Saturday, June 02, 2012
"Six days thou shalt work, but on the seventh day thou shalt rest" -- Exodus 34:21
My recent very unpleasant medical problems have made me ask what is the best way forward in my life. To answer that question I turned to the wisest book I know: The Bible. And I found the quotation above. Following Bible advice has always worked wonderfully for me so I now intend to follow that piece of advice too. I intend from now on the keep the Sabbath and will blog only six days of the week instead of seven.
But it will be the real Sabbath I will keep, not the pagan abomination of the Sun's day. It was precisely because the pagans had set aside the first say of the week as a day to worship the sun that the ancient Hebrews defiantly made the seventh day of the week their holy say and I will follow their example. I will no longer blog on Saturday but will do other things.
But I will not be surrounding what I do with rules. As Jesus said, the Sabbath is made for man, not man for the Sabbath. The Bible simply says to do no work and that does not exclude doing all sorts of other things.
One of the things I would like to do today is to learn the words of the Stabat Mater in full. It is the most famous Medieval Latin poem and has been set by many composers -- with the glorious rendition by Pergolesi being best known. I already sort of know the poem but would like to be able to recite the whole thing right through without interruption. To be able to do that will be pleasure, not work. Latin poetry is wonderful even in a work of Marian devotion.
Stabat mater dolorosa
Juxta crucem lacrimosa
Dum pendebat filius
Cuius animam gementem
contristatam et dolentem
Pertransivit gladius ... etc
The is a video from Italy here which offers a respectful version of the first part of the Pergolesi masterpiece. If it's a techno beat you like, you will hate it. This is a work of profound contemplation about the central event of the Christian faith. Even I as an atheist can feel the power of it.
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22 comments:
So rather than be just another mindless religious robot, mindlessly and aimlessly and blindly believing that all of this is in the hands of some spooky incompetent father figure who doesn't give a shit, I decided to look around for something else to worship. Something I could really count on.
And immediately, I thought of the sun. Happened like that. Overnight I became a sun-worshipper. Well, not overnight, you can't see the sun at night. But first thing the next morning, I became a sun-worshipper. Several reasons. First of all, I can see the sun, okay? Unlike some other gods I could mention, I can actually see the sun. I'm big on that. If I can see something, I don't know, it kind of helps the credibility along, you know? So everyday I can see the sun, as it gives me everything I need; heat, light, food, flowers in the park, reflections on the lake, an occasional skin cancer, but hey. At least there are no crucifixions, and we're not setting people on fire simply because they don't agree with us.
Sun worship is fairly simple. There's no mystery, no miracles, no pageantry, no one asks for money, there are no songs to learn, and we don't have a special building where we all gather once a week to compare clothing. And the best thing about the sun, it never tells me I'm unworthy. Doesn't tell me I'm a bad person who needs to be saved. Hasn't said an unkind word. Treats me fine. So, I worship the sun. But, I don't pray to the sun. Know why? I wouldn't presume on our friendship. It's not polite.
-- George Carlin
I see that the seed has been planted. I pray that you will come to know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.
Most religions, including the Judeo-Christian ones, have their origins in Sun-worship; and why not when to primitive people that was an obvious candidate for a supreme god, and indeed it is the source of all our material energy.
2:50 AM - JJ is (and always has) been "sucking-up" to his majority Christian readers like you, while claiming to be an atheist. Perhaps his brush with death or at least mortality has scared him a bit (although death is natural and comes to us all), but it's quite possible to be impressed by human-authored poetry and music even if inspired by religious indoctrination. Even "arch-atheist" Professor Dawkins says he's a "cultural Christian" who attends churches for the asthetic appreciation of music and literature.
Trolls sure are scared by those non-believers open-minded enough to nonetheless admire a religion and to assess it sans the knee-jerk snark.
I guess it's that contrast to themselves that so frightens the trolls. Sure happens a lot.
If we keep chipping away at this rate, we'll have you baptized by Christmas! ;o]
Seriously, though - take it easy, and get/stay healthy!
With religion aside, it's simply a good idea, for all of us, to kinda put your life in neutral once in a while.... All the best Jon.
It's a commonly held belief that Constantine implemented Sunday worship in 321 as part of integrating pagan worship into Christianity. But that's simply not true.
Somewhere between 150 and 165 (probably closer to 150 because there were at least two subsequent books) Justin Martyr wrote a book named "Apology". In it, he had this to say about Christian worship:
And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons. And they who are well to do, and willing, give what each thinks fit; and what is collected is deposited with the president, who succours the orphans and widows and those who, through sickness or any other cause, are in want, and those who are in bonds and the strangers sojourning among us, and in a word takes care of all who are in need. But Sunday is the day on which we all hold our common assembly, because it is the first day on which God, having wrought a change in the darkness and matter, made the world; and Jesus Christ our Saviour on the same day rose from the dead. For He was crucified on the day before that of Saturn (Saturday); and on the day after that of Saturn, which is the day of the Sun, having appeared to His apostles and disciples, He taught them these things,
This passage shows several things:
1) Sunday worship was already a common practice more than 150 years before Constantine's edict. This means that Constantine did not implement Sunday worship, he took an existing practice by the Christians and applied it to everyone.
2) He gives reasons for worship being on Sunday, especially since that's the day the Resurrection happened. Pentecost, when the apostles received the Holy Spirit was also a Sunday. Thus, the apostles began calling that day of the week "the Lord's Day", actively avoiding using "Sunday" for at least a century because of the pagan origin of the name.
3) He says this practice came from the "apostles and disciples," and that Jesus taught it to them. This makes it a Day One practice, not a pagan source.
…continued…
There's a few other references to take note of:
Ignatius, a disciple of the Apostle John, and the bishop of Antioch, wrote to the Magnesians in the early years of the 2nd cent., describing Christians with a Jewish background as those who “have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in observance of the Lord’s Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death” (Magnesians 9:1–3).
— from Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible
Ignatius lived from 35 to 107. Notice how the title, "the Lord's Day" reflect's John's own use of the term:
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet
— Revelation 1:10
Acts states that Paul took advantage of what was apparently a regular practice of meeting on Sunday:
On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight.
— Acts 20:7
(Note that the apostles were also gathered on Resurrection Sunday and Pentecost Sunday.)
Paul also made a point of stating that particular days do not matter for Christians, including the Sabbath:
One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.
— Romans 14:5–6
Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath.
— Colossians 2:16
In short, Sunday worship did not come from Pagan sources, it was an early practice beginning with the apostles and their disciples. The Sabbath is not binding on New Testament Christians.
That said, taking a day of rest (no matter which day) is important for us. I congratulate you on your decision.
And he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.”
— Mark 2:27
I just finished listening to that music. Beautiful stuff. Thanks for the link, Jon.
Shabbat shalom.
I do enjoy getting trolls to self-identify. Thanks for playing, troll, even tho you had no idea that you were.
P.S.
JJR, gorgeous music! Thanks!
I, for one, appreciated Luke's comments and insights. But then, I'm not a weenie little troll.
Anyway, thanks Luke. Your efforts to explain - and explain well - are always welcome.
Thank you, stinky.
Don't let the troll bug you. I expected exactly that type of response from him. He has repeatedly demonstrated that doesn't care about what's true.
I understand the song ONWARD CHRISTIAN SOLDERS offends liberals THE BETTER MORE TO PLAY IT
Interesting comments about early Christian practice
But it was the Old Testament that influenced me and there is no doubt about their Sabbath and their attitude to pagan practice
Luke and his references are not necessarily correct as regards the subject discussed, and those who disagree with him and some other posters here are not necessarily "trolls" (or the same term could apply to anyone who has a point of view that opposes somebody else).
Yes, there is a possibility that I could be wrong. I am, after all, human.
The appropriate response in that case would be to present evidence and make a sound rational case; in other words, debate the topic like civilized human beings. What the troll routinely posts is the exact opposite. The 10:36 post is a prime example.
Jon,
Out of curiosity, why Old Testament Judaism and not New Testament + Old Testament Christianity?
Why the old testament? Because it has lots of sex and violence, the staple of a conservative.
And 2:33 now returns you to his regularly scheduled trolling.
And Luke now returns you to his regularly scheduled delusions.
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