SUNDAY: CLOSED Once again, the matter of a “day of rest” (which is based in Scripture), comes to the forefront of the news. This time by Pope Francis. According to FOX News’ “Sunday: Closed” segment, the primary concern: “Working Sundays Hurts Families, Friends” and “No-Work Sundays Not Just For [the] Faithful.” But this issue is not new, of course. During the oil shortages of the 70’s (when I was in high school), the evangelical magazine Christianity Today (Consider The Case For Quiet Saturdays; Nov. 5, 1976) ran an editorial about how our nation could reduce oil consumption. But the article contained a surprise—it “proposed” that Saturday be set aside as a day of rest from work! Why? Because Sunday observance has no basis in Scripture, they pointed out that it would be “no theological hardship” on Christians, but would respect the beliefs of Jews and other Sabbatarian groups who observe the Creation Sabbath (that was set aside by God as holy, before sin or any Jew existed). More recently, tele-evangelist Pat Robertson, a man whose feet were solidly in both politics (a run for the American presidency) and religion (The 700 Club), stated in his best-seller: “I determined to remake my Sundays according to the biblical model” (The New World Order, p. 237). Of course, Robertson’s view is out of synch to those who know that Sunday is not the new “Sabbath” of Scripture, as biblical scholars so succinctly stated in Zondervan’s recent work “From Sabbath to Lord’s Day: A Biblical, Historical, and Theological Investigation.” Never the less, he goes on to say, “The next obligation that a citizen of Gods world order owes is to himself, ‘Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.’” As I have demonstrated in other places (like the interpretations of Revelation), the disconnect between biblical scholarship and popularized pulpits (or Christian bookstore shelves) has become all too common. Having said that, I must point out that the matter of Sunday observance for Catholics is wholly separate from Protestants: while the former holds tradition and the Pope’s statements as authority, the latter does not.
Posted on: Sun, 06 Jul 2014 12:50:30 +0000
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