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April 23, 2014

House of New Beginnings
Polycrates, the Gospel, and The Torah


















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The First Century
One of the key passages used by Protestant Christianity to teach
that Paul instructed Christian Gentiles not to observe the Biblical
Feast Days (the Appointed Times of Genesis 1:14 and Leviticus
23) is found in Colossians 2:16-17. Different translations have
also assisted in this by "adding words to the original text"
(NASB) and some have actually changed what the underlying
Greek text said in order to make their case (NIV).
Recently (1996), a Professor of Religious Studies at Chicago's
Saint Xavier University, Dr. Troy Martin, has examined this
passage in great detail (and the bigger picture contained therein)
and has come to the conclusion that this passage does not
support Protestant Christianity's position at all. Here's how he
explains it.
He began by asking the following question: "How did Paul's'
communities reckon time?"
"Only by avoiding time-keeping altogether or by adhering to the
Jewish calendar [could] the Pauline communities escape idolatrous
alternatives. Other time-keeping systems name the days and the
months after pagan deities and mark out the seasons by pagan rites."
"In contrast, the Jews distinguish the seasons by festivals that
obviously have no pagan connotations. They recognize the months by
new moons and name these months using agricultural terms. They
designate the week by Sabbaths, and beginning from the Sabbath, they
number, instead of name, the days of the week one through six. The
only options available to Paul and his communities are Jewish, pagan,
or no time-keeping system at all, and the evidence indicates they opt
for the former."
"By Philosophy and Empty Deceit" Colossians as Response to a
Cynic Critique. Journal for the Study of the New Testament,
Supplement Series 118. Sheffield: Sheffield Academic Press, 1996,
pp. 125-127
"The references to time in Paul's Epistle to the Corinthians
exclusively reflect the adoption of a Jewish calendar. He builds
an elaborate argument based upon the festivals of Passover and
unleavened bread (1 Cor. 5:6-8) to exhort the Corinthians, 'Let us
keep the festival' (1 Cor. 5:8)."
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"Although the temporal references in Paul's letters are sparse, 1
Corinthians provides strong evidence for the Pauline adoption of
the Jewish practice that marked time by festivals and Sabbaths."
Dr. Troy Martin, Pagan and Judeo-Christian Time-keeping Schemes
in Galatians 4:10 and Colossians 2:16, Journal of New Testament
Studies, 42 (1996), pp. 108-109. [see below]
Dr. Martin's research on time keeping schemes presents an
interesting evaluation of the options that Paul's new Gentile
believers faced. Since we know that the Jews that became
believers continued in the Torah including the Biblical calendar,
it makes sense that the Gentile community would be taught
along those same lines.
Before continuing with Dr. Martin's analysis, let's make our selves
aware of what the passage is saying, and who is saying what.
The question before us now is whether Paul, in Colossians 2:16-
17, is approving or disapproving of the Gentile observance of the
Biblical Holy days. Historically speaking, this text has been
interpreted as a Pauline condemnation of these Biblical Holy
days. Nevertheless, a closer examination discloses that this
interpretation is incorrect. We submit that Paul is not warning
the Colossians against observing the Biblical Holy days but
instead is warning against those who would attempt to judge
how they observed them. Removing the parenthetical statement
gives us "Therefore, let no one judge your eating and
drinking during the Biblical Holy days...except the body of
Christ." Verse 20 clearly denotes that "the judge who passes
judgment" is not Paul, but the false teachers in Colossae who
would impose "regulations" on how to observe these practices in
order to achieve 'rigor of devotion and self-abasement and
severity to the body (v 23). We know this because Paul defines
these things as commandments and doctrines of men (v22). Do
the scholars concur?
D. R. De Lacey, writing in the symposium From Sabbath to Lord's
Day, rightly comments: "The judge is likely to be a man of ascetic
tendencies who objects to the Colossians' eating and drinking.
The most natural way of taking the rest of the passage is not
that he also imposes a ritual of feast days, but rather that he
objects to certain elements of such observation."
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He concludes by saying "Here again (Col 2:16), then, it seems
that Paul could happily countenance Sabbathkeeping "
D. R. De Lacey, "The Sabbath/Sunday Question and the Law in the Pauline
Corpus," From Sabbath to Lord's Day: A Biblical, Historical, & Theological
Investigation, ed. Donald A. Carson (Grand Rapids, 1982), p. 182.
Samuele Bacchiocchi concurs when he says "Presumably the
'judge,' that is, the false teachers, wanted the community to
observe these practices in a more ascetic way ('severity to the
body' - 2:23, 21); to put it crudely, the false teachers wanted the
Colossian believers to do less feasting and more fasting."
God's Festivals in Scripture and History by Samuele Bacchiocchi
"By warning against the right of the false teachers to 'pass
judgment' on how to observe Holy Days, Paul is challenging not
the validity of the Holy Days themselves, but the authority of
the false teachers to legislate on the manner of their observance.
The obvious implication is that Paul in this text is expressing not
a condemnation but an approbation of the mentioned practices,
which included the Holy Days."
Samuele Bacchiocchi adds that "Paul's warning against the
stringent 'regulations' of the false teachers can hardly be
interpreted as a condemnation of Mosaic laws regarding food and
festivals, since what the apostle condemns is not the teachings of
Moses but the false teachers attempt to regulate their observance
through the perversions that included a more ascetic lifestyle."
After establishing that the early Gentile Christians adhered to
the Biblical calendar over a pagan calendar, Dr. Martin takes a
closer look at the passage in question.
This example is an article cited earlier "Pagan and Judeo-Christian
Time-keeping Schemes in Galatians 4:10 and Colossians 2:16," by
Dr. Troy Martin, Professor at Saint Xavier University in Chicago.
The article appeared in the 1996 Spring issue of the scholarly
journal New Testament Studies. Dr. Martin wrote: "This essay
provides evidence that the Pauline community at Colossae, not
the opponents, practiced the temporal schemes outlined by Col
2:16. This investigation into the function of the list in Col
2:16 indicates that the Colossian Christians, not their critics,
participate in a religious calendar that includes festivals, new
moons, and Sabbaths." (p 111)
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Dr. Martin reached the same conclusions in an earlier essay on
Col 2:17, published in the Journal of Biblical Literature, where he
wrote: "The preceding grammatical and syntactical investigation
of the clause to de soma tou Christou [but the body of Christ] in
Colossians 2:17 suggests that the practices mentioned in 2:16 are
those of the Colossian Christians and not the opponents. early
Christians observe both feasts and sabbaths."
Dr. Troy Martin, "But Let Everyone Discern the Body of Christ
(Col 2:17)," Journal of Biblical Literature 114/2 (1995), p. 255.
Comparison of Colossians 2:16 and Galatians 4:10.
A significant contribution of Dr. Martin's research is his analysis
of the difference between the time-keeping schemes found in
Galatians 4:10 ("days, and months, and seasons, and years") and
that found in Colossians 2:16 ("festivals or a new moon or
Sabbaths"). Dr. Martin shows that while the list in Colossians
2:16 is unquestionably Jewish because the temporal categories of
festival, new moon and Sabbaths are characteristic of the Jewish
religious calendar, the list in Galatians 4:10 "describes a pagan
calendar unacceptable to Paul and his communities."
(p. 119)
Dr. Martin reaches this conclusion by examining, not only the
time structure of pagan calendars, but especially the immediate
context where Paul condemns the Galatians' attempt to return to
their pagan practices (Gal 4:8-9) by reverting to the use of their
pagan calendar. "As the immediate context clearly states, Paul is
worried that he has labored for the Galatians in vain since they
have returned to their former pagan life as evidenced by their
renewed pre-conversion reckoning of time. Because of its
association with idolatry and false deities, marking time
according to this pagan scheme is tantamount to rejecting Paul's
Gospel and the one and only true God it proclaims (4:8-9). Gal
4:10, therefore, stipulates that when the Galatians accepted
Paul's Gospel with its aversion to idolatry (4:8), they discarded
their pagan method of reckoning time. A comparison of these
lists demonstrates that the Gentile conversion to Paul's gospel
involves rejection of idolatrous pagan temporal schemes in favor
of the Jewish liturgical calendar." (p. 117, 119.)
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The conclusion of Dr. Martin that the Gentiles' conversion to the
Gospel involved the rejection of their pagan calendar built upon
the idolatrous worship of many gods, and the adoption of the
Jewish religious calendar represents a significant breakthrough
in our understanding of the teachings of the apostolic
community to the Gentiles in the first century.
The Structure of certain Gospels leads to an interesting
conclusion
The study of the literary structure of certain New Testament
books has led scholars to conclude that the apostolic church
adopted the Biblical Feast calendar system as found in the Old
Testament.
Dr. Philip Carrington, former Archbishop of Quebec, finds
indications of the observance of the Biblical Feasts in the
liturgical use of some New Testament books. For example,
regarding the Corinthian epistles he wrote: "The rich liturgical
material of the Corinthian epistles, which is closely connected
with a gospel tradition, makes it perfectly evident that a
Christianized form of the Hebrew Calendar was then in existence,
so that it would have been possible and even quite natural for
Mark to have arranged his gospel for the liturgical year with a
view to having it read in the churches"...There is no reason to
think that there ever was a form of Christianity anywhere which
dispensed with this [Hebrew] Calendar." Emphasis mine
"In the Gospel of St. Mark," continues Dr. Carrington, "we found
lections [Scripture readings] which we felt obliged to associate
with the autumn solemnities of the New Year, the Day of
Atonement, and the Feast of Tabernacles." If Dr. Carrington's
conclusion is correct, it would support a Christianized observance
of the Fall Feasts in the apostolic church.
Dr. Philip Carrington, the Primitive Christian Calendar (Cambridge
University Press, 1952), pp. 43-44.
In the end, considering the re-evaluation of Colossians 2, Acts
and 1 Corinthians, and the Greek text of Mark with the divisions
for the Hebrew Liturgical year embedded in the text make a
strong case for the apostolic requirement of rejecting idolatrous
pagan temporal schemes in favor of following the Biblical
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calendar in the first century. Now let's consider the history of
the early church all the way to the end of the second century
with bishops who were placed into office by the apostles
themselves and what they have to say concerning keeping the
feasts when given the option to stop.
The Second Century
Now that we have begun to make a case for the Biblical calendar
as the calendar that early Gentile communities used, let's
continue our examination by moving into the second century.
First, let's establish the personalities that we will be referencing.
The Apostles John and Philip, John the Elder, and Philip the
Evangelist are found in the New Testament. The rest of this list
are either bishops leading churches in the second century or
historians of early Christianity. (Dates are approximate)
Irenaeus - Bishop of Lyons (115 - 202)
Polycarp - Bishop of Smyrna (66 - 156)
Anicetus - Bishop of Rome (150)
Victor - Bishop of Rome (190)
Polycrates - Bishop of Ephesus (190)
Eusebius - Historian (263 - 339)
Epiphanius - Historian (320 - 403)
The two that we will focus on are Polycarp and Polycrates with
the others filling in with historical information as we proceed.
As beginning background on Polycarp, we turn to Irenaeus.
Adversus Haeres. Book III, Chapter 4, v 3 and Chapter 3, v 4
"But Polycarp also was not only instructed by apostles, and
conversed with many who had seen Christ, but was also, by
apostles in Asia, appointed bishop of the Church in Smyrna,
whom I also saw in my early youth, for he tarried [on earth] a
very long time, and, when a very old man, gloriously and most
nobly suffering martyrdom, departed this life, having always
taught the things which he had learned from the apostles,
and which the Church has handed down, and which alone are
true. To these things all the Asiatic Churches testify, as do also
those men who have succeeded Polycarp down to the present
time."
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Polycarp was the author of a letter to the Philippians. In this
letter he mentions Paul several times. Whatever Polycarp
understood from Paul's writings, he esteemed him highly using
terms like "the blessed and glorious Paul" and commenting that
"Paul was obedient to the word of righteousness." He did not
consider him to be an apostate from the law, as some did.
Around 150 CE, Polycarp went to Rome to visit with the bishop
there, Anicetus. The discussion is detailed in Irenaeus Adv.
Haer., III.3.4.
A controversy had arisen concerning the keeping of Passover.
The Roman church had stopped observing it so Polycarp went to
visit Anicetus to discuss the matter. During their discussion,
Anicetus attempted to persuade Polycarp to stop following the
teachings he had learned from the apostles and John, the
disciple of our Lord, and to start following a tradition that had
begun once Gentile bishops took the reigns of leadership in
Jerusalem (after 135 CE). Polycarp refused. On the flip side,
Polycarp attempted to persuade Anicetus to go back to the
teachings of the apostles but Anicetus said he was bound to
adhere to the traditions that had been recently established by
the presbyters who preceded him there in Rome.
Who were these presbyters that preceded Anicetus?
Iraeneaus points back to Bishop Soter and eventually Pius (114-
145).
Epiphanius makes reference to the first 15 bishops of the
Jerusalem assembly.
Epiphanius - " the controversy arose after the exodus of the
bishops of the circumcision (135) and it has continued until our
time (315 - 403)."
Polycarp and Anicetus never reached an agreement about the
requirement to observe Passover.
Now we take up the case of Polycrates, Bishop of Ephesus, and
Victor, Bishop of Rome. Irenaeus tells us that "...the Church in
Ephesus, founded by Paul, and having John remaining among
them permanently..., is a true witness of the tradition of the
Apostles." Adversus Haereses. Book III, Chapter 3, Verse 4, p. 416
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In addition, Eusebius tells us "After he (John) returned from the
isle of Patmos to Ephesus, he went to the neighboring territories
of the Gentiles, to appoint bishops in some places, in other
places to set in order whole churches, elsewhere to choose to the
ministry some one of those that were pointed out by the
Spirit..." (Eusebius. Church History, Book III, Chapter 23.
Translated by the Rev. Arthur Cushman McGiffert. Excerpted from
Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Series Two, Volume 1. Edited by
Philip Schaff and Henry Wace. American Edition, 1890. Online
Edition Copyright 2004 by K. Knight).
The problem of "to observe Passover or not to observe Passover"
never went away and resurfaced with a vengeance around 192
when Victor, the bishop of Rome, contacted the leading presbyter
over the churches in Asia minor, Polycrates, and instructed him
concerning the following:
You will call a meeting of all the bishops of all the churches
in Asia Minor and the surrounding countries
You will instruct them to cease from observing Passover
You will adopt the new tradition we call Easter Sunday
If you don't, you will be excommunicated from the Roman
Church.
Polycrates called the meeting, discussed the list of demands
issued by the Roman Bishop Victor all the while being keenly
aware of the requirements of the Apostolic Constitutions. After
discussion, they wrote a letter giving the unanimous response of
all the Bishops present. Here is the letter, broken out into
bulleted points first.
[Concerning Passover]
We scrupulously observe the exact day; neither adding, nor
taking away. (Deuteronomy 4:2)
For in Asia great lights have passed away. Among these are
the Apostles Philip and John, Polycarp, and others.
All these observed the 14th day of the first month, in
accordance with the Gospel, deviating in no respect, but
following the rule of faith.
For seven of my relatives were bishops; and I am the
eighth.
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And my relatives ALWAYS observed the day when the
people put away the leaven. (Exodus 12:15)
I have met with the brethren throughout the world, and
have gone through every Holy Scripture (which includes
Paul's writings).
I could mention the bishops who were present, whom I
summoned at your desire; whose names [...] would
constitute a great multitude.
And they gave their UNANIMOUS consent to this letter.
I am not frightened at the things which are said to terrify
us. For those who are greater than I have said, "We ought
to obey God rather than men."
Here is the letter in paragraph form...
"[Concerning Passover], we scrupulously observe the exact day;
neither adding, nor taking away. For in Asia also great lights
have fallen asleep. Among these are the Apostles Philip and
John, Polycarp, and others. All these observed the 14th day of
the [first] month, in accordance with the Gospel, deviating in
no respect, but following the rule of faith. For seven of my
relatives were bishops; and I am the eighth. And my relatives
ALWAYS observed the day when the people put away the leaven.
Exodus 12:15 I have met with the brethren throughout the
world, and have gone through every Holy Scripture. I could
mention the bishops who were present, whom I summoned at
your desire; whose names [...] would constitute a great
multitude. And they gave their UNANIMOUS consent to the
letter. I am not frightened at the things which are said to terrify
us. For those who are greater than I have said, "We ought to
obey God rather than men."
Let's review what ALL the Bishops of all the churches in Asia
Minor and the surrounding countries concluded...
We will continue to follow the teachings of the Apostles
(Polycarp being in agreement with them)
We will continue to follow the Rule of Faith
We will continue to follow the Apostolic Constitutions
We read through every Holy Scripture (including the Torah
and Paul's letters) and have found nothing that would
authorize us to replace obedience to Torah regarding
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required observation on the 14
th
day of the first month in
observance of Passover with a man-made tradition.
Understood that the keeping of the Torah was a requirement
(not an invitation) and could not be set aside and
substituted with a man-made tradition known as Easter
Sunday.
The Final Conclusion of Polycrates and all the Bishops
Polycrates and all the Bishops concluded that they would not be
scared by the threat of excommunication from the Roman Church
and that they did not find any Scripture in the Old or New
Testament that gave them authority to now stop observing God's
commandment concerning keeping the Passover on the 14
th
day
of the first month as originally instructed in the Torah.
The Weight of Evidence
The case is made and the evidence is overwhelming...Paul did not
preach a "law-free" gospel but instead a "proselyte-free" gospel.
It's time that we reconsider our old interpretations, putting them
to the test of Scripture, and fulfill Proverbs 18:17: "The first to
present his case seems right, until another comes forward and
examines him."
Let's stop all this nonsense, leave behind these incorrect
interpretations of Paul's writings, and move forward into a
greater understanding of our Hebrew Roots.
PAUL AND THE HOLY DAYS
Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D., Professor of Theology and Church
History, Andrews University
One of the most difficult Bible text for Adventists to explain is
Col 2:16-17. Throughout the centuries this passage has been
interpreted as a Pauline condemnation of the law in general and
of the Holy Days in particular. The reason is that the passage
warns against paying heed to regulations regarding several
things: "Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions
of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a
sabbath. These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the
substance belongs to Christ" (2:16-17).
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I have devoted over 20 pages to an analysis of this text in my
dissertation FROM SABBATH TO SUNDAY. But in view of the
length limitations of this forum, I would like to share the brief
summary that I prepared for my latest book on God's Festivals. It
may come as a surprise to many Adventists that this crucial
passage, which has historically been used to negate the validity
of the Sabbath and Holy Days, when properly understood IT
provides one of the strongest support for their observance.
The statement "Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you "
has been interpreted as a Pauline condemnation of the
observance of Old Testament Holy Days. In spite of its antiquity
and popularity, this interpretation is totally wrong, because in
this passage Paul is not warning the Colossians not against the
observances of the five mentioned practices (eating, drinking,
feasts, new moon, and Sabbaths), but against "anyone" (tis) who
passes judgment on how to observe them. Note should be taken
of the fact that the judge who passes judgment is not Paul, but
the Colossian false teachers who impose "regulations" (2:20) on
how to observe these practices in order to achieve "rigor of
devotion and self-abasement and severity to the body" (2:23).
D. R. De Lacey, writing in the symposium From Sabbath to Lord's
Day, rightly comments: "The judge is likely to be a man of ascetic
tendencies who objects to the Colossians' eating and drinking.
The most natural way of taking the rest of the passage is not
that he also imposes a ritual of feast days, but rather that he
objects to certain elements of such observation."10 Presumably
the "judge," that is, the false teachers, wanted the community to
observe these practices in a more ascetic way ("severity to the
body"-2:23, 21); to put it crudely, the false teachers wanted the
Colossian believers to do less feasting and more fasting.
By warning against the right of the false teachers to "pass
judgment" on how to observe Holy Days, Paul is challenging not
the validity of the Holy Days as such, but the authority of the
false teachers to legislate on the manner of their observance. The
obvious implication is that Paul in this text is expressing not a
condemnation but an approbation of the mentioned practices,
which included Holy Days.
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It is noteworthy that De Lacey reaches this conclusion in spite of
his view that Paul did not expect Gentile converts to observe the
Holy Days. He writes: "Here again (Col 2:16), then, it seems that
Paul could happily countenance Sabbathkeeping However, we
interpret the situation, Paul's statement 'Let no one pass
judgement on you,' indicates that no stringent regulations are to
be laid down over the use of festivals."11 In the light of these
observations, we conclude that in Colossians 2:16, Paul expresses
not a condemnation but an implicit approbation of the
observance of Holy Days.
Condemantion of Perversion. Paul gives us only a few hints of
how false teachers promoted the observance of food and
festivals. He mentions that they insisted on "self-abasement and
worship of angels," "rigor of devotion severity to the body"
(2:18, 23), and that they taught: "Do not handle, Do not taste,
Do not touch" (2:21). These catch phrases indicate that the
regulations did not derive from the Levitical law, since nowhere
does the latter contemplate such an ascetic program. Though the
nomenclature of the festivals is Jewish, the motivation and
manner of their observance stems from syncretistic ideologies.
In the ancient world, there was a widespread belief that ascetism
and fasting enabled a person to come closer to a deity and to
receive divine revelation.12 In the case of the Colossian
"philosophy," the dietary taboos and the observance of sacred
times were apparently regarded as an expression of subjection to
and worship of the cosmic powers (elements) of the universe (Col
2:8, 10, 15, 20).
Paul's warning against the "regulations" of the false teachers can
hardly be interpreted as a condemnation of Mosaic laws regarding
food and festivals, since what the apostle condemns is not the
teachings of Moses but the perverted use of them promoted by
the Colossian false teachers. A precept is not nullified by the
condemnation of its perversion.
Shadow of the Reality. Paul continues his argument, saying:
"These are the shadow of what is to come; but the substance
belongs to Christ" (Col 2:17). To what does the relative pronoun
"these" (ha in Greek) refer? Does it refer to the practices
mentioned in the previous verse or to the "regulations"
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(dogmata) regarding these practices promoted by the false
teachers?
Most likely it refers to the latter. First, because in verse 16, Paul
is warning not against the merits or demerits of the Mosaic law
regarding food and festivals, but against the "regulations"
regarding these practices advocated by the false teachers. Thus,
it is more plausible to take "the regulations" rather than the
actual practices as the antecedent of "these."
Second, because in the verses that immediately follow, Paul
continues his warning against the deceptive teachings, saying,
"Let no one disqualify you, insisting on self-abasement "
(2:18); "Why do you submit to regulations, 'Do not handle, Do
not taste, Do not touch'" (2:20-21)? Since what precedes and
what follows the relative pronoun "these" deals with the
"regulations" of the Colossian false teachers, we conclude that it
is the latter that Paul describes as "a shadow of what is to come"
(2:17).
Presumably, the proponents of the false teachers maintained that
their "regulations" represented a copy which enabled the believer
to have access to the reality ("fulness," Col 2:9). In such a case,
Paul is turning their argument against them by saying that their
regulations "are only a shadow of what is to come; but the
substance belongs to Christ" (2:17). By emphasizing that Christ is
the "body" and the "head" (2:17, 19), Paul indicates that any
"shadow" cast by the regulations has no significant value.
In the light of the above indications, we conclude that what Paul
calls a "bygone shadow" is not the Holy Days but the deceptive
teachings of the Colossian false teachers which promoted dietary
practices and the observance of sacred times as auxiliary aids to
salvation.
This brief excerpt is taken from pages 89 to 92 of my book on
GOD'S FESTIVALS. The study continues with an analysis of
Romans 14:5 and Galatians 4:10. -------------------------------
Christian regards Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D., Professor of
Theology and Church History Andrews University 4990 Appian
Way Berrien Springs, MI 49103 samuele@andrews.edu
https://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/sabbath_under_xfir
e/1.htm
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Celtic Sabbath-keeping
Taken from Cherith Chronicle, April-June 1998, pp. 46-47
Henry Charles Lea, the foremost authority on the Papal
Inquisitions, records in the period of the commencement of
persecution involving judicial capital punishment for heresy, that
at the time of the execution of Priscillian with six of his
followers in 385 AD., that "others were banished to a barbarous
island beyond Britain." (A History of the Inquisition of the Middle
Ages, vol.1. New York: Harper & Brothers 1887, p.213.) What was
this barbarous island? Most likely, it would appear to be Ireland.
Britain and Ireland were favorite places for banishment and the
marketing of slaves in those days. If indeed, many faithful
"heretics" were banished to Ireland for centuries, it could not but
have had a profound effect or that island, which became a great
center of light under, Patrick (5th century), Columba (521-597),
and Columbanus (c. 540-615) as the darkness of papal tyranny
descended over the continent. Missionaries went forth from
Ireland to Switzerland, Bohemia, and Kiev. Ireland was one of
the most difficult areas for Rome to subjugate, and this explains
why such unending efforts have been made for over 1200 years
to completely subjugate this island of Ireland.
The Celtic Church which occupied Ireland, Scotland and Britain
had the Syriac (Byzantine) scriptures instead of the Latin vulgate
of Rome. The Celtic Church, with the Waldenses and the Eastern
empire, kept the seventh-day Sabbath.
When Queen Margaret fled to Scotland with her father Edward
Atheling, a pretender to the English throne, she wrote "to her
English cousins expressing astonishment at the religious
practices of the Scots. Among the 'peculiarities' of the Scots was
that 'they work on Sunday, but keep Saturday in a sabbatical
manner.' To another correspondent she complained, 'They are
accustomed also to neglect reverence for the Lord's days
(Sundays); and thus to continue upon them as upon other days
all the labours of earthly work.'
"The observance of the Saturday Sabbath by most Scots went
hand in hand with their refusal to 'recognize the overlordship of
the Pope in matters spiritual'. Despite the best efforts of King
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Nectan centuries earlier, Scottish Christianity was still of the
'Columban' or 'Celtic', not the 'Roman', variety.
"The most popular narrative history of Scotland--Scotland: A
Concise History by P. Hume Brown (Langsyne) -- confirms that at
Margaret's accession, 'the people worked on Sundays and
observed Saturday as the Sabbath day'. Peter Berresford Ellis in
Celtic lnheritance (Constable, 1992) page 45 writes: 'When Rome
began to take a particular interest in the Celtic Church towards
the end of the sixth century AD there were several differences
between them... The Celtic Sabbath was celebrated on a
Saturday.' Ellis's comment covers the Celtic Church in Wales,
Ireland, Cornwall and Gaul, as well as Scotland. Romanism was,
apparently, coming into Scotland but had no strength north of
the Forth.
"This gave Queen Margaret her crusade (and her route to
canonization): 'Margaret did all she could to make the Scottish
clergy do and believe exactly what the Church of Rome
commanded.' This involved the enforcement of Sunday-keeping,
a policy continued by her son, King David I. Nevertheless, on the
eve of the Reformation, there were still many communities in the
Scottish Highland loyal to the seventh-day Sabbath, as opposed
to 'the Papal Sunday'.
"Two books published in 1963-- to commemorate Columba's
landing at lona in 563-- concerned themselves with the 'Celtic
distinctives' and counted among them the observance of the
seventh-day Sabbath. Dr. W.D. Simpson published The Historical
St. Columba in Edinburgh . He confirms that Columba and his
companions kept 'the day of the Sabbath' and in case there
should be any doubt adds in a footnote 'Saturday, of course'...
.F.W. Fawcett was commissioned to write his Columba--Pilgrim for
Christ by the Lord Bishop of Derry and Raphoe. His book was
published in Londonderry and printed by the Derry Standard in
connection with the Irish commemoration of Columba's mission.
Fawcett outlines eight Celtic distinctives. Among these that the
Celts had a married priesthood and that they observed the
seventh day as the Sabbath." --David Marshall, The Celtic
connection. England:Stanborough Press, 1994, pp.29, 30.
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"The reason why Pope Gregory I had perceived the Celtic Church
as such a major threat and why he and his successors expended
such efforts in destroying the distinctive 'Irish customs' became
massively evident.
"A.O. and M.O. Anderson, in the Introduction to their Adomnan's
Life of Columba (Thomas Nelson 1961), shed light, not only on
Columba's seventh-day Sabbath keeping practice, but on the
gradual 'adjustment' of manuscripts by generations of Roman
copyists, in an attempt to provide an impression that the Celtic
saints held Sunday sacred.
"Adomnan's use of sabbatum for Saturday, the seventh day of the
week, is clear indication from 'Columba's mouth' that 'Sabbath
was not Sunday.' Sunday, the first day of the week is 'Lord's day.'
Adomnan's attitude to Sunday is important, because he wrote at
a time when there was controversy over the question whether
the ritual of the biblical Sabbath was to be transferred to the
Christians' Lord's-day.' (A.O. and M.O. Anderson (eds) Adomnan's
Life of Columba (Thomas Nelson's Medieval Texts, 1961), pages
25-26.)
"The Old Testament required seventh-day Sabbath observance
and, reason Adomnan's editors, since the New Testament
nowhere repealed the fourth commandment, the seventh-day was
observed by all early Christians. The evidence they adduce
suggests that no actual confusion between Sunday and 'the
Sabbath' occurred until the early sixth century, and then in the
writings of the rather obscure Caesarius of ArIes. (Ibid., page 26.)
"'In England, the question of Sunday may have been among the
'other ecclesiastical matters' discussed by the Synod of Whitby in
664', reason the Andersons, in addition to the date of Easter
which could not have caused such a rift. A weekly, not just a
yearly observance separated the Celts from the Romans. But the
Romans had the task of writing the history of the Church and of
copying the writings of Church fathers. While those who copied
the Scriptures appear to have been constrained by the Scriptural
injunction not to add or take away from the words of the Book
and, in the main, to have done a conscientious job, the same
scruples did not apply when they copied out the writings of the
Church fathers. As the centuries progressed the writings of the
House of New Begi nni ngs Polycrates Page 18 of 20
Celtic saints, including Patrick were 'amended' to convey the
impression that the saints held Sunday sacred, whereas, in the
earliest versions of their manuscripts, it is clear that they
observed the seventh-day Sabbath. (Ibid., pages 26-28).
The Roman 'movement' to supersede the Celtic Sabbath with
Sunday 'culminated in the production of an (apocryphal) 'Letter
of Jesus', or 'Letter of Lord's-day', alleged to have been found on
the altar of Peter in Rome; and is said in the annals to have been
brought to Ireland by a pilgrim (c. 886). Upon this basis laws
were promulgated, imposing heavy penalties for those that
violated on Sunday certain regulations derived from Jewish
prohibitions for Sabbath... There is in fact no historical evidence
that Ninian, or Patrick, or Columba, or any of their
contemporaries in Ireland, kept Sunday as a Sabbath.' (Ibid.,
page 28.)
"The seventh-day Sabbath, enjoined by the fourth of the ten
commandments, had been observed by Jesus and nowhere in
Scripture had its sacredness been diminished or transferred to
another day....
An "early version of The Rule of Columba is reproduced in
Columba--Pilgrim for Christ by [Clergyman] F.W. Fawcett, MA.
[Clergyman] Fawcett is a Church of Ireland clergyman. He was
commissioned by the Lord Bishop of Derry and Raphoe to
produce this book as part of the celebrations in 1963 of the
departure of Columba for lona in AD 563." --Marshall, The Celtic
Connection, 46.
The fifth rule of the Celtic Church listed in The Rule of Columba is
"The Seventh Day was observed as the Sabbath."

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God Bless Freddi
Jesus is the KING of Kings and LORD of Lords!
God intends us to do everything TOGETHER!!