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The End of Many Books

The Christian Sabbath

by R.L. Dabney

I’d been reading Dabney on preaching sermons, so I picked this up when I wanted more about understanding the Sabbath. It was much better than Chantry’s Call the Sabbath a Delight, mostly because Dabney at least offered some arguments for Sunday as Christian Sabbath rather than just assuming it. He started with reasons rather than jumping straight to rebuke.

That said, I was still unconvinced.

My purpose in this review is to express my thanks for the resource, even to recommend it for the pro-Sunday-as-Sabbath side. Shouldn’t we be able to read and appreciate arguments and even learn stuff?

There are no new points. He takes the reference to the seven-day-week of creation in the Fourth Commandment as proof that the Sabbath is a creational ordinance, so affirmed by but not limited to the Mosaic Law. He also assumes that #4 must continue after Jesus, and because we have some history of the early-centuries Christians meeting on Sundays, they must have transferred the day-of-meeting. I’d see both of those as sabbath principles but not Mosaic Covenant Sabbath proper. (Here’s the sermon where I tried to explain that more.)

Anyway, I’m glad I read it.

4 of 5 stars

Categories
The End of Many Books

Call the Sabbath a Delight

by Walter Chantry

May 2019: 3/5 stars. Reread this with the elders at our church and, while I’m still glad I read it, realized that it assumes some of what it needs to argue for. In other words, it says more about Sabbath how without sufficient proof for Sabbath moral must. I do plan to read some more about the subject, but have changed my mind about recommending this book.


December 2018: 4/5 stars. Chantry makes a good and brief case for Christian sabbathing on the first day of the week. I need to think about it some more, but I’m glad I read it and would definitely recommend it.

3 of 5 stars