Traditions of men

[praise_yeshua]

So, apparently, this thread is all about working on Sunday.  The notion that we should do no work on Sunday to celebrate the Sabbath is bogus.  Once, I was trimming the hedges on Sunday afternoon between services.  It was the only time I had - I was working ALOT.  Some two-bit member drove by, pulled over and hollered out the window at me rather irate that I would be working on the Sabbath.  My response?  "If Jesus worked in the field on the Sabbath, I can work in my yard.  Just trying to like Jesus!"  They drove away.

It kinda turned into that didn't it.

There are plenty of traditions of men. I just started with one.

I'll add another....

For as long as I remember, I was told to not eat in the "church". That God wasn't pleased if you "eat" in church. That's what the fellowship hall was all about. I never understood it as a kid but its either listen or get punished..... and many of you know what kind of punishment that meant....

I remember many years later reading Paul's second letter to Corinth (some of you'll get the reference to the "second" letter and some will not) in chapter 11 about Paul's condemnation of those in Corinth who were turning the "Lord Supper" into a party. It dawned on me that this was the reason that I'd been forbidden to "eat" anything inside the church. The only problem is...... The verse in question, talks about eating at one's own house.

1Co 11:22  What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

I thought... wait a minute. I get what Paul was saying. He was saying that church should be about church.... and social events..... should be about social events. That the type "social events/fellowship" of this world shouldn't be reflected in the ministry or fellowship of the church.....

But in good old hypocrite fashion.... we took this truth and turned it into a tradition. We won't dare eat in the "church" but we'll go next door to the "fellowship hall" and throw a party in heart beat. We'll invite JUST the people we want to attend.... JUST, when we want them to attend and we'll be alright because we're not eating in the "church" like the bible teaches....

If it wasn't so sad..... it would be down right comical how tradition has ruined a very important teaching in the Scriptures. That everyone is important to God and equal in fellowship among God's own.... regardless of social structures. That the "church" isn't a place of division and separation from those who have and those who have not. A place where the "in crowd" and the "out crowd" have their own separate fellowships based on who likes who.....

 

[Smellin Coffee]

So, apparently, this thread is all about working on Sunday.  The notion that we should do no work on Sunday to celebrate the Sabbath is bogus.  Once, I was trimming the hedges on Sunday afternoon between services.  It was the only time I had - I was working ALOT.  Some two-bit member drove by, pulled over and hollered out the window at me rather irate that I would be working on the Sabbath.  My response?  "If Jesus worked in the field on the Sabbath, I can work in my yard.  Just trying to like Jesus!"  They drove away.

It kinda turned into that didn't it.

There are plenty of traditions of men. I just started with one.

I'll add another....

For as long as I remember, I was told to not eat in the "church". That God wasn't pleased if you "eat" in church. That's what the fellowship hall was all about. I never understood it as a kid but its either listen or get punished..... and many of you know what kind of punishment that meant....

I remember many years later reading Paul's second letter to Corinth (some of you'll get the reference to the "second" letter and some will not) in chapter 11 about Paul's condemnation of those in Corinth who were turning the "Lord Supper" into a party. It dawned on me that this was the reason that I'd been forbidden to "eat" anything inside the church. The only problem is...... The verse in question, talks about eating at one's own house.

1Co 11:22  What? have ye not houses to eat and to drink in? or despise ye the church of God, and shame them that have not? What shall I say to you? shall I praise you in this? I praise you not.

I thought... wait a minute. I get what Paul was saying. He was saying that church should be about church.... and social events..... should be about social events. That the type "social events/fellowship" of this world shouldn't be reflected in the ministry or fellowship of the church.....

But in good old hypocrite fashion.... we took this truth and turned it into a tradition. We won't dare eat in the "church" but we'll go next door to the "fellowship hall" and throw a party in heart beat. We'll invite JUST the people we want to attend.... JUST, when we want them to attend and we'll be alright because we're not eating in the "church" like the bible teaches....

If it wasn't so sad..... it would be down right comical how tradition has ruined a very important teaching in the Scriptures. That everyone is important to God and equal in fellowship among God's own.... regardless of social structures. That the "church" isn't a place of division and separation from those who have and those who have not. A place where the "in crowd" and the "out crowd" have their own separate fellowships based on who likes who.....

A missionary friend of mine was one time visiting a church in I think it was Thailand or the Philippines.  There were folding chairs in the assembly and so his wife put her Bible on the floor while she took off her coat. She couldn't figure out why nobody would approach her until later the pastor said it was offensive in that culture to place one's Bible on the floor.

So sometimes one's culture plays a part in human tradition.

 

[sword]

What about wire rimmed glasses.

Do any of you remember the day when these were preached against?

 

[subllibrm]

What about wire rimmed glasses.

Do any of you remember the day when these were preached against?

No one noticed mine because they were too offended by my beard.

 

[bgwilkinson]

What about wire rimmed glasses.

Do any of you remember the day when these were preached against?

No but I remember the preaching that party line telephones were of the devil.

 

[Just John]

What about wire rimmed glasses.

Do any of you remember the day when these were preached against?

Yeah, a few of the fundy universities had rules against them as I recall. Can you imagine?  Crazy!!!!

 

[JrChurch]

There must be an unwritten No Lawn Mowers Allowed on Sunday rule in our neighborhood.  We have lived here 18 years and I have never seen/heard a mower on Sunday.