Thank you for answering my question regarding the Sabbath. I was pleasantly surprised that we could agree that the Sabbath was and is on the seventh day.

You clarifed that the Cathoic position for not keeping it on the seventh day was and is that the Sabbath is for the Jews only. My question in response to that would be two-part.

1. Can you show me anywhere in the Catholic or Protestant Bible that Jehovah or Jesus states that the Sabbath is Jewish?

2. If the Sabbath is a creation ordinance, then would it not be fair to say that that the Sabbath would not just be for the Jew?

Scott--

I have an article on the Sabbath that is scheduled to be published in the next issue of Catholic Answers Magazine (Jan.-Feb. '13). Please contact Catholic Answers' customer service department for information about obtaining a copy.

Rather than rehash the whole article here, I will limit myself to answering only your second point. The Sabbath is not a "creation ordinance." The word Sabbath never appears in the Book of Genesis. It first appears in the Book of Exodus, in which it is a holy day announced by Moses, making it a part of the Mosaic Law:

He [Moses] said to them, "This is what the Lord has commanded: 'Tomorrow is a day of solemn rest, a holy sabbath to the Lord; bake what you will bake and boil what you will boil, and all that is left over lay by to be kept till the morning'" (Exod. 16:23).

For more information, please see the article when it is published.

Michelle Arnold
Catholic Answers

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