We say it every year, and sometimes even rashly make resolutions. Truth to tell, 2012 will be as unpredictable and random as any year before it. Yet we live, as optimistic creatures, in hope. Surely that's the way it should be. Except of course for Calvinists and fundamentalist doomsdayers. Bah, humbug!
Apparently Liberty University, founded by Jerry Falwell, is providing unofficial endorsement for Newt Gingrich, the Republican hopeful. American politics puzzles me, but surely in any sane world, wouldn't Liberty's support mean tens of thousands of supporters immediately bolting from the Gingrich camp and signing up for Mitt Romney?
Meanwhile Samoans (citizens of Samoa, not nearby American Samoa) have proven once again what a very silly doctrine seventh-day sabbatarianism is. The Samoans have put yet anothing ding in the dateline, and Friday disappeared. This, of course, is problematic for Seventh-day Adventists, and presumably the few remaining devotees of Armstrongism in that part of the world. Do they worship on the new Saturday sabbath, or keep the seven-day cycle intact and so turn up for services on what is now Sunday, along with wicked Methodists and others? And if they do, will they share in the Mark of the Beast?
This is probably just as much a problem, technically speaking, for Calvinistic first-day sabbatarians who believe that only Sunday has upstairs endorsement because of an apparent Sunday resurrection. But they're probably all too busy spoiling other people's fun to notice.
Truth to tell, 2011 will be as unpredictable and random as any year before it.
ReplyDeleteVery good, Gavin!
Predicting the past is a GREAT way to assure accuracy.
Unfortunately, some have done it badly and got even predicting the past wrong (no examples should be necessary for our "shared" history).
I myself, am posting on New Year's but this year it will be different: I will predict what WON'T happen in 2012 (a more sure word of prophecy, rest assured)!
As for the International Dateline and the Sabbath: It should be on the east side just outside of the city of Jerusalem. That way the descendants of Ishmael and Esau will get the Sabbath last.
Well.
Some people think so.
And you, with your Spring Feast of Tabernacles. That's just wrong!
Happy New Year.
Unless, of course, you are Jewish or Chinese with your own different calendar, or you are a corporation with a different fiscal new year.
It's already 1/1/12 where you are but it is still 12/31/11 here. This seems to indicate a small problem with worldwide Sabbath observance.
ReplyDeleteResolutions?, naw, I don't need no stinking resolutions. I figure to be just as hardcore atheist as this year and just as hard for Xians to get along with - from now until I'm not here anymore.
Happy New Year! (in about an hour and a half).
For those of you who may wonder 2012: What's NOT Ahead! you may join The Supreme Commander in his non prediction.
ReplyDeleteSo, if you actually read the article, it says this:
ReplyDelete"The Seventh Day Adventist parish in Samoa's Samatau village has decided it will continue to observe the Sabbath day on Saturdays despite changes forced on the church by the westward switch of the dateline.
The original shift to the east side of the line was conducted in 1892 when Samoa celebrated July 4 twice, giving a nod to Independence Day in the US
The date line drawn by mapmakers is not mandated by any international body. By tradition, it runs roughly through the 180-degree line of longitude, but it zigzags to accommodate the choices of Pacific nations."
So, the Roman calendar dates have changed, so what? The seven-day week hasn't changed, which is why the SDAs are going to continue keeping the seventh day of the week, when it comes to them...technically, when they doubled the 4th of July, wouldn't they have gained the extra day that they are losing now? Which still doesn't affect the seven-day week, in fact, it brings them into parity with the seven-day cycle used by Australia, New Zealand, and Asia.
It's been a while since I've read Has Time Been Lost? but I think that was essentially how the Church figured that time hadn't, and hasn't, been lost, no matter what the calendars of man say.
I think you just missed the whole point Velvet...
ReplyDeleteVelvet...the post is not about keeping the Sabbath but in answer to your comment, I must say this:
ReplyDeleteThe Sabbath law states that the Sabbath is a day of rest that not only applies to you but applies to your animals and your servants and the strangers within your city gates. The electric co., the gas co., the cable co., the phone co. etc are all servants and they must rest too. And, if they don't, you have to stone them to death. Yes. That's part of the same law and unless you keep it all, you have broken it all.
Keeping the Sabbath is impossible outside of a theocratic state of Israel in their own land - because there is no way to enforce it. That's why Christians are not obligated to even observe it.
Even Jews, removed from their old theocracy, are only going through the motions of Sabbath observance and are not keeping the Sabbath law in its entirety. Fail in one point, fail in all, as Paul pointed out.
My recommendation to all the folks who believe that one must observe the sabbath as a prerequisite to salvation would be that they do a topical Bible Study encompassing all of the scriptures related to circumcision.
ReplyDeleteBB
Bob,
ReplyDeleteIn the Book of Acts there was great discussion if circumcision applied or not.
Don't recall they had any discussions if the Sabbath applied or not.