1) "Every Sabbath, on account of the burial of Jesus, is to be regarded in denunciation of the Jews. In fact, it is not proper to observe, because of Jewish customs, the consumption of food and the ceremonies of the Jews."
Pope Sylvester - 314-335 CE
2) "Let us then have nothing in common with the Jews, who are our adversaries... avoiding all participation in the false conduct of the Jews."
Constantine, Council of Nicaea - 325 CE
3) "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday, the Sabbath, but shall work on that day. But the Lord's day (Sunday) they shall especially honor, and as being Christians, shall if possible, do no work on that day. If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ."
Canon 29, Council of Laodicea - 364 CE
4) "All things whatsoever it was the duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord's day (Sunday)... because it is more honorable than the Jewish Sabbath."
Eusebius of Caesarea - 4th Century
5) "The Catholic Church for over one thousand years before the existence of a protestant, by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."
The Catholic Mirror - September 23, 1893
In closing, someone actually qualified to decide what day Shabbat is to be observed once said:
"If you hold back your foot on Shabbat from pursuing your own interests on my holy day; If you call Shabbat a delight, Adonai's holy day, worth honoring; then honor it by not doing your usual things or pursuing your interests or speaking about them. If you do, you will find delight in Adonai. I will make you ride on the heights of the land and feed you with the heritage of your ancestor, Yakov, for the mouth of Adonai has spoken."
Isaiah 58:13-14
Yes, all those things written and done as part of the Replacement Theology, be it doing away with Jews as G-d people or the Sabbath as the day of rest, were and are egregious.
ReplyDeleteHowever, there was really no need for these Christians to do that - it was all done because of Gentile insecurity when in came to their adoption into G-d's family. They felt that the only way they too can be special is if they pushed Jews and all things Jewish aside. What most of them didn't realize that Christians did not need to substitute the Sabbath for Sunday - there was no OBLIGATION on them to observe either of those days.
Thanks Gene. I agree with everything you've stated here, but the last 12 words. With all due respect, and someone as knowledgeable as yourself certainly deserves to be respected when voicing your ideas on this very important issue, what you've stated is a position of Bilateral Ecclesiology, to which you subscribe and with which I disagree. This particular view B.E. holds, cannot be supported by scripture. There is nothing in scripture saying that Gentiles should not observe Shabbat. In fact, Yeshua (the Messiah of Israel and Savior of the nations) said that not even the slightest bit of Torah would pass away until heaven and earth do the same - and that those that teach otherwise would be held accountable. (Matt 5:17-19) We have numerous examples of Gentiles observing Shabbat in the Brit Chadasha (particularly in Acts) - which I discussed in detail in my recent post "Manners and Men" (which you both read and "enjoyed").
ReplyDeleteNow before I get ahead of myself, let me explain that I do not believe the nations somehow become Israel, though that is widely taught in Gentile circles. G-d forbid. I also do not believe that the aspects of the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-36) G-d has made with Israel (a lot of people miss that) are transferable to the nations. Actually, there are many things adherents to B.E. assume I believe until we engage in a discussion.
I also understand your use of the word "OBLIGATION" and I agree with your reasons for using it so long as you don't think it's wrong for Gentiles to observe Shabbat, and you are not so insecure as to think that the sanctifying of Shabbat by Gentiles automatically evidences a replacement theology, endangers you as a Jewish believer, tastes of Jewish identity theft, or something similar. If you did feel that way, you would be no different than the Romans, who motivated by the same insecurity of not "being special", decided to mandate who Shabbat was for and who it was not for, contrary to scripture, and by some mythical power that they had not been given. In fact, essentially you'd be saying the exact same thing they did, and for the same reason, just with a differing perspective, if that makes sense.
Think of it this way. If Gentiles, made right by the Arm of G-d, are grafted into Israel (Romans 11) and are to humbly (I can't stress that enough) abide in the vine that is Messiah Yeshua, should they not also sanctify the day G-d Himself did (before He even gave the Torah to Israel)? If not, what place have they? Should they not read the Hebrew scriptures? Should they not observe any of the Feasts their Messiah did (and will require of all the nations in Olam Haba)? Should they not worship G-d in a manner that would provoke Israel to jealousy (as they are told specifically to do)?
this is exactly what i was looking for - blessings!! XX
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