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Word Gems 

exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity

 

Does God require us to
observe a seventh-day Sabbath?

 

 

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This question concerning the necessity of keeping a seventh-day Sabbath was very important to me as a younger man. The issue seemed clear. The Old Testament unequivocally mandated the observance of this day, and even in the New Testament a case could be made. But, as I would discover, things might appear one way at the surface of life, but, upon going deeper, a new reality presents itself.

Editor’s note: This reminds me of the unassailable Newtonian physics, which dominated science for 200 years, was said to be the voice of God in the world, took us to the Moon and back, and yet was later discovered to be mere subset of a much larger, more fundamental, reality - Quantum Mechanics. The doctrine of the Sabbath is like this. It seems solid and indisputable on one level, but then, with more knowledge and wider perspective, it all evaporates.

playing the 'David' card

For me, the question of the Sabbath was more than passing interest. The church I then belonged to supported this doctrine, and, in my youthful ignorance and naiveté, I believed it to be the “one true church.” Therefore, as the church’s ministers loved to preach, one must offer loyalty to the church, even if it has imperfections. These so-called ministers would also be quick to point out, "David was a man after God's own heart but he sinned greatly, and so if the church leadership does the same, this is no license to disobey them."

harsh, haughty, high-handed

However, these “imperfections,” as is the case it seems with so many churches these days, manifested as gross sexual immorality among the leadership along with financial fraud and misdealing; less dramatically, so many of these so-called ministers treated their "sheep" with harshness, haughty disdain, and high-handedness -- most Dear Leaders conduct themselves arrogantly, because, in their imagined elitism, they are "above" and "better."

I was aware of much of this chaos but, even so, felt trapped because, they said, and I believed, “God has created his church government, and it is for God to chastise the ministry if error exists, with the laity’s part only to pray, pay, obey – and stay.”

what kind of god would god be if s/he created this kind of 'one true church'

This shallow, feckless, and self-serving philosophy kept me chained to the church for a long time, though the visible corruption sorely prompted me to leave.

But among the most salient links in that chain was the apparently inflexible law concerning the seventh-day Sabbath, which, in my mind, was associated with the “one true church.” In good conscience, I couldn’t leave, either the church or the observance of this commanded holy day.

prison of the mind

This mental imprisonment continued for me until middle-age. Then, suddenly, in a whirlwind of new insights, I began to understand the errors of my beliefs. Along with a reconstruction of Jesus’ place in the salvation of humankind (discussed on the “Jesus” page), I was provided better teachers, more complete and incisive teachings, which allowed for my liberation from a “prison of the mind,” as Adrian Smith uses the phrase.

This article will be very short. I will not attempt to offer a detailed account of the arguments that persuaded me, so long ago now. But, suffice to say, these points of logic and information centered about two major areas.

three reasons

First, the Galatians commentary, featuring the first-written document of the New Testament; a 15-year study. This investigation meant so much to me. Buried under archaic language, a manumission from the slavery of legalism was offered by the apostle Paul. You’ll want to read this for yourself in the commentary, but, essentially, Paul asserts that all religious law – not just Old Testament law – is now passé in these new days of living in the Spirit.

The old dispensation with its external religious rules, he said, was like – and he used three analogies –

(1) the ABCs of life, just a kindergarten phase;

(2) a prison, a time of external restraint; and

(3) a nursery for little babies.

READ the Galatians commentary for yourself.

Second, I had discovered an anthology of essays concerning the legitimacy of keeping the Sabbath during New Testament times.

 

Editor’s note: One point of departure for me from D.A. Carson: There is no “Lord’s Day.” There is no substituting Old Testament holy day with New Testament holy day. Further, as there are no “holy” days, neither are there “holy” books, “holy” songs, “holy” mountains, “holy” offerings, "holy" priests, "holy" rituals, or anything of the sort. The only thing that’s sacred is Spirit. “God is Spirit, and those who worship him do so in spirit and in truth.” Spirit means “consciousness,” and God is the Great Spirit, Universal Consciousness and Intelligence. Via the “deep within,” we are linked to, part of, this Universal Spirit, and therefore our minds, our spirits, are sacred; and nothing external to our own spirits is “holy.” Quantum mechanics affirms the same, in that, all - everything in the universe - derives from consciousness; it is consciousness, not matter, that constitutes the ground of reality. Further, as there is no “Lord’s Day,” neither is there a “Lord.” This is why the Jesus of the Gospel Of Thomas jars us with "I am not your teacher!" The dictatorial concept of “Lord” is a throw-back to the Middle Ages and to the totalitarian designs of corrupt churchmen who covet a hard-fisted control over others. We are headed for our homeworld, Summerland, in which there is little to no external governance, no visible signs of anything religious. There, each is responsible to pursue one’s own spirituality and happiness, with no “Lord” to oversee, no “holy” days, no “holy” church services, no “holy” clergy, no one-true “holy” doctrines – all that will soon be very passé. But, some will charge, if there is no external restraint, will not "the people run wild?" This is the old excuse for fear-based religion and power-and-control. However, no need to worry about that, for, in addition to the Spirit which "writes God's law upon the tablets of the heart," there's a system, for those who need it, already in place, a temporary detention, to "grind the lust for sin out of the soul." It's called the Dark Realms.

 

I recall my earlier despair in failing to find logical and persuasive answer which might allow me to leave the cultish religion -- as I felt there was no way to circumvent the Bible’s demand to keep the seventh day. Nevertheless, this book opened the prison of my mind and allowed me to escape bondage into the world of “life in the Spirit.”

What were the arguments that I found compelling? It was decades ago now, and I’ve not kept this information in the forefront of my consciousness – the reason, I think, is that I found the whole business rather distasteful, and wanted nothing more to do with it – but this book I found to be very beneficial, and will help you, if this is your situation.

Third, we must not exclude the "scientific evidence for the afterlife." There are no Sabbath-keepers in Summerland -- not in the "good neighborhoods," anyway -- and this settles the matter for us, conclusively; and good luck to those who think they can surmount this reality. Hard-core deniers of "what is" earn for themselves accommodation in the Dark Realms.

trapped in a bad marriage

The sincere Sabbath-keeper, as I was then, is not so unlike the beleaguered but conscientious wife caught in a bad marriage. She’s been told that “God hates divorce” and that, no matter the sins of her husband, her place is to “obey and stay.”

She wants to honor God, believes that it is her duty to do so, but she is dying in, at best, a loveless marriage and, often worse, an abusive relationship.

All this, in principle, applied to me concerning the church. But God is not a cosmic bureaucrat concerned only with the observance of draconian law, caring nothing about the well-being of those oppressed. It doesn’t work that way, but legalistic ministers will insist that it does, but only because such narrow view fits very well with their elitism and power-and-control schemes.

postscript

Elsewhere on the WG site I offer biblical rationale and justification for divorce. Even the Bible allows for the dissolution of a bad marriage, but many clergy, jealous of their power over you, will never inform you of this.

 

 

Editor's last word: