Spiritual side of running

[Dallen]

I agree with Sasha's reasoning, I'm just not that dedicated. Few, if any, of us are.

My generalizations towards football were not intended to incluse Sasha, whom I know would not be watching football of Sunday. Probably not Saturday either. 

[Jesse]

This probably goes to a whole other topic--the idea of the Sabbath day, but I find it interesting that the Sabbath is the only one of the 10 commandments that wasn't repeated in the New Testament.  I do agree with the principle of work and rest, in fact, I think taking long-term sabbaticals is healthy (just wish this was allowed and recognized in our culture).  I can't help but be surprised by Jesus' and what he always did on the Sabbath--he healed many people on the Sabbath (which of course was Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath).  In fact, he seemed to do this on purpose so it would be a stumblingblock for the religious leaders and debaters.  It seems the Sabbath can be a ritual that is actually a stumblingblock to one's real relationship with God.  Every day should be a spiritual day where one can commune and relate and learn from God the Father. 

[Sasha Pachev]

Jesse - I think the issue is very much on topic.

I agree that if you just read the Bible, it is not clear how the law of the Sabbath given to Jews would apply after the coming of Christ. Fortunately God has called prophets in the last days just like he did in the old times who have the understanding and the authority to teach the Gospel. They have helped restore the truths that have been lost through the centuries of apostasy, and the correct understanding of the law of the Sabbath is one of them. The new Sabbath day is to be observed on a Sunday, which is the day of Christ's resurrection, and it is to be a special day when we do not do many noble and worthwhile things we would on other days.

Interestingly enough, the word for Sunday in Russian is the same as the word for resurrection. So the entire time while the Communists tried to suppress religion, they had a huge problem to deal with - they could not change the way people spoke via a decree. With Russian being a language of derivation where big words are formed from simple parts, even though I had absolutely no religious background or education, I knew that the word for Sunday had something to do with rising from the dead.

[adam]

Sasha, the reasoning behind the Russian word for Resurrection is most likely the same as other euro languages (such as spanish or italian), which, of course, you probably already know.

Comparing Jewish week/standard week, the Sabbath (end of the week) falls on what would be Saturday (sabato), with Sunday being the first day of the week, called the Lord's Day (dominica, domingo, etc). Which correlates with the day of Christ's ressurection (John 20:1).

Using terms such as the First Day, or the Lord's day, you can find references in the New Testament where Christ's disciples began to meet together to observe the sacrament and preach together, honoring Christ. (Acts 20:7 for example).

Outside of this, the transistion from Saturday to Sunday as the new day of worship and as the day to observe holy is not explicitly written out in the New Testament, which has led to many Saturday worship services being held by different church organizations.

I'd imagine things would be a little different if Christ or Peter had stood up, said "hey everyone, Sunday is the new Sabbath day, and you need to honor it by not doing such and such...etc"  But, since the world is much different today, much of what they may have said (like don't work your ox) may not be as relevant or useful anyways.

This then leaves the matter open to intrpretation among those who currently consider Sunday the Sabbath day spoken of in the commandments and decide to honor it how they see fit. However, it definitely does help one see the benefit of having current divine leadership, as then these matters could then be understood clearly and correctly, and we wouldn't deal so much in "sheep falling into a pit" interpretations.

[Andrea Birch]

Amen, Sasha.  I find that running is a way to bring me closer to my Heavenly Father on the other six days of the week.  Spiritual edification shouldn't be reserved just for the Sabbath.  But, on the Sabbath, it does need to be a bit different.

I must admit that I put a spin on Visiting Teaching last Sunday.  I started a Visiting Teaching on Wheels program!  We went bike riding and talked about many things, including our favorite scriptures!!!  Biking seems so much easier than running sometimes!

 

[Steve Morrin]

Work in general is a form of worship. Running is a form of work. You push your body to the limit, and discover something special, something nobody will understand unless they've experienced it. However, work of this kind is not the only form of worship. We also worship through music, by partaking of the sacrament, and by attending Sunday School. And we need to rest as well. There needs to be a balance. That is why God gave us six days to labor and one day to rest.

I agree with Sasha. Sunday should be a day off from running. It might seem like not running every day would hurt you, but the benefits of not running on Sunday plenty outweigh the drawbacks.

[Jesse]

Jesse - I think the issue is very much on topic.

I agree that if you just read the Bible, it is not clear how the law of the Sabbath given to Jews would apply after the coming of Christ. Fortunately God has called prophets in the last days just like he did in the old times who have the understanding and the authority to teach the Gospel. They have helped restore the truths that have been lost through the centuries of apostasy, and the correct understanding of the law of the Sabbath is one of them. The new Sabbath day is to be observed on a Sunday, which is the day of Christ's resurrection, and it is to be a special day when we do not do many noble and worthwhile things we would on other days.

Now we'd really go to a different topic.  As a traditional Christian believing only the Bible, I would have problems with the authority of any Scripture other than the Bible (especially when it adds to or takes from the Bible), modern prophets who have the authority to change what Christians have believed for 2000 years, the idea that Christ's church which was promised to prevail against the gates of hell would fall into apostasy, and that we need to adopt a neo-jewish position on anything since the 613 laws of the Torah were fulfilled in Christ and specifically purposed to show the Holiness of God the Father and that we are unable and unwilling to live up to that perfect standard.  (For those of you writers out there, I recognize I just wrote one long-winded sentence, sorry.) 

That being said, I do think that there is a big difference between the idea of Sabbath-day end of the week rest and Lord's day beginning of the week anticipation.   I like having a day where I worship Christ, prepare myself for the week, meet with fellow believers, and rest.  I do find it sometimes contradictory though to do so much on a Sunday if I'm supposed to be resting.  Am I resting or am I doing?

[adam]

Am I resting or am I doing?

I think this is the right question. I think you need to have a balance between the two. Are you doing so many other things that you forget the purpose of the Sabbath? Are you taking the rest too far and just being lazy on the couch all day? 

Jesus taught that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. James taught that pure religion was to visit the fatherless and widows in their afflictions. If you are using that day to further His work, relfect and renew your relationship with Him and His children through service, fellowship, or study, then that is good work to do and that can be very restful and refreshing at the same time.

Also, as per the running on Sunday question, I have often considered it. Some say you can go out and use the time to appreciate God's creations and worship through running. Others say it takes your mind off of what is really important. I just don't do it because I know that I can benefit each week from a rest day, and that if I were to run every day, I would get pretty sick of so many continous days of running in a row. I could probably take it for only a few months. I always like that every week is a completely new week of running.