Sabbath

I think that religion in our society today has become very relaxed. With the economic market requiring some individuals to work on their once called "day of rest", makes it hard to attend Church, Synagog, or Mosque.

I am a comedy writer and improv performer. I like to work Sundays if I can. Sunday Matinees usually sell out and I can make some cash. Also, I'm a Buddhist so it's cool.

So is the rule a rule?
So for people who follow a religion with a sabbath, should they keep it or is that 'out of date' now?

The Bible says if the ox is in the ditch on the sabbath...pull it out.

This economic situation is so screwed up in this country that two people have to work whenever they can to keep the ox out of the ditch, and I'm betting God understands that.

If you add up the wrong hearts, lying, self serving, hating, drinking, carousing, bigoted, bullying, adulterous nature of most people, I think catching an extra shift on Sunday is a pretty low concern.

It's up to them, isn't it? I don't think they need our advice or permission in this matter.

Anyhow, in the USA, shopping is the dominant religion, and the Sabbath is celebrated appropriately. By shopping at the mall of one's choice.

Shopping v. God
You shall have no God but me - 10 commandments.
Does this mean you are putting something else before a day with God?

What God, Seeker? What God?

Rather hopeful take on your part, Seeker--i'd opine that even for regular church goers, it's an hour with god's putative representative, if they're not forced to endure longer than that . . .

Well, I think it to be a nice idea to rest at least one day of the week, whenever that might be.

This is long known - the Sumerians and the Babylonians divided the year into weeks of seven days each, one of whichthey designated a day of recreation, such a good idea that it was 'borrowed' by the Jewish, who then called that day sabbath.

The Babylonians named each of the days after one of the five planetary bodies known to them and after the Sun and the Moon, a custom later adopted by the Romans. For a time the Romans used a period of eight days in civil practice, but in AD 321 Emperor Constantine established the seven-day week in the Roman calendar and designated Sunday as the first day of the week. Subsequent days bore the names Moon's-day, Mars's-day, Mercury's-day, Jupiter's-day, Venus'-day, and Saturn's-day. Constantine, a convert to Christianity, decreed that Sunday should be a day of rest and worship.

I think it to be a good idea that family is at one day together - but (my) good ideas have nothing in common with economy and the actual situation.

Besides, "doing nothing" on Sundays was just an idea followed by Puritans, Sabbatarians and the Scottish and English reformers.

This is a HUGE topic in theological circles, believe it or not. I know because I belong to a church that once kept the Sabbath and made it more important than the God we worship. We've since seen the error in that and made sweeping doctrinal changes, but none of it was done in a cursory way. Try looking into the issue by researching the more prominent figures in Theology. Making a decision on the Sabbath is more than just a "sometimes you feel like a nut, sometimes you don't" kind of issue.

I personally recommend this site as a good place to start.

oops...I thought this was a thread on early Heavy Metal Bands.

Well, if one wants to start with a somewhat biased view ... :wink:

hobitbob beat me to my Ozzy joke

You mean that one playing the music at black masses on churchyards at fullmoon?

Hence the phrase, "I personally recommend." :wink:

All too often, "unbiased" means either "I don't know a thing about this subject" or "I'll throw together a bunch of materials written by anyone I could find, regardless of their background."

As often, if not more often, unbiased means presenting a balanced view--although i can see that to the partisan, it might be convenient to describe that as "throw[ing] together a bunch of materials written by anyone i can find, regardless of their background."

How very slanted, how very partisan of you.

Hmm, you are completely correct - I had to learn such at universities and taught myself there in the same way.


If you mean, however, that only theological views are correct to look at this theme, well, I'm a Christian, a Catholic, and although we consider the Sunday the Sunday to be "holy", there is no (church) law saying, you shouldn't do nothing.

But exactly because of this, I thought, it would be a biased way to to discuss the question.

I don't understand -- have I misrepresented myself as totally unbiased and objective? Have I really given the impression that balanced research is without merit? Have I said anywhere that a full and complete analysis from all angles would be unwise? Did I not say, "too often," meaning more often than would be ideal?

How does one really discuss religion without bias? Doesn't such a discussion become an academic paper of sorts?