Ferry sails despite prayers

Tabnabs

PROTESTERS PRAYED and sang psalms as the first Sunday ferry set sail from Stornoway on the Hebridean Island of Lewis for the Scottish mainland yesterday.

After a long and vociferous campaign by churches and the Lord’s Day Observance Society to keep the Sabbath holy, ferry operators Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac) finally broke with tradition to launch a regular Sunday service to Ullapool.

Gathered behind a banner reading “Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy”, a group of women wiped away tears as cars were loaded aboard the MV Isle of Lewis. But another group of several hundred people applauded.

The service was introduced after CalMac claimed it would be unlawful to refuse to run a service because of the views of just a part of the community.

But the Rev James Tallach, of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, said: “CalMac made a great play that they must keep the law. Well, I ask them, what about the law of God?”

Uisead Macleod, a spokesman for the Campaign for 7 Days sailings, said that the majority of islanders were in favour of the Sunday service. – (Guardian news)

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/world/2009/0720/1224250946962.html

Seaneh

I'd love to point out the fact that the sabbath is a saturday to these people...

also, it's a jewish law, means nothing to Christians.

Coriolanus

I thought there was something about Jesus saying that all the laws that were held to previously were still legit, or at least a passage that some interpret as such?

PDN

Nevore wrote: »

I thought there was something about Jesus saying that all the laws that were held to previously were still legit, or at least a passage that some interpret as such?

Jesus said that none of the law would pass away until 'everything is accomplished'. It has been the Christian position from the church's first generation of believers and the earliest New Testament books written that the law was fulfilled in Christ's death upon the Cross. The ceremonial Jewish law (including circumcision, shellfish and sabbaths) were types and shadows that paved the way for Jesus and so now are no longer obilgations on us.

Coriolanus

Ah, I thought it was the Second coming that was supposed to be the "everything was accomplished" clincher.

Is what you said a more or less universal Christian view on things? What I mean is, do Catholics etc have some other motivation for Sunday observance etc do you know?

philologos

Sunday is the day of worship because Christ rose again on Easter Sunday. Not the sabbath. However certain groups argue that the Sabbath moved from the seventh day to Sunday the first.

Pompey Magnus

PDN wrote: »

It has been the Christian position from the church's first generation of believers and the earliest New Testament books written that the law was fulfilled in Christ's death upon the Cross.

I'm not sure you can make such a conclusive statement that this was the position of the first generation of believers, the evidence of what the earliest Christians believed is extremely scarce and that which does exist would not support such a claim. Paul's letter to the Galatians was written in the late 40s to early 50s AD, so is very early, and it shows that there were Christian apostles who were teaching that the Jewish law must still be obeyed, and it is possible that the same was happening in Corinth in his 2nd letter to the Corinthians where the Hebrew "super-apostles" were preaching with some success.

Add onto this the position of Matthew who claimed that anyone who teaches others to break the Law will be called least in the kingdom of Heaven, in fact Jesus intensifies the Law.

An interesting point to bring up is that in Mark 13:18 Jesus is describing the apocalypse and speaks of the coming disasters, he tells his disciples to "pray that it not happen in winter". Matthew took this verse from Mark, but added to it. In Matthew 24:20 Jesus says "Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on a sabbath". Why? Because extensive travel is forbidden by the Law, Matthew reveals here that he assumes sabbath observance will continue to be followed after Jesus' death.

The Jewish Christians continued to follow the Jewish law and so would have followed the commandment to keep holy the Sabbath, so to say that the Christian position from the beginning was that the Law was no longer required is inaccurate, it may have been a position but it was not the only one and there is no reason to assume that it was even the majority position.