The Secular Press and the Push for Sunday Rest

In recent years, there has been a noticeable trend within the secular press advocating for the establishment of Sunday as a universal day of rest. This movement, ostensibly aimed at promoting well-being and work-life balance, raises significant concerns about the role of the news media in society. Traditionally, the primary function of the news media is to report on events and provide information without advocating for specific religious or ideological views. However, when the mainstream news media begins to endorse what is fundamentally a religious practice, it becomes a slippery slope that could lead to the media becoming a mouthpiece for religious institutions.

The only daily newspaper in Bermuda, The Royal Gazette, announced on May 11, 2024, that Sunday is the new Sabbath. The newspaper even boldly asserted that, despite the fact that the first day of the week was once used for pagan worship of a false god, keeping Sunday as the Sabbath does not violate God’ law.

The Royal Gazette stated:

• “The resurrection of Jesus on a Sunday meant he rose from the dead after the seventh day of rest. This was hugely symbolic, because if the original Genesis creation was represented with seven days, then the eighth day signified the new creation that Jesus came to inaugurate.” [1]

• “The early Christians wanted to retell the story of Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection every week, and as Jesus died on Friday and rose on the first day of the week, a Sunday, they aligned themselves with the resurrection, and they began to celebrate and gather on the resurrection day.” [1]

• “Christians have historically had a habit of appropriating the days that honoured other gods, and as the resurrection of Jesus took place on a Sunday, the Roman emperor Constantine, who was a Christian, appropriated the day of the sun god, Sol Invictus, and declared that Sundays should be a public holiday. This firmly secured Sunday as the Christian day of rest, or Christian Sabbath.” [1]

• “The fourth Commandment states: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Therefore does this mean Christians are breaking one of God’s commandments by not keeping the seventh day a Sabbath? Not at all.” [1]

The news media’s principal duty is to inform the public about current events, present facts impartially, and allow individuals to form their own opinions. This objectivity is crucial for maintaining the trust and credibility of the press. When media outlets start promoting Sunday as the Sabbath, which is Rome’s mark of papal apostasy, they risk compromising their neutrality. The secular press today is blurring the line between impartial reporting and religious endorsement.

When the mainstream media begins to champion causes that are intertwined with religious practices, it sets a dangerous precedent. The media, acting as a conduit for church interests, will lead to the erosion of a free press in public life. This advocacy can subtly shift public opinion and policy in favor of religious groups, undermining the separation of church and state. Such a development is problematic in pluralistic societies where multiple religions and belief systems coexist.

“The substitution of the laws of men for the law of God, the exaltation, by merely human authority, of Sunday in place of the Bible Sabbath, is the last act in the drama. When this substitution becomes universal, God will reveal Himself.” (Testimonies, Volume 7, p. 141).

Sources

[1] https://www.royalgazette.com/religion/lifestyle/article/20240511/why-we-should-try-to-keep-a-sabbath/