Justo Gonzalez is no stranger to the publishing world or to the topic of church history. As a noted scholar, retired professor, and former minister, as well as the author of over 100 helpful books–including the renown three-volume History of Christian Thought–he has provided the Christian and non-Christian communities alike with a vast wealth of information and keen insight from the carefully studied perspective of a well-versed church historian.
Basically, he has the ability to talk far above the heads of most church parishioners at this point, but his books are equal parts impressive knowledge and easy readability.
And now he is back with another important read, A Brief History of Sunday. As the title suggests, he aims to answer the question: Do we treat Sunday the way the early Christians did?
A Brief History of Sunday: from the New Testament to the New Creation
When Gonzalez first began to tell his friends that he was considering writing a book on the topic of the Sabbath, the reactions were exactly what he anticipated. Some of this friends–particularly those who are Seventh-day Adventists–immediately sent him material to read on the likelihood that the Sabbath wasn’t originally Sunday. Others verbally clapped him on the back, encouraging him to speak out with gusto against the atrocities committed by Christians Sunday (including the increased likelihood that families today will sometimes skip church to attend a ball game or to spend time together as a family.
Gonzalez’s response in the opening pages of his book?–“I am afraid this book may disappoint such expectations; but I also hope it will surpass them.”
The book is not a traditional history of how worshipers have abandoned day seven of Creation, nor is it a stern warning to return to the somber observance of our spiritual forefathers. Instead, in an easy-to-digest book of only 176 pages, Gonzalez traces the line from the early days of the church to today, pointing out careful insights and explaining various reasons Christians have traditionally worshiped on Sunday.
He shares various views and traditional practices associated with the ancient church, then the Middle Ages, then Puritanism, and finally the Church today–explaining how many of these practices and policies still affect our observance of Sunday.
He also makes some keen observations about the current growth of the Church and what Sunday might look like in the future.
In pursuit of biblical accuracy
Gonzalez corrects many misconceptions held too long by historians and perpetuated by theologians. One such example?–he writes about the fourth commandment from the Old Testament, which is: Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. “Many may be surprised,” Gonzalez writes in his book, “to learn that connecting Sunday with the fourth commandment finds very little warrant in the early church, and that calling Sunday ‘the Sabbath’ is a relatively new phenomenon.”
He goes on to explain the connection between the “Christian Sabbath” and the Middle Ages and then Puritanism, when laws forbidding various activities on Sunday began.
He shares several other thoughts and insights on the Sabbath in this regard, giving Christians the oft-sought-after gift of understanding the “why” associated with many current traditions and philosophies.
The author’s goal for the book
Gonzalez had as one of his overarching goals the hope that readers would discover or rediscover the excitement of Sunday. On one hand, he hoped to remove the unhelpful stigma that Sunday should be a somber day filled with intense rules and regulations. On the other hand, he hoped to bring some helpful and fresh perspective to a day that is quickly and easily becoming just like every other day in our culture.
Sunday should be a unique day for people claiming the Christian faith. Specifically, it is the author’s belief–as illustrated throughout the book–that Sunday could and should be as encouraging to believers today as it has been to so many Christians for centuries.
Though Gonzalez maintains a consistently historical perspective in the book, he does so in a captivating and helpful way, drawing many well-articulated and historically-supported implications that apply to–and should inform–various church debates today. He always uses history to explain how the church has drifted from its early, enthusiastic attitude about Sunday and what believers can do to return. Perhaps history can explain the past and re-ignite a passion for worship in today’s Church.
It was certainly Gonzalez’s aim to do so.
~ Christian Patriot Daily
