Greco-Roman world. The Romans adopted the Egyptian week of days named after sun, moon, and planets.
The first day of the week was to be the day of the sun, thus Sunday for the Sun god, Monday for the Moon
god. Later, Tuesday was named after the Norse God, and so forth. 16
Throughout the centuries, people of all nations have recognized the biological and emotional need for
rest, recreation, intermittent fun and play. Once every seven days is a convenient scheme. From a utility
point of view, one day of rest and diversion out of every seven days, is good for the body, the mind and the
community. Few would dispute that Christians also need one day in seven for physical and mental rest.
They require time for a spiritual recharge, for relational nurture, for ecological focus. Spiritual emphasis over
material preoccupation, introspection and conversation with God and one's own soul, fellowship with others,
and service to those in need, all speak eloquently for the intrinsic value of a sabbath. The meanings and
emphases of the Sabbath Commandment, among other things, also include: (1) Remembering God's first
creation and hence our utter dependence on His grace and sustenance; (2) Being grateful for His redemption,
the second and new creation in our life; (3) Celebrating not just the material universe but also the moral
universe within our hearts wherein dwells the potential for righteousness and justice, love, freedom,
creativity, truth, and beauty; (4) Rejoicing in the temporospatial, spiritual and mental insulation (not
isolation) against what one during the six days thinks, acts and reacts; (5) Looking expectantly for the final
deliverance from slavery of sundry kinds and eternal rest in our resurrected bodies in celebrated fellowship
with God's others in the earth made new.
It is not surprising, then, Sabbatarianism with different degrees of emphasis and details of observance has
been advocated and practised since New Testament times. There was a period during the 4th and 6th
centuries in the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Irish Church when both Saturday Sabbath and Sunday
Sabbath were given equal recognition by the Christians. Early church fathers seemed to favor Sunday
Sabbath. By the third century Sunday Sabbath observance on a weekly basis became rather widespread
among Christians.17 Emperor Constantine's Sunday Edict was proclaimed on March 7, 321 B.C. In the
Middle Ages, the Catholic Church made Sunday the day of worship a replacement for the Sabbath. Martin
Luther chose Sunday for weekly worship based on tradition and custom; John Calvin went along and agreed
with Luther. Albertus Magnus, Thomas Aquinas, Reformation theologians, Reformed theologians, old world
and American Puritans all have contributed to its development. There were pockets of resistence and protest
against the Sunday Sabbath. The movement of Seventh-day Baptists which began in England among the Old
World Puritans spread to America during the Colonial days. FromTraske, Brabourne in England, to
Mumford of Rhode island, to Hiscox, eventually to Joseph Bates, James and Ellen White of Maine, the
movement of Seventh-day Sabbatarianism grew to envelope the world.
The question for the Christians has always been: Which day should Christian observe? Those, including
the SDA's, who argue that Saturday the seventh-day is the Christian Sabbath, base their conviction that the
Sabbath commandment is the Fourth Commandment in God's Word. It even antedates Moses' receipt of the
moral law in that it was right after creation that God himself instituted the Sabbath and commanded us to
keep it holy. Jesus often alluded to the Sabbath and attended the synagogue, healed the sick on Sabbath of
which He declared He is the Lord. In addition, He reminded the disciples that He came not to abolish the
Law, the Sabbath Commandment included, but to fulfil it.
Dr. David Lowery (PhD, Univ. of Aberdeen) has written a well-researched article on the Lord's day. 18
His study shows that from early Christian literature onward, Sunday, the first day of the week, has been
designated the Lord's Day. Equally convincing is the exhaustsive writing of Kenneth Strand, PhD, who takes
a contrary position and arrives at different conclusions regarding the Lord's Day and Sunday observance.19
Controversy continues as to whether the early church regularly met on Sunday for worhip.Whether Sunday
begins from sundown to sundown or midnight to midnight, what activities are prohibited are also subjects for
debate. Exactly when early church started Sunday worhsip, no one can be sure.The rationale and the factors
behind the scene resulting in a shift from Saturday Sabbath observance to Sunday Sabbath are missing from