Sabbatarianism

SABBATARIANISM IS the view that insists that one day of each week must be reserved for religious observance as prescribed by the Old Testament Sabbath Law. The sabbatarians' main thesis is simple: The Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments, and the Ten Commandments do not correspond to a temporary ceremonial law but are to be regarded as eternally significant moral law. However, a distinction is to be made between strict or literal sabbatarianism and semi-sabbatarianism. Strict or literal sabbatarianism contends that God's directive concerning the Sabbath Law is natural, universal, and moral.

Consequently, the Sabbath requires humankind to abstain from all labor except for those tasks necessary for the welfare of the society. In this view, the seventh day, the literal Sabbath, is the only ...