Customer Reviews

From Sabbath to Sunday : A Historical Investigation of the Rise of Sunday Observance in Early Christianity

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When I began to question what day was the Sabbath, I visited a Sabbath keeping church. The pastor there lent me this book. I spent many long nights reading the book, including every footnote. Bacchiocchi spents a chapter apeice on each of the reasons he feels the early church moved from Saturday worship to Sunday worship - pagans and sun worship, anti-Judaism, the roll of the church in Rome vs. the church in Jerusalem, etc. He backs up his belief with quotes from the early church fathers and other early documents. He also talks about the three major Biblical texts used to bolster Sunday worship today, and gives other explanations for them.

By the time I finished the book I was convinced that the early Christian church moved to Sunday worship for less than Biblical reasons and that the change had more to do with expediency and politics than what God wanted.

This is a must read for everyone who has ever wondered why most churches worship on Sunday.

The Christian community could gain tons of milage in the area of credibility if it would only take a serious look at the issue of the sabbath. We claim to believe in the authority of scripture then toss out all reasonable interpretation when it comes to the sabbath. We don't really have anything to lose, G-d won't be offended if we own up to the myths we have created about Sunday being something special. It's time for truth. You don't have to fall into seventh day adventism to appreciate the truth this author brings. Anyone with a heart for knowing the will of G-d should at least read this book...

I read this a few years ago and was impressed by the information gathered here. Those of you looking for truthful information on the early Christian Church and how changes were introduced- this is your book.

A negative reviewer said: Domingo is the day Jesus rised from the dead and conquered death. It was so easy for Him to have risen on Saturday, and it was so easy for NT and post apostolic christians to say clearly "Saturday is the day of the Lord". But this is not the case.

The strange case being made here is that the day Jesus rose from the dead absolutely and necessarily must be the day that God calls us to rest. What God commanded was a day of "rest" not a day of work. He also did not call for a day remembering the resurrection. The day Jesus rose from the dead was a day he worked. He was accomplishing the resurrection. On Sunday, therefore he worked. On the other hand, on Saturday, he was still at rest in the grave. The point is he was at rest and obeying the 4th commandment.

The reader says, "it was so easy to have risen on Saturday" concluding that the Lord would obviously rise of the day that he wanted us to rest. What have the two to do with each other. The Sabbath is an eternal principle given to all men at creation in order to commemorate God's creation work and his cessation from work. He probably also wanted usThe day the Lord was born, the day he died, the day he rose were never days that he commanded us to observe. We can observe them but what does that have to do with the eternal command of the Sabbath?

The reader says that because the New Testament does not say, "You must continue to keep the Sabbath holy" it must have been nullified. The nullifying of law comes only when it is expressly stated. Otherwise, every day the LORD whould have to repeat his commands, "Today the 10 commnadments are still in effect" would be silly. If Jesus had overturned the law of the Sabbath, he would have said so. He kept the Sabbath and Paul kept the Sabbath. The apostles all kept the Sabbath.

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FACTS are funny things; they ARE what the ARE and should be dealt with honestly! Samuele Bacchiocchi's book,"From Sabbath to Sunday" is a historical, factual, and Biblically sound documentation of WHO and WHAT changed the Christian Sabbath to Sunday. I could hardly put the book down!

Professor Bacchiocchi's contribution probably represents the most authoritative study ever done on the Sabbath/Sunday controversy. It's conclusion must shake the foundations of the Protestant world. Its FACTS and documentation cannot be refuted. It's factual history! If what you are now believing is not true, would you want to know? We should never fear the Truth.

The Catholic Church freely, honestly, and proudly ADMITS they, along with the old Roman Empire, changed the Sabbath to Sunday. They ADMIT they place "tradition" ahead of Scripture. The Protestants--Rome's daughter churches--are more devious, wresting Scriptures out of context in attempt to bamboozle it's followers into believing the Bible supports their position. They read their previously believed concepts INTO the Bible, instead of allowing the Bible to correct their misconceptions. Sadly, it seems that loss of prestige,followers, and income mean more the modern-day clergy than what God plainly SAYS.

GET the book! It will CHALLENGE you. Accept the challenge. The revelation that "all these churches" CAN be wrong can change your life forever.

lwc

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Dr. Bacchiochi does an excellent job of piecing together the history of the Early Church and the change from Saturday as the Sabbath to Sunday.

Some have called the second century of church history the lost or dark century. Bacchiochi's information is a discovery for he sheds light on that dark century for the first time in one book.

His quotes include Early Church Fathers and, most importantly, documents that are still stored in the Vatican archives and library.

This book is a bit of a difficult read at times, but be patient. Add this to your history of the Sabbath research. It will open up new avenues for your understanding as to how the church changed over the centuries and will give Sabbath keepers more information to support their claim of Sabbath keeping.

I've had this book for sometime now and historically it is 100% accurate. Dr. Bacchiscchi's research is second to none. IF someone really wants to know this book will show them the facts.

Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi died this month. Out of all of his 17 books, this is by far still his best and most memorable one.

From Sabbath to Sunday addresses and highlights the origins of man's obsession and attempt to change the Ten Commandments. Specifically, it highlights the fourth commandment -- the holy day that God assigned to celebrate and remember Him.

While the Bible clearly explains God's holy day is the seventh-day and that Jesus went to the synagogue on the seventh-day in the Roman calendar (Saturday; similar to the calendar we use now), the early church changed the God sanctioned practice due to their disgust of Judaism. As the church grew wider outside of the realm of influence from Jerusalem and was entrenching on new territory in Europe, the man-made Sunday worship practice was well received with sun worshipers.

A fascinating book from a respected scholar.

-Don

I actually met Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi in person, attended his lectures, bought this book and several others by him. This man was incredible. He actually received his doctorate from the Catholic Seminary and used original ancient manuscripts that only the Catholic libraries have to research this book, and his other books. If you read this book, you will come away with the long hidden knowledge about how the Sabbath given at creation as a blessing from God (read Genesis 1 and 2, and Exodus 20) was changed through paganism to Sunday. Through painstaking research, he supports his case. If you love history, this will be a cherished reading. Also, try looking up his other books. I believe he wrote more than ten! The church actually awarded him several awards and held him in high esteem when he was completing his doctorate.

Back to the basics. Simple, succinct and easy to understand...if one keeps an open mind and leaves out the garbage ingested by the teachings of tradition...one will come to the same conclusion as the author. YHVH never changed the Sabbath. It is a Genesis appointed sanctified and set apart Sabbath of YHVH. Yahushua kept the Sabbath -- and as can be seen here in this book, it was not YHVH but man who changed the day to *sun*day. Highly recommended.