Parade doesn’t tread on liberty

I appreciate that the Fourth of July parade in Wasilla provided a community activity to celebrate founding of our nation that gave us religious liberty, a concept unknown in the old world from which our forefathers fled.

In response to the July 6 Spectrum column by Greg DeHart about the parade, I agree the sponsors should have delayed the parade if possible to later in the day to accommodate those attending Sunday morning church services. However, DeHart went beyond reason and fact with statements such as not regarding “the faith of God nor the people’s right to such a faith,” “where God and his laws are excluded” and “the Sabbath” commandment confounded with Sunday rest/worship. Although consideration by public officials may have been lacking, with due respect for DeHart’s convictions and tradition, religious liberty was not trampled and neither was a Sunday parade a violation of God’s law.

Since he invoked argument from history and scriptural admonition for Sunday (Sabbath) rest and worship, I am replying in kind.

First, I agree that worship on the first day of the week, or Sunday, is traditional for most Christians, but not biblical. Popularly called “The Lord’s Day,” Sunday is the first day of the week, but according to the Bible, God claims only the seventh day in remembrance as Creator.

Since most of the Christian world has forgotten the seventh day Sabbath in honor of the Creator, it follows as no surprise that belief is compromised in the six-day creative work of God as described in Genesis. Although most Christians honor a first-day tradition despite the commandment to “remember” the seventh day, few ever investigate how the change occurred after the apostolic era.

Historically, the evolution of Sunday keeping by the Christian Church began with the politically correct merger of paganism (traditional sun worshipers) and early Christians (of Sabbath tradition) in the Roman Empire, culminating in the first Sun-day law to be proclaimed in 321 A.D. by Emperor Constantine (in which venerable day of the Sun signifies its pagan origin).

Roman persecution of the early Jewish-Gentile church and identification with nationalist Jewish political uprisings made seventh-day worship hazardous in many quarters, so aligning with pagans on Sunday became a convenient compromise and was codified into canon law by medieval church councils by the fifth century A.D., with persecution in its wake.

DeHart mentions being true to the “Gospel,” and would understand the New Testament is a covenant, like the Old Testament, that was sealed by blood of sacrifice, as was our national independence. Once God’s will and covenant is sealed by blood (death of the testator), it cannot be changed (Gal 3:15; Heb 9:16-17).

If it’s claimed that Sunday sacredness began immediately following the resurrection of Christ, unfortunately even that was too late to be in Christ’s new covenant (Jesus was a Jew who observed the seventh day rest even in death). Note that the Fourth Commandment (Exodus 20:8-11) Hebrew text uses a definite article to identify “the” seventh day (not “any” or “a” of personal preference), and even the word “Sabbath” identifies the seal or sign of the father.

The seven-day week has its origin in Genesis with no sidereal cycle as a basis, and the weekly sequence of days has not changed as witnessed by more than 120 languages from many diverse and non-Semitic cultures that use the word “Sabbath” to identify the seventh day and showing the day was known by mankind from antiquity.

Religious liberty is a sacred trust that today is threatened by Sunday closing laws returning in the old world, and it won’t be long before they are agitated here, as a national Sunday law was in 1888 before the U.S. Senate. Considering our unique separation of church and state, it is fitting to recall that era in which the state enforced the dictates of the church, known as the “Dark Ages,” where persecution and inquisition were used by law to dissuade religious dissenters and free thinkers.

Our nation’s founders knew well how the dungeon, rack and stake were used by kings and prelates to coerce “acceptable” worship and discourage the dreaded pestilential error of religious liberty. There are advocates of adopting church canon law into the civil code with a just penalty for violations, but historically it breeds persecution.

Respect for a worship day is an individual choice (see Rom 14:5-6) and it is significant that the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, authored and signed by our God-fearing founders, prohibits Congress from legislating for or against the practice of religion, with the understanding that such freedom is God-given and shall not infringe the rights of others.

Americans and Christians above all should understand the concept of religious liberty, to practice their faith without interference from Caesar (2 Cor 3:17). In matters of religion, let each be persuaded in their own mind and give liberty to those who don’t share your conviction.

William Stam is a Palmer resident.