My Southern Baptist/Campbellite Dad told me a while back that keeping the Sabbath was stupid since........get this........Constantine invented it! Maybe this is an old claim, but it sounds ridiculous to me. Is it true? Why would someone say that?

I am still keeping the Sabbath, I just want to know what you think.

The Sabbath was "invented" in Genesis 1.

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Patrick
OPC
MDiv, RTS Jackson.

"He does well, that discourses of Christ; but he does infinitely better, that by experimental knowledge, feeds and lives on Christ." Thomas Brooks.

I believe he meant "SunDay". Wasn't it constantine who implemented the term?

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Scott Bushey
Husband to Tina, father to Nicole, Danielle and Zoe
Member First Presbyterian Church of Margate PCA

Do you mean the sunday sabbath?
if so...

Ignatius, Irenaeus, Athanatius, Ambrose, Tertollian, Justin Martyr (just a few)...all mention the Christian sabbath.

here is a few...

Ignatius (35-107):
Irenaeus (125-202)

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Matthew Morales (Husband to Rachel)
Redeemer Presbyterian Church (Santa Rosa, CA)

"...But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word." Isaiah 66:2b (ESV)

"Judge not the Lord by feeble sense, But trust Him for his grace;
Behind a frowning providence He hides a smiling face"-William Cowper

Saturday is the Sabbath... darn Pope moved it.
:bigsmile:

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Ryan
1689 London Baptist Confession

Ryan,
Do you subscribe to the LBC 1689?

22.7 As it is the law of nature that a portion of time by God's appointment should be set apart for the worship of God, so in his Word he has given a positive, moral, and perpetual commandment, binding all people in all ages. In particular he has appointed one day in seven as a sabbath to be kept holy to him.1 From the beginning of the world to the resurrection of Christ this was the last day of the week, but from the resurrection of Christ it was changed to the first day of the week which is called the Lord's Day. This is to be continued to the end of the world as the Christian Sabbath, the observation of the last day of the week being abolished.2

(1) Gen 2:3; Exo 20:8-11; Mar 2:27-28; Rev 1:10
(2) Joh 20:1; Act 2:1; 20:7; 1Co 16:1; Rev 1:10; Col 2:16-17

22.8 People keep the sabbath holy to the Lord when (after appropriate preparation of their hearts and prior arrangement of their everyday affairs) they observe all day a holy rest from their own works, words, and thoughts1 about their secular employment and recreations, but also devote the whole time to public and private acts of worship, and to carrying out duties of necessity and mercy.2

(1) Exo 20:8-11; Neh 13:15-22; Isa 58:13-14; Rev 1:10
(2) Mat 12:1-13; Mar 2:27-28

[Edited on 2-22-2005 by Scott Bushey]

Constantine didn't invent the Sabbath. He was merely the first (professedly) "Christian" civil magistrate to enforce the Fourth Commandment.

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Andrew Myers
Husband of Jessica, Father of Jackson, Katie and Samuel
Member, Presbyterian Reformed Church of Northern Virginia
Warrenton, VA USA
Editor, The Matthew Poole Project

"Let your Morning Thoughts, and your last Evening Thoughts, be what shall become of you to all Eternity." -- Matthew Poole

I meant the Sunday Sabbath guys, sorry.

Constantine's Sabbath decree referred to the first day of the week, Sunday, or the "day of the Sun (Son)."

But he did not invent the Sunday Sabbath.

Correct. There were Pre-Nicene fathers that held to the Christian Sabbath (Lord's Day) before Constantine.

This is not much better than someone I heard say Constantine wrote the Bible... but much better than someone else who in a debate accused the Medieval Church inventing the history of Christianity and writting the Bible...

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Fraser,
Trinity Reformed Baptist Church
Hamilton, New Zealand.

Right. The Lord of the Sabbath is He who changed the day while retaining for us the Fourth Commandment and Sabbath rest.

The preservation of the Fourth Commandment and the changing of the day it is to be kept holy is articulated best, perhaps, by A.A. Hodge: http://apuritansmind.com/TheLordsDay/AAHodgeSabbath.htm