The subbotnik is a weekly day of volunteer work on Saturday in Russia, other (former) Soviet republics, the Eastern Bloc, and the German Democratic Republic, sporadically observed since 1919. The voskresnik is a related volunteer workday on Sunday. They focus on community service work; "Lenin's Subbotnik" was also observed annually around his birthday.
Since Puritan times, most English-speaking Protestants identify the "Lord's Day" (viz., Sunday) with a "Christian Sabbath", a term Roman Catholics in those areas may also celebrate with the Eucharist. It is considered both the first day and the "eighth day" of the seven-day week. Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints generally follow the stronger of first-day Christian Sabbatarian traditions, avoiding shopping, leisure activities, and work unless absolutely necessary. In Tonga, all commerce and entertainment activities cease on Sunday, starting at midnight and ending the next day, at midnight, as Tonga's constitution declares the Sabbath sacred forever.[6] In Oriental Orthodoxy, the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church has observed both Sunday Resurrection Day and Saturday Sabbath in different ways for several centuries, as have other Eastern Orthodox traditions.
Ellen G. White's status as a modern-day prophet has also been criticized. In the Questions on Doctrine era, evangelicals expressed concern about Adventism's understanding of the relationship of White's writings to the inspired canon of Scripture.[18] The Adventist fundamental beliefs maintain that "the Bible is the standard by which all teaching and experience must be tested."[112]
Secular use of "Sabbath" for "rest day", while it usually refers to the same period of time (Sunday) as the majority Christian use of "Sabbath", is often stated in North America to refer to different purposes for the rest day than those of Christendom. In McGowan v. Maryland (1961), the Supreme Court of the United States held that contemporary Maryland blue laws (typically, Sunday rest laws) were intended to promote the secular values of "health, safety, recreation, and general well-being" through a common day of rest, and that this day coinciding with majority Christian Sabbath neither reduces its effectiveness for secular purposes nor prevents adherents of other religions from observing their own holy days. Massachusetts, uncharacteristically, does not specify the weekday in its "Day of Rest" statute, providing only that one day off from work is required every week; an unspecified weekly day off is a very widespread business production cycle. The Supreme Court of Canada, in R. v. Big M Drug Mart Ltd. (1985) and R. v. Edwards Books and Art Ltd. (1986), found some blue laws invalid for having no legitimate secular purpose, but others valid because they had no religious purpose.
[08/14/11] Jacob was a cheater, Peter had a temper, David had an affair, Noah got drunk, Jonah ran from God, Paul was a murderer, Gideon was insecure, Miriam was a gossip, Mary was a worrier, Thomas was a doubter, Sara was impatient, Elijah was moody, Moses stuttered, Zaccheus was short, Abraham was old and Lazarus was dead. Now, what's YOUR excuse? Can God use you? -(from The Seventh Day Adventist Church Fan Page) ♥
Critics have alleged that certain Adventist beliefs and practices are exclusivist in nature and they point to the Adventist claim to be the "remnant church", and the traditional Protestant association of Roman Catholicism with "Babylon".[125][126][127] These attitudes are said to legitimize the proselytising of Christians from other denominations. In response to such criticisms, Adventist theologians have stated that the doctrine of the remnant does not preclude the existence of genuine Christians in other denominations, but is concerned with institutions.[128]
Hiram Edson and other Millerites came to believe that Miller's calculations were correct, but that his interpretation of Daniel 8:14 was flawed as he assumed Christ would come to cleanse the world. These Adventists came to the conviction that Daniel 8:14 foretold Christ's entrance into the Most Holy Place of the heavenly sanctuary rather than his Second Coming. Over the next few decades this understanding of a sanctuary in heaven developed into the doctrine of the investigative judgment, an eschatological process that commenced in 1844, in which every person would be judged to verify their eligibility for salvation and God's justice will be confirmed before the universe. This group of Adventists continued to believe that Christ's Second Coming would continue to be imminent, however they resisted setting further dates for the event, citing Revelation 10:6, "that there should be time no longer."[14]
Mormons believe this means performing no labor that would keep them from giving their full attention to spiritual matters (Ex. 20:10). LDS prophets have described this as meaning they should not shop, hunt, fish, attend sports events, or participate in similar activities on that day.[citation needed] Elder Spencer W. Kimball wrote in his The Miracle of Forgiveness that mere idle lounging on the Sabbath does not keep the day holy, and that it calls for constructive thoughts and acts.[15]
We tend to think of sabbatical in academic terms, as a school year free from teaching duties that can be devoted to research, travel, and writing. Traditionally, this occurs every seventh year. Because of this scholarly context, we may easily miss what is hiding in plain sight: that sabbatical is related to Sabbath, which refers to the Biblical day of rest, or the seventh day. We trace the origins of both sabbatical and Sabbath to the Greek word sabbaton. Sabbaton itself traces to the Hebrew word shabbāth, meaning “rest.”
One folk tradition in English is the widespread use of "Sabbath" as a synonym of midnight-to-midnight "Saturday" (literally, Saturn's day in at least a dozen languages): this is a simplification of the use of "Sabbath" in other religious contexts, where the two do not coincide. (Using midnight instead of sundown as delimiter dates back to the Roman Empire.) In over thirty other languages, the common name for this day in the seven-day week is a cognate of "Sabbath". "Sabbatini", originally "Sabbadini", often "Sabatini", etc., is a very frequent Italian name form ("Sabbatos" is the Greek form), indicating a family whose ancestor was born on Saturday, Italian sabato; "Domenico" indicated birth on Sunday. In vampire hunter lore, people born on Saturday were specially designated as sabbatianoí in Greek and sâbotnichavi in Bulgarian (rendered in English as "Sabbatarians"). It was also believed in the Balkans that someone born on a Saturday could see a vampire when it was otherwise invisible.
The Old Testament. The observance of the Sabbath is central to Jewish life. Of the eight holy days (Shabbat, the first and seventh days of Pesach, Shavout, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and the first and eighth days of Succot) proscribed in the Torah, only the Sabbath is included in the Decalogue. Though not holier than other holy days like Yom Kippur or Rosh Hashanah, the Sabbath is given special attention because of its frequency. Yet despite any significance that accrues on the basis of its frequency or inclusion in the Decalogue, its importance rests ultimately on its symbolic representation of the order of creation. For, according to the Genesis narrative, God himself rested on the seventh day, thus making it sacred ( Gen 2:1-2 ). For the pious Jew, keeping the Sabbath holy is a mitzvah, or duty, before God. Indeed, The Old Testament takes Sabbath observance so seriously that profaning it results in the death penalty ( Exod 31:14 ; 35:2 ; Num 15:32 ).
Houston has the largest number of bike commuters in Texas with over 160 miles of dedicated bikeways.[278] The city is currently in the process of expanding its on and off street bikeway network.[when?][279] In 2015, Downtown Houston added a cycle track on Lamar Street, running from Sam Houston Park to Discovery Green.[280] In August 2017, Houston City Council approved spending for construction of 13 additional miles of bike trails.[281]
Shmita (Hebrew: שמטה, Strong's 8059 as shemittah, literally "release"), also called sabbatical year, is the seventh (שביעי, Strong's 7637 as shebiy'iy) year of the seven-year agricultural cycle mandated by Torah for the Land of Israel, relatively little observed in Biblical tradition, but still observed in contemporary Judaism. During Shmita, the land is left to lie fallow and all agricultural activity, including plowing, planting, pruning and harvesting, is forbidden by Torah and Jewish law. By tradition, other cultivation techniques (such as watering, fertilizing, weeding, spraying, trimming and mowing) may be performed as preventative measures only, not to improve the growth of trees or plants; additionally, whatever fruits grow of their own accord during that year are deemed hefker (ownerless), not for the landowner but for the poor, the stranger, and the beasts of the field; these fruits may be picked by anyone. A variety of laws also apply to the sale, consumption and disposal of Shmita produce. When the year ended, all debts, except those of foreigners, were to be remitted (Deuteronomy 15:1–11); in similar fashion, Torah requires a slave who had worked for six years to go free in the seventh year. Leviticus 25 promises bountiful harvests to those who observe Shmita, and describes its observance as a test of religious faith. The term Shmita is translated "release" five times in the Book of Deuteronomy (from the root שמט, shamat, "desist, remit", 8058).
The conservative end of the theological spectrum is represented by historic Adventists, who are characterized by their opposition to theological trends within the denomination, beginning in the 1950s.[33] They object to theological compromises with Evangelicalism, and seek to defend traditional Adventist teachings such as the human post-fall nature of Jesus Christ, investigative judgment, and character perfectionism.[34] Historic Adventism is represented by some scholars,[35] is also seen at the grassroots level of the church[36] and is often promoted through independent ministries.
Although the early Seventh Day Adventist church (even before it was known as the Seventh Day Adventist Church) tried to predict Jesus’ return, today, the church says it does not know the exact time and date. It does, however, say in their doctrine that many events that precede the Second Coming have fulfilled prophecy, meaning the return of Jesus is soon. For that reason, they believe in being constantly ready. The church calls the Second Coming the “blessed hope of the church” and the “grand climax of the gospel.” Advent, itself, means “coming.”
