NFL Sunday is one of the biggest cultural phenomena in the United States, drawing tens of millions of viewers each week and dominating the nation’s attention from September through February. It’s not just a sporting event; it’s a day-long Sunday experience that includes football parties, tailgating, and fantasy football leagues, making it a centerpiece of weekend entertainment for so many Americans. With massive TV ratings, significant advertising revenue, and a growing sports betting market, NFL Sunday has a wide-reaching economic impact. The games fuel conversations across the country and have become a Sunday tradition for families, reinforcing its status as a uniquely American event.
This has not stopped an Alabama newspaper from calling on people to respect Sunday as God’s Sabbath and to reject Sunday football. On September 22, 2024, the Luverne Journal, an Alabama daily publication, called on the community to stand for Christ by rejecting the NFL games of Sunday. The article was called “If we all stand together for Christ” and claims that if enough people unite to demand it, the NFL, the networks that broadcast its games, and the marketers who run advertisements “will have no choice” but to close on Sundays. This is because the people are the ones who really have the power.
The Luverne Journal expressed the following:
• “Perhaps you remember a time, not that long ago, when families spent Sundays together. When churches were full. When businesses closed. Chick-fil-A still does.” [1]
• “Then, gradually, that era eroded away. Sunday for rest no longer feels mandatory. It’s sweet and quaint, but most wouldn’t say that working, shopping, or eating out on Sunday is a sin.” [1]
• “It’s a lot like the belief that God loves us and will take care of us no matter what. Endearingly nice. Here’s the problem — that’s not what the Bible says.” [1]
• “He commands us to keep the Sabbath: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” [1]
• “One of the things that most upset God was dishonoring the Sabbath. “You have despised My holy things and profaned My Sabbaths” (Ezekiel 22:8).” [1]
• “I’m not asking you to give up NFL football — I love football, too. But why does it have to air on Sundays?” [1]
• “Listen and know the importance of this to God. Step away from Sunday football. If you do, there will be no more Sunday games. Networks need advertisers, and advertisers won’t pay for a show that has no audience. Broadcasters will have no choice, and you won’t have to miss NFL football … If we all stand together for Christ.” [1]
There are voices calling for no NFL games on Sundays because they believe that the commercialization and entertainment aspects of the NFL have overshadowed the traditional purpose of Sunday as a day of worship and rest. For many Christian communities, Sunday is mistakenly viewed as the Sabbath, a time for spiritual reflection, church attendance, and family focus. They argue that the NFL’s dominance on Sunday distracts from these values, pulling people away from religious commitments and turning the day into one centered around sports, consumerism, and entertainment. They seek to preserve the sacredness of Sunday by reducing secular activities and encouraging people to prioritize their faith and community.
In recent years, there has been a vocal movement in America advocating for the return of “blue laws,” which were historically designed to restrict certain activities, such as business operations, shopping, and entertainment, on Sundays to encourage rest and religious observance. Roman Catholics, Evangelicals, religiously motivated politicians, and other Sunday proponents argue that reintroducing Sunday laws would help restore a healthier balance between work and personal life, reinforcing a universal day of rest dedicated to faith, family, and reflection.
However, Seventh-day Adventists are opposed to Sunday laws because we believe such laws infringe on religious freedom and promote a form of state-enforced worship that contradicts our deeply held religious beliefs. As Sabbath-keepers, we observe Saturday, the seventh day of the week, as the biblical day of rest and worship, following the Fourth Commandment. Any law mandating Sunday as a day of rest or worship is a violation of both God’s commandments and the constitutional principle of the separation of church and state.
“A time is coming when the law of God is, in a special sense, to be made void in our land. The rulers of our nation will, by legislative enactments, enforce the Sunday law, and thus God’s people be brought into great peril. When our nation, in its legislative councils, shall enact laws to bind the consciences of men in regard to their religious privileges, enforcing Sunday observance, and bringing oppressive power to bear against those who keep the seventh-day Sabbath, the law of God will, to all intents and purposes, be made void in our land; and national apostasy will be followed by national ruin. We see that those who are now keeping the commandments of God need to bestir themselves, that they may obtain the special help which God alone can give them. They should work more earnestly to delay as long as possible the threatened calamity. If, in our land of boasted freedom, a Protestant government should sacrifice every principle which enters into its Constitution, and propagate papal falsehood and delusion, well may we plead, ‘It is time for thee, Lord, to work, for they have made void thy law’.” (Review and Herald, December 18, 1888).
Sources
[1] https://www.luvernejournal.com/2024/09/22/if-we-all-stand-together-for-christ/
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