matters": it doesn't matter. Romans 14:5 reads: "One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind." (Note the first part of v. 22 as well.) I believe that the early Christians began holding worship services on Sunday because that was the day of the Resurrection, although I can't quote any authorities on the subject at the moment. (I don't keep any theological texts at work with me.) charli
dave@cylixd.UUCP (Dave Kirby) (10/25/85)
[PETER] >>A friend of mine insists that it is not right for Christians >>to go to churches on Sunday instead of Saturday. . . . [CHARLI] >I believe that the early Christians began holding worship services on >Sunday because that was the day of the Resurrection, although I can't >quote any authorities on the subject at the moment. >(I don't keep any theological texts at work with me.) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ WELL, I KEEP A THEOLOGICAL TEXT! THE *BIBLE* (thump, thump)! :-) Seriously, Acts 20:7 says, "And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them..." The early Christians chose a day other than the traditional Jewish sabbath day (Saturday) because those who were Jews spent the Sabbath worshipping in the synagogues with their Jewish friends and relatives. The Jewish Christians didn't consider Christianity to be a new religion; it was an extension and renewal of Judaism, since Jesus of Nazareth was the promised Messiah. They still considered themselves Jews, and therefore continued to worship with the orthodox Jews on the Sabbath as well as fellowship with new Gentile Christians on Sunday. Sunday was likely chosen because it was the day Jesus was ressurected. But it is clear that the early Christians looked down on anyone who tried to TELL them which days were "right" and which were "wrong." (Col. 2:16 says "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of a holy day or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.") ----------------------------------------------------------------- Dave Kirby ( ...!ihnp4!akgub!cylixd!dave) (The views expressed herein are the exclusive property of Dave Kirby. Any person, living or dead, found with the same or similar opinions will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of law.)
hedrick@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU (Charles Hedrick) (10/27/85)
The issue of worshipping on Sunday rather than Saturday is more complex than it sounds, as it involves the relationship between Christianity and Judaism. The tradition of what I am a part (Calvinist) answers that the ceremonial parts of the OT Law are not binding upon Christians. Otherwise, we would not only worship on Saturday, but sacrifice animals in temples. The argument is that Christ was the final sacrifice, and that we no longer need the sort of worship commanded in the OT. Rather, we now celebrate Christ's Resurrection. According to this tradition, we are not, as a command from God, required to worship on the Sabbath. However we are well advised to worship regularly, simply because this is conducive to the spiritual welfare of Christians and the Churcn. Calvin, and much of the Reformed tradition, maintained that there is nothing magic about the number 7, nor the particular day. We worship once every 7 days because our society has a basic seven-day cycle. We pick Sunday because it is fitting to celebrate the Resurrection on the day when it occured. In most Reformed creeds, Sunday is referred to as the Lord's Day. Each Lord's Day is thought of as a little Easter. The story as I heard it (which may be more legend than reality) is that many early Christians actually worshipped twice. On the Sabbath (Saturday) they participated in Jewish services. On the Lord's Day (Sunday) they held Christian meetings. However in the pure Calvinist tradition, the Lord's Day is a "free" practice. That is, it is not thought of as a specific commandment, but as something that the Church does because it thinks it a good idea. (For Calvin, it was very important for Christians to realize that in most matters they were free from specific commandments. Christ did not bring a new law. This does not mean that Christians should satisfy every whimsy, as they must still think about what behavior serves God the best. It is unfortunate that later Calvinists managed to become as legalist as any other group.) If for some reason a church found it more convenient to worship on Tuesday, or every 6 days, there would be nothing wrong with that. The Biblical command to worship on the Sabbath has not reattached itself to Sunday. Not all Christians agree on this. In many traditions, Sunday is now referred to as the Sabbath, and worship then is taken to be covered by the Commandment. (It is never explained by what authority the Church could change the Ten Commandments.) In general, the more legalist the tradition, the more likely it is to find Sunday referred to as the Sabbath, and the more strict the prohibitions against doing specific things then. I should not leave you thinking that the Reformed tradition is free of sabbatarianism. The Westminster Confession specifically teaches that Sunday is now the Sabbath. (The Westminster Confession used to be the doctrinal standard for the Presbyterian churches. Happily, it has now been augmented by several other confessions from the Reformed tradition. At least, this is true for the Presbyterian Church (USA). I believe that some of the smaller Presbyterian groups continue to use the Westminster Confession alone.) As you may know, there are a few Christian groups who worship on Saturday, on the sensible grounds that nobody has told *them* that the Ten Commandments have been changed. I am inclined to think that this is the most consistent position to take if you are going to continue with the idea of Sabbath at all.
diaz@aecom.UUCP (Daniel Diaz) (10/29/85)
> [PETER] > >>A friend of mine insists that it is not right for Christians > >>to go to churches on Sunday instead of Saturday. . . . > > [CHARLI] > >I believe that the early Christians began holding worship services on > >Sunday because that was the day of the Resurrection, although I can't > >quote any authorities on the subject at the moment. > > WELL, I KEEP A THEOLOGICAL TEXT! THE *BIBLE* (thump, thump)! :-) > > Seriously, Acts 20:7 says, "And upon the first day of the week, when > the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them..." > > The early Christians chose a day other than the traditional Jewish > sabbath day (Saturday) because those who were Jews spent the Sabbath > worshipping in the synagogues with their Jewish friends and relatives. > ----------------------------------------------------------------- > Dave Kirby ( ...!ihnp4!akgub!cylixd!dave) It appears that the consensus seems to be that the New Testament allows for communal worship on any day, but that the early Christians chose Sunday for various sociological and theological reasons. This is fine, but I feel that one point all Sabbath-Sunday debaters forget or misunderstand is that the Sabbath was not a day of worship to begin with in the Mosaic covenant. Rather the writings on the Law indicate the need to observe the Sabbath as a day of rest, i.e. ceasing from work. Use of the Sabbath as worship (as in the synagogue) appears to have arisen much later. (If any Pentateuchal scholars are out there, correct me if I need be). Given this observation, I see the contention that Sunday is the Christian Sabbath to be unfounded Biblically and historically. The reformed tradition originally confirmed this, although I perceive that ultra-Covenantists have succumed to the pressure to find an analogy in the New Testament to every practice in the Old. -- Dan Diaz, Department of Biochemistry Albert Einstein College of Medicine Bronx, New York [..!philabs!aecom!diaz ]