The book, “Sabbath as Resistance”, by Walter Brueggemann, caught my attention from the first chapter until the very end. Chapters one and two discuss how the fourth commandment, “Remember the Sabbath to keep it holy,” establishes a foundation for all the other commandments, especially the first and last commandments. Brueggemann also spends time on how Egypt was the capital of production and consumption. Pharaoh would get what he wanted, no matter how much work it took. The Israelites were under the law of Pharaoh and all they were told to do was work day in and out. The hard labor and the punishments received brought God sorrow. Moses was sent by God to deliver the Israelites from slavery and was instructed to bring them to Mount Sinai, where …show more content…
He says, “if we abide by the fourth commandment, our lives will forever be filled with contentment. If not, our lives will be filled with greed.” The tenth commandment specifically deals with jealousy. Brueggeman also says that, “Sabbath is a school for our desires, to expose and critique the false desires that focus on idolatry and greed that have immense power over us. When we do not pause for the Sabbath, these false desires take power over us.” Sabbath gives us the opportunity to really manifest our own lives and get to know more about ourselves. If we want something our neighbor has, we have coveted. If we are filled with jealously, we are telling Yahweh that the things He has provided us with are not good enough. With this attitude and behavior, we cannot observe the Sabbath, as He wants us too. I believe the Sabbath was made for mankind, for us to take a break from the chaos of the world and to simply remember who created us. I believe it is a day where we need to reconnect with Yahweh. In Mark 2:27-28 Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.” This verse gives me a clear explanation to why I believe in the …show more content…
He says, “in our own contemporary context of the rat race of anxiety, the celebration of Sabbath is an act of resistance.” He says that this is resistance because it is a “visible insistence that our lives are not defined by the production and consumption of commodity goods.” The Sabbath is also an alternative “to the demanding, chattering, pervasive presence of advertising and its great liturgical claim of professional sports that devour all our “rest time.” Our world is a world of production, we continuously produce and never stop. The need for over-production will someday destroy us. Everyone needs a day of rest to have a moment to realize their content with themselves and with others. The Sabbath is a way that can defend the production of this world. Many many Americans are being abused by this type of production system because when they have the time to take a break and rest, they fear that they will need more and more. Brueggemann states that “Thus I have come to think that the fourth commandment on Sabbath is the most difficult and most urgent of the commandments in our society, because it summons us to intent and conduct that defies the most elemental requirements of a commodity-propelled society that specializes in control and entertainment, bread and circuses … along with anxiety and
Jonathan Klemens’ definition of the Protestant work ethic found in his essay, “The Protestant Work Ethic: Just Another 'Urban Legend?'" pulls inspiration from Max Weber. Klemens’ takes the religious aspect out of Weber’s definition and transforms it from a three part definition to a four part definition. The first part of his definition is passion which is closely followed by commitment and hard work. The fourth and final aspect is innovation. According to Klemens these four parts are essential to a successful and efficient work ethic.
Upon accepting a position to work for the New York Transit Authority, Mary Myers was forthright in informing her supervisor(s) know that she was unable to work any sundown Fridays to sundown Saturdays. (Feazell, 2003) As it relates to keeping “the Sabbath”, sundown Friday to sundown Saturday adherence to set aside this time period for rest and worship. (Feazell, 2003) Consequently, after Ms. Myer begin working for Transit Authority, her scheduled hours were involuntary changed, and she was then required to work on the Sabbath. (Feazell, 2003)
Marks, L. (2006). The Loss of Leisure in a Culture of Overwork. Spirit of Change Magazine.
Previous generations have a strong belief of keeping work and home life separate; that work is for work and home is for play (Rampell, 2011, para 21). Today’s professionals do not seem to abide by similar beliefs, constantly crossing the borders of one into the other. While many recognize this as an issue that could result in employees being less productive, it has actually resulted in them accepting that their work may run late into the evening or even into the weekend. I agree with this completely in that I grew up being taught that business is business and personal is personal; you leave your home life at the door. But now times have changed, and my weekends are no longer dedicated to my home life, but for work, because I attend classes during the week. Also, in my line of work in the Allied Health industry, it is a requirement to work off hours. Long gone are the days of working nine to five, Monday through Friday; technology and the demand of wanting affairs done and done as soon as possible, has made it so the “work week” is now 24-7. “Jon Della Volpe, the director of polling at Harvard Institute of Politics, said, ‘Some experts also believe that today’s young people are better at quickly switching from one task to another, given their exposure to so many stimuli during their childhood and adolescence’” (Rampbell,
...sterton, G. K.. "Introduction to The Book of Job." The Hebrew Bible In Literary Criticism. Ed. and Comp. Alex Preminger and Edward L. Greenstein. New York: Ungar, 1986. 449-50.
The Sabbath is designed as a day of rest after working for six days, no work including sport is to be performed on this day. When God created the earth, he set aside the seventh day as a day of rest after all the hard work he had done.
Exodus 21-24 was definitely quite an instructive piece of literature. It was almost raw in its nature as a text or “book” but more of reading an excerpt from a piece of non-fiction most similar to an instruction manual of some sort that you get when you buy a dissembled bike or desk. Something like being enrolled in a police academy there was definite sense of a master-slave relationship in the air. It is like something never before seen in the Torah, these chapters showed a whole new YHWH. The YHWH who is feared like the school principal in an elementary school, not even mom and dad has come on so strong as to the dos and donts of living life. It seems as if YHWH was pushed to such a point where YHWH has no choice but intervene into the lives of his children, and set the rules for the pl...
The first of which is mentioned when Tom’s mother foreshadows that whatever work that Toms father does on Sunday will be wasted. You see, Tom’s mother is a very religious woman who thinks that it is the absolute worst thing in the world to work on a Sunday. However Tom’s father, on the other hand, is a farmer
Many Bible loving people might be offended because “be fruitful” was written in Genesis prior to “the fall” of Adam, meaning that people believe that God created work for enjoyment but it was “the fall” of our first parents that caused the want for food and basic necessities. The entire argument should be removed in consciousness of the audience. I would have liked for Kreider to recognize that some people feel at their best when they are productive and busy and to note that the tug-o-war between what wants or needs may actually not be a tug-o-war for all people. Busy people squeeze in time to laugh amidst activity or nature walks during lunch or a time to create after dinner that is equally refreshing for them as well as the luxury that he had to write at an “Undisclosed Location.” People fill their life with the want to give back by volunteering or giving of themselves in some type of compacity, which can be more rewarding than “idleness.” Even the overscheduled children Kreider spoke of could be volunteering while learning critical life skills, making them less likely to engage in at-risk behaviors and live a balanced
Although there are few religions that still consider the ways of the ancient Egyptian culture important, they are still out there. They are influenced every day by the history, which permeates their rituals, scriptures, and more. Furthermore, Egypt’s political influence may be outdated and not the clearest system, but it led the way for further development and refinement for future use. Without the influence of Egypt, we would not be the civilization that we are
“Well in theory the commandment makes a lot of sense to me, but if your mother and fathers are not honorable people, then they don’t deserve to be honored. My father doesn’t think about the people who rely on him. He had a child, and he didn’t find a way to honor his commandments to them”(Marquardt 26-27).
Genesis, Job, and Antigone all discuss matters regarding the laws of god and law of man, punishments for disobedience, and the role of knowledge.
Exposing the Hypocrisy of Religion in Emily Dickinson’s Some Keep the Sabbath Going to Church
The last stanza of "Sunday Morning" reiterates the feeling of solitude that the woman experiences in the first stanza, but the tone has changed. The image of silent water again dominates the scene, and her religious questioning continues. She is still suspended in a disorganized state of mind, but there is a feeling of acceptance of the ambiguity of life that is not replaced with the peace of mind and hopes of happiness.
Zevit, Ziony. "Exodus in the Bible and the Egyptian Plagues." Biblical Archaeology Society. N.p., 17 July 2011. Web. 23 Nov. 2013.