Christians often profess to follow the Ten Commandments, but the fourth commandment about ceasing all work on the Sabbath is often treated as optional.
Some conservative Christian still abide by the Sabbath but are willing to ignore some other commandments! This is true in all religions.
Some may be in a work position with strict time requirements and no leeway for getting time off work, e.g., in a hospital care position like an intensive care unit.
Dennis
Dennis Mazur
Some conservative Christian still abide by the Sabbath but are willing to ignore some other commandments! This is true in all religions.
When I came to Canada , I went out on a Sunday and found all shops were closed !!!! I am used to shops closing on Monday not on a Sunday !!!!!
I guess Canadians do follow it strictly :)
I applaud Amir's response for tacitly raising another question. What makes one commandment (or you're welcome to call them whatever you wish when you apply this to other religions) less important than another? Obviously there are those who practice some commandments more than others and which get followed depend heavily on the person. That being said, honoring the Sabbath may be one of the least followed.
Perhaps this is because typical modern moral code treats this among the least abhorrent? Perhaps also out of laziness (in a strange sense)? It is generally quite easy to avoid killing someone or stealing things but when work needs to get done and your job / future depends on it, it can be hard not to do it.
Personally, I would also like to question whether this is really the least followed and propose that "lying" or "misusing the name of the Lord" may give "honoring the Sabbath" a run for its money. How do others feel?
Hello,
The role of ten commandments in Christian ethics has been continually challenged. The main reason is that many Christians believe that our beloved prophet ,Jesus Christ, did not consider all laws of Old Testament (OT laws) to have a continuing validity and to be regarded as normative ethical standards for Christians. As things stand right now, exceptions exist and all verses of continuity need to be carefully qualified . It is true that such principles can be inspiring and even educational in the present day and age, but because exceptions exist, we cannot make blanket statements about all laws in Torah.According to Christian theologians , we can neither assume that every law is still valid, nor that every law is obsolete since ethical, civil, and ceremonial laws are intermingled in Torah, and we cannot judge a verse by its neighbours as a litmus test of proving its validity. In point of fact, some laws such as circumcision, the wearing of tassels, and the offering of sacrifices have a temporary nature. God has created man the greatest among other primates and His laws do not defy the test of man's wisdom. On this basis, the forth commandment , the sabbath, like some others, may no longer be followed because they fail to provide an indisputable utilitarian basis satisfying the principles of the modern moral code.
Best regards,
R. Biria
I think Christians are obliged to follow the true purpose of the sabbath which is to apportion great deal of time for spiritual activities with his or her family, especially in a said day such as reading the bible and so forth NOT NECESSARILY ON A SUNDAY OR SATURDAY. Also, important activities that cannot be wavered can be undertaken in such days as Jesus illustrated with healing a sick person on a sabbath. Best regards
Dickson
In fact, Christianity involved a break from the past, a new beginning that required even the Commandments (in one of my papers it points out that in an original version Moses and the elders climb the mountain for a conference and return without the aforsaid material) to be open to observance. Christianity requires questioning not blind obeidience.
In a solar calendar like ours, it is not possible to follow the original Shabbath cycle of nature, which is based on the motion of the moon; many great holy days were defined for two days, because sometimes the full figuration of the moon could not be observed on one day. The spiritual concept of the day of rest, concerning human health (our body, our temple), has a physical foundation (spiritual physics). Every-body can easily count out the differences between these two calendar models. We have moved far away from the universal laws of harmony, say the mystery of life, and are too engaged in the scientific accumulation of things.
Catholics are supposed to attend mass on Sunday, which is the Christian Sabbath day. But of course, most do not. In case you were questioning the specific day of the week? (Maybe that wasn't your intention.) Also parenthetically, I grew up in cultures in which calendars show Monday as the first day of the week, Sunday as the 7th day, and I recited the days of the week always saying "Monday" first. Therefore, I have no problem understanding that the "beginning" of a circle is somewhat arbitrary.
Most Protestant denominations only require the Sabbath (Sunday) to be kept holy, but they are not required to attend any service?
Now here's my main point. I think this is overall a good thing. I think it is excellent when human beings can discern so well what really matters to the well being and survival of human society, without getting too obsessive about the minutiae invented by the different religions and the different sects. Thank God for such a prevalence of good, common sense. Makes me proud of my fellow man (and woman).
Yes, the point about the Jesus innovations was not, like Judaism and Islam, to be rigid and portray religiosity through the strict upkeep of laws, but to value what was inside, true feelings. In the end, the religion is actually stricter than the other two because appearances, dress, the accumulation of facial hair, observing custom, means nothing-how a person thinks is crucial. The rest is superficial!
I think with advancement in technology has also influenced attendance as the Sabbath Day Masses and Services are televised, so some opt to watch rather than attend in person. Of course there is no substitute for attending, but some may not see it this way. There's needs to be some deliberate digital marketing for stating that the televised Mass or Service is not a substitute for attending, so some people get it.
Best regards,
Debra
I think, this is not all about the affairs of religion, but for human nature it happens. We almost all were born in a religion, and in every respective religion of us all have some activities explicitly prohibited. However, we somehow can hardly follow all those rules and regulation advised in the religions for our individual subconscious mind.
Muhammed Imdadul, its not of course true that everyone is born into a religion, but certainly a culture. Ethics etc exist outside of religion, not formed from them. But, more to the point, the religious groups you appear to be referencing tend to be legalistic in their approach-Judaism, Islam. Rules and laws to control behaviour.
There is confusion with this question. The legalistic side of Christianity is because the early fathers kept the Old Testament to give the idea of longevity, to legalise their cult. A big mistake, as Christianity hoves in other directions. It is not really legalistic, so the question doesn't really carry water. In Christianity, personal conscience dictates. Of course, once Christianity became organised its more powerful members sanctioned change, bringing in religious directions. These are actually community matters and therefore unavoidable.
Dear Stanley Wilkin, Thank you very much for your views. However, Please don't get confused with my answering to the question. I didn't tell every one is born in a religion, but cited ' Almost all' and it us very natural in every region to find some rituals and practices as optional. That is, some religious functions bear high significance to its following people and some do less. There is, I think, no reasonable explanations to perform particular religious activities except unconditional faith.
Regards
Imdad
The lack of concern over the Sabbath may stem from the fact that not keeping the Sabbath doesn't harm anyone. The worthwhile commandments are subsumed by the Golden Rule: “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”, or if no others are directly involved, “do what you would have others do in your place”. To this I've added the corollary, “if what someone else does doesn’t harm anyone, mind your own business”. The corollary would apply to those who object to others' breaking the Sabbath.
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