The Colson Center, a Christian think tank started by conservative evangelical leader Chuck Colson, was founded with the goal of advancing social conservatism in our nation. On February 26, 2024, the Colson Center’s official news outlet, Breakpoint, provided commentary on the ongoing debate regarding keeping Sunday holy in order to combat climate change. The Colson Center contends that while they are not against that argument, they believe that there are more compelling reasons for keeping the Sabbath, such as the fact that God made humans with a need for rest.
Breakpoint published the following:
• “Climate change was recently offered as a reason to engage in an actual religious practice, one that goes back thousands of years and is beneficial, even essential, to human wellbeing. “In The Washington Post recently, advice columnist Michael Coren argued that one way to fight climate change is to take a weekly day of rest. He called his idea a “green Sabbath.” [1]
• “Clergy are now arguing that this practice, whether in a secular or religious context, can help redirect the world’s societies away from catastrophic climate change … A shared day of rest, at a minimum, might slow the pace of consumption, curb emissions or ease the burden of so many people working weary weekends.” [1]
• “Coren paraphrased Pope Francis, who argued in a 2015 encyclical that refusing to rest is bad for the Earth.” [1]
• “There is truth here. In addition to the weekly, personal Sabbath instituted at creation by God, the Israelites were to recognize a Sabbath rest for the Earth.” [1]
• “The weekly Sabbath rest, Jesus said, was created primarily for man. The pattern of work and rest was established by God in the beginning when He created for six days and then rested on the seventh.” [1]
• “There are much better arguments for seriously practicing a weekly Sabbath and how integral it is to human flourishing, to worship, and even to the effectiveness of our work the other six days.” [1]
• “God created human beings to work and to rest. God patterned that rest, not for His sake, but for ours.” [1]
• “The Sabbath, just like exercise, better eating, and less coffee is good for us because of how God made us. The strange need to justify everything with another threat of catastrophe is anything but restful. The original reasons to take a day off are better than an appeal to reducing carbon emissions.” [1]
Basically, evangelicals say we should observe the Sabbath because God has commanded us to do so, and not so much to reduce carbon emissions. Although they say that there are secondary reasons that will help us rest, such as eating better, exercising, and drinking less coffee, they are not opposed to this. However, they maintain that there is no greater justification than God’s command to observe the Sabbath and that this reason supersedes all others.
It is clear from what the evangelicals are saying that they have nothing against attempts to institute a Green Sunday, a Sabbath for carbon reduction, or even a day of rest for the environment. They are merely arguing that we should accept that keeping the Sabbath is a way for us to do God’s will. By doing this, they hope to provide an even more compelling justification for people to support the return of Sunday rest. It’s important to note that Pope Francis makes a similar case for the necessity of resting on Sunday in Laudato Si’ #237. The same justifications for honoring Sunday that the Pope provided years ago are being repeated by evangelicals today.
Without a doubt, Sunday has become the converging point that will unite the whole world. In this article, we see Protestants saying there is “truth” in what Pope Francis and others are saying about keeping Sunday for the environment. Inspiration tells us that the church and the world will work together to honor Sunday. Through the deceiving power of Satan, they will strive to make God’s law of no effect. In the final crisis, both Roman Catholics and Protestants will work together to exalt Sunday.
“The Word of God teaches that these scenes are to be repeated as papists and Protestants shall unite for the exaltation of the Sunday” (Great Controversy, p. 578).
“The church appeals to the strong arm of civil power, and in this work, papists and Protestants unite. As the movement for Sunday enforcement becomes more bold and decided, the law will be invoked against commandment-keepers” (Great Controversy, p. 607).
Sources
[1] https://www.breakpoint.org/remember-the-sabbathto-stop-global-warming/
0
0
0
The above statement by the Evangelical leaders about ” Remember the sabbath to stop global warming accurately fulfills what the Messenger of the Lord ( Ellen G. White ) predicted almost 150 years ago. She wrote ”Men in responsible positions will not only ignore and despise the sabbath themselves , but from sacred desk ,will urge the people the observance of the first day of the week, pleading tradition and custom of this man made institution . They will point to calamities on land and sea – to the storm of the wind , the floods, the earth quakes, destruction by fire as judgements indicating God’s displeasure because sunday is not sacredly observed. Signs of the Times, January 17, 1884. Pope Francis is working tirelessly to ensure everybody has joined the climate change bandwagon, but the real objective is to make the whole world bow down and pay homage and allegiance to the child of the papacy by giving reverence to the Laudato si article 237 the sunday sabbath which signifies Rome’s power.
“Protestantism shall give the hand of fellowship to the Roman power. Then there will be a law against the Sabbath of God’s creation, and then it is that God will do His strange work in the earth” 7BC 910.