WND: Have you ever wondered why Christians worship on Sunday?

Why do Christians worship on Sunday? Learn the history of what happened to the Sabbath

Have you ever wondered why one of the Ten Commandments seems null and void – notably the one calling on believers to observe the Sabbath? Ask your pastor or priest and you will probably hear it's because Jesus rose from the dead on Sunday – which is not even a certainty if you read the Bible carefully. And then there's the little problem of this switch of worship days not being mentioned in the Bible – and the historical fact that most Christians continued observing the Sabbath for hundreds of years after Jesus rose from the dead. So what happened? What caused the switch? The WND Superstore has compiled treasure trove of literature and video documentaries that trace the history. Some of what you will find is nothing short of shocking for Christians who take Sunday worship for granted. First there is the classic, scholarly work of the late Samuele Bacchiocchi in "From Sabbath to Sunday. Bacchiocchi earned his doctorate in church history at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome and was awarded a gold medal by Pope Paul VI for his summa cum laude class work and dissertation, "From Sabbath to Sunday: A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity." His studies gave him unique access to Roman Catholic historical archives that shed much light on the transition from Sabbath to Sunday. The Church of the capital of the empire, whose authority was already felt far and wide in the second century, appears to be the most likely birthplace of Sunday observance," he concluded. In one of his last interviews before his death, he told WND: "Anti-Judaism caused the abandonment of the Sabbath, and pagan sun worship influenced the adoption of Sunday." He says evidence of anti-Judaism is found in the writings of Christian leaders such as Ignatius, Barnabus and Justin in the second century. He notes these three "witnessed and participated in the process of separation from Judaism which led the majority of the Christians to abandon the Sabbath and adopt Sunday as the new day of worship." Bacchiocchi also explains the influence of pagan sun worship provides a "plausible explanation for the Christian choice of Sunday" over the day of Saturn. Its effect wasn't just limited to Sunday. It apparently led to the placement of Jesus' birth in late December. "The adoption of the 25th of December for the celebration of Christmas is perhaps the most explicit example of sun worship's influence on the Christian liturgical calendar," Bacchiocchi writes. "It is a known fact that the pagan feast of the Dies Natalis Solis Invicti – the birthday of the Invincible Sun, was held on that date." One of the Roman names for this "Invincible Sun" god in the days of the apostles was Mithra. There are striking similarities between the ancient worship of Mithra and today's Christianity, leading some to think early Christians adopted Sunday worship from heathen customs. Another extraordinary resource for study of the issue is a 5-part DVD documentary narrated by actor Hal Holbrook called "The Seventh Day: Revelations from the Lost Pages of History." The made-for-TV miniseries traces the history of the Sabbath through the ages and around the world. The meticulously documented series features interviews with over 50 experts, classical art, animations, and dramatic re-enactments. Richard Rives offers a book and 5 part DVD teaching series called "Time Is the Ally of Deceit" that also focuses on the history of the lost Sabbath.In addition, his book "Too Long in the Sun" reveals the way pagan practices influenced church practices beginning in the second century. Part 1-Flee to the Mountains (53 min.): First century believers, based on the warning by Jesus, fled Jerusalem prior to its destruction in 70 A.D. Part 2-Baal Comes to Rome (70 min.): During the third century, Roman emperors brought the worship of Baal to Rome. This consolidated the worship of all the sun gods under the title “Sol Invictus.” Part 3-The Persian Sun God Mithra (58 min.): Historians report that during the 4th century the worship of the Persian sun god Mithra mysteriously vanished as Christianity was established as the religion of the empire. Was it Mithraism that vanished? Or was it true Christianity? Part 4-Constantine and the Nicaean Council (51 min.): While his coins state that he was committed to the sun god Sol Invictus, Constantine became known as "the First Christian Emperor." Presiding over the Council of Nicaea, the date for the observance of Passover was changed from the biblically prescribed timing. Part 5-Remember the Sabbath Day (93 min.): Many theologians would tell us that Sunday has replaced the 7th day Sabbath: that in fact the law has been "nailed to the cross." Jesus said that until heaven and earth pass away not even the slightest aspect of the law would change. There's a new book called "Sabbath" that focuses on the fact that Christians do not observe God-ordained Sabbath practices even on Sunday. "The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath" by Mark Buchanan dwells on the spiritual necessity of a day of rest. The subject is also dealt with in Joe Kovacs' "Shocked By the Bible," one of the WND Superstore's long-term best-selling books. That's quite a library on a largely misunderstood spiritual issue. It's a great subject for an in-depth Bible study you probably won't get in your adult Sunday school class or midweek service in a Sunday-worshipping church. Click here to find out why millions of Christians still observe the Sabbath and would never forsake it.

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More WND Superstore items you'll love: "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment" – a new two-hour documentary about the parallels between ancient Israel's fall and America since 9/11 – is the No. 1 movie at Amazon in the category of "faith and spirituality." "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment" DVD tops faith chart at Amazon.com It is also the No. 8 most popular documentary of any kind and the 247th most popular video for sale. Producer Joseph Farah said he is immensely pleased with the performance of the video, which is a documentary treatment of the message found in the best-selling book "The Harbinger" by Jonathan Cahn, which has been on the top-10 New York Times list every week since the New Year. "We put our money into the production of what we saw as a very worthwhile movie and couldn't budget any more for marketing – but this video is apparently marketing itself," he said. In January, "The Harbinger," by Cahn, a messianic rabbi from New Jersey, exploded onto the publishing scene, immediately becoming a surprise New York Times bestseller, already read by hundreds of thousands nationwide. Last week, a video documentary exploring the central message of Cahn's thesis – that ancient Israel's experience described in Isaiah 9:10 is being relived by the United States today – was released nationwide by WND Videos. Click here to watch the trailer: Get "The Harbinger," the bestselling Christian book in America in 2012, plus the brand-new DVD documentary "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment," bundled at a special low price in the WND Superstore. Get "The Isaiah 9:10 Judgment" video documentary from WND Videos in the WND Superstore. Get "The Harbinger," the New York Times bestseller that is the talk of the nation. Hitler, God, and the Bible In the years after World War I, as hollow-eyed Germans pushed carts of paper money over cobble-stone streets in the hopes of finding a stale loaf of bread at the market, one man emerged who promised to make it all better. Adolf Hitler, to that point a faceless nobody with no distinction whatsoever, rose to unparalleled power. Most of us know the rest of the story (though I doubt many young people grasp it much). Yet in the countless volumes that have been written about this diabolical dictator, few have explored how his twisted views of religious faith were used to subdue a continent. That's why Ray Comfort's new book, "Hitler, God & the Bible" is such a valuable addition to this field of study. So eager was I to read this book (I'm a major Ray Comfort fan), that I read it over dinner one evening, turning pages with one hand while using a fork at a local Bavarian restaurant with the other. Comfort, a keen observer of worldview in the teeming masses that bob and weave through our culture, has not only penned what I feel is an extraordinary book … but he also hints that this is the first in a series! Surely, "Stalin, God & the Bible" cannot be far behind. Click here to read more about "Hitler, God, and the Bible".

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