From: fostma@saturn.wwc.edu (Mark Gregory Foster)
Subject: Re: Sabbath Admissions 5of5
Organization: Walla Walla College
Lines: 60

In article <Apr.15.00.58.33.1993.28906@athos.rutgers.edu> dlecoint@garnet.acns.fsu.edu (Darius_Lecointe) writes:

[FAQ and Darius' response deleted]

>Darius

>[It's not clear how much more needs to be said other than the FAQ.  I
>think Paul's comments on esteeming one day over another (Rom 14) is
>probably all that needs to be said.  I accept that Darius is doing
>what he does in honor of the Lord.  I just wish he might equally
>accept that those who "esteem all days alike" are similarly doing
>their best to honor the Lord.

I am myself an SDA and I am in total agreement with what Darius has to say.  
I also worship on Saturday to honor the Lord.  Your mention of "[esteeming] 
all days alike" IMO has to do with the fast days observed by the Jews.  But 
no matter how you interpret that passage, I do accept your worship on Sunday 
as being done in honor of the Lord, in contrast with what many of my fellow 
SDA believers may believe.  To me, though, the bible overwhelmingly points 
to Saturday as the day to be kept in honor of creation and of God's 
deliverance of the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.  To those who would 
attempt to point out that my observance of Saturday is being legalistic, 
this is simply not the case.  Rather, keeping Saturday allows me a full day 
to rest and contemplate God's goodness and grace.

>
>However I'd like to be clear that I do not think there's unambiguous
>proof that regular Christian worship was on the first day.  As I
>indicated, there are responses on both of the passages cited.

>Similarly with 1 Cor 16:2.  It says
>that on the first day they should set aside money for Paul's
>collection.  Now if you want to believe that they gathered specially
>to do this, or that they did it in their homes, I can't disprove it,
>but the obvious time for a congregation to take an offering would be
>when they normally gather for worship, and if they were expected to do
>it in their homes there would be no reason to mention a specific day.

The idea was introduced to me once that the reason Paul wanted the 
Corinthians to lay aside money for the collection on the first day of the 
week was because that was when they received their weekly wages.  Paul 
wanted them to lay aside money for the collection as first priority, before 
spending their money on other things.  I do not have any proof in front of 
me for this though, although it would explain why they would lay aside money 
in their homes instead of a meeting.  

>So I think the most obvious reading of this is that "on the first day
>of every week" simply means every time they gather for worship.  
>
>I think the reason we have only implications and not clear statements
>is that the NT authors assumed that their readers knew when Christian
>worship was.

It would seem to me that you assume that the christians in the NT regularly 
worshipped on the first day.  I assume that the christians in the NT 
regularly worshipped on the seventh day.  But I agree with you that we only 
have implications because the authors did assume the reader knew when worhip 
was.

--Mark
