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Theses Sabbaticae, Or, the Doctrine of the Sabbath: Wherein the Sabbaths I. Morality, II. Change, III. Begining, IV. Sanctification, Are Clearly Discu
Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We have not used OCR(Optical Character Recognition), as this leads to bad quality books with introduced typos. (2) In books where there are images such as portraits, maps, sketches etc We have endeavoured to keep the quality of these images, so they represent accurately the original artefact. Although occasionally there may be certain imperfections with these old texts, we feel they deserve to be made available for future generations to enjoy.
- GenresBiblical Studies
274 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1649
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
October 22, 2014
Really good defense of the 4th Commandment and the beauty of the Christian Sabbath.
July 1, 2017
Thomas Shepard was born in England in 1605. He was a church pastor at Cambridge, Massachusetts, when he published “Theses Sabbaticae” in 1649, and he died the same year. Familiar with the arguments antagonistic to the Sunday-Sabbath viewpoint, Shepard defends the idea that the Sabbath is in continuing force not only for the church, but for the world, and that this day was divinely selected to be the first day of the week since the resurrection of Jesus. This may have been a respected work in the 17th century, but it makes for difficult reading today. His sentences are long and convoluted, some of them filling nearly a whole page. At times, his interpretations and conclusions are biblical (from my standpoint); yet he is no stranger to making outrageous statements and dismissing opponents with the argument: “we need not waste time on this one.” His case for the morality of the Sabbath is barely comprehensible with dubious excursions and non sequiturs. He spends little time on the relationship of the Sabbath to ceremonial law, typology, and eschatology. Also, he provides no detailed research regarding the expression of sabbatical natural law in primitive cultures, and he fails to explain how the Christian church missed this critical doctrine until his time.
His work is divided into four parts. The first section is comprised of 207 “theses” to prove that a religious rest every seven days is a moral commandment from the beginning of creation. His main argument for the morality of the Sabbath is its presence within the Decalogue. While he acknowledges the fact that moral and ceremonial laws are often listed side by side, he simply asserts that it is not so in the Decalogue—they are all moral. His exploration of the relationship of the morality of the Sabbath to the law of nature was ponderous reading. The second heading defends the change of the day of week on which the Sabbath occurs, from the seventh day to the first. He asserts there is no moral compromise by moving the Sabbath since both Jews and Christians give the Lord one-seventh of their time, which is the moral requirement. Thirdly, since the Jewish Sabbath was from evening to evening he reasons that the Christian Sabbath should encompass the same timeframe. Lastly, the Sabbath is sanctified by avoiding works done for worldly gain, profit, or livelihood, or to acquire and purchase things of this life, and also sports and pastimes. He does not think that cooking is unlawful, nor building a fire for the sick and weak; however it is an open question whether presumptuous Sabbath-breakers should be put to death. [Note: This is an abridged review which I published elsewhere].
His work is divided into four parts. The first section is comprised of 207 “theses” to prove that a religious rest every seven days is a moral commandment from the beginning of creation. His main argument for the morality of the Sabbath is its presence within the Decalogue. While he acknowledges the fact that moral and ceremonial laws are often listed side by side, he simply asserts that it is not so in the Decalogue—they are all moral. His exploration of the relationship of the morality of the Sabbath to the law of nature was ponderous reading. The second heading defends the change of the day of week on which the Sabbath occurs, from the seventh day to the first. He asserts there is no moral compromise by moving the Sabbath since both Jews and Christians give the Lord one-seventh of their time, which is the moral requirement. Thirdly, since the Jewish Sabbath was from evening to evening he reasons that the Christian Sabbath should encompass the same timeframe. Lastly, the Sabbath is sanctified by avoiding works done for worldly gain, profit, or livelihood, or to acquire and purchase things of this life, and also sports and pastimes. He does not think that cooking is unlawful, nor building a fire for the sick and weak; however it is an open question whether presumptuous Sabbath-breakers should be put to death. [Note: This is an abridged review which I published elsewhere].
November 12, 2010
Excellent! Hard to understand at times, but excellent. It's like reading John Owen on the Sabbath (only without all the latin, Greek and Hebrew :D
July 6, 2016
Excellent scholarly little treatises on the Sabbath, well worth the read!!!
April 30, 2017
Thomas Shepard was born in England in 1605. He was a church pastor at Cambridge, Massachusetts, when he published “Theses Sabbaticae” in 1649, and he died the same year. Familiar with the arguments antagonistic to the Sunday-Sabbath viewpoint, Shepard defends the idea that the Sabbath is in continuing force not only for the church, but for the world, and that this day was divinely selected to be the first day of the week since the resurrection of Jesus. This may have been a respected work in the 17th century, but it makes for difficult reading today. His sentences are long and convoluted, some of them filling nearly a whole page. At times, his interpretations and conclusions are biblical (from my standpoint); yet he is no stranger to making outrageous statements and dismissing opponents with the argument “we need not waste time on this one.” His case for the morality of the Sabbath is barely comprehensible with dubious excursions and non sequiturs. He spends little time on the relationship of the Sabbath to ceremonial law, typology, and eschatology. Also, he provides no detailed research regarding the expression of sabbatical natural law in primitive cultures, and he fails to explain how the Christian church missed this critical doctrine until his time.
His work is divided into four parts. The first section is comprised of 207 “theses” to prove that a religious rest every seven days is a moral commandment from the beginning of creation. His main argument for the morality of the Sabbath is its presence within the Decalogue. While he acknowledges the fact that moral and ceremonial laws are often listed side by side, he simply asserts that it is not so in the Decalogue—they are all moral. His exploration of the relationship of the morality of the Sabbath to the law of nature was ponderous reading. The second heading defends the change of the day of week on which the Sabbath occurs, from the seventh day to the first. He asserts there is no moral compromise by moving the Sabbath since both Jews and Christians give the Lord one-seventh of their time, which is the moral requirement. Thirdly, since the Jewish Sabbath was from evening to evening he reasons that the Christian Sabbath should encompass the same timeframe. Lastly, the Sabbath is sanctified by avoiding works done for worldly gain, profit, or livelihood, or to acquire and purchase things of this life, and also sports and pastimes. He does not think that cooking is unlawful, nor building a fire for the sick and weak; however it is an open question whether presumptuous Sabbath-breakers should be put to death. [Note: This is an abridged review which I published elsewhere].
His work is divided into four parts. The first section is comprised of 207 “theses” to prove that a religious rest every seven days is a moral commandment from the beginning of creation. His main argument for the morality of the Sabbath is its presence within the Decalogue. While he acknowledges the fact that moral and ceremonial laws are often listed side by side, he simply asserts that it is not so in the Decalogue—they are all moral. His exploration of the relationship of the morality of the Sabbath to the law of nature was ponderous reading. The second heading defends the change of the day of week on which the Sabbath occurs, from the seventh day to the first. He asserts there is no moral compromise by moving the Sabbath since both Jews and Christians give the Lord one-seventh of their time, which is the moral requirement. Thirdly, since the Jewish Sabbath was from evening to evening he reasons that the Christian Sabbath should encompass the same timeframe. Lastly, the Sabbath is sanctified by avoiding works done for worldly gain, profit, or livelihood, or to acquire and purchase things of this life, and also sports and pastimes. He does not think that cooking is unlawful, nor building a fire for the sick and weak; however it is an open question whether presumptuous Sabbath-breakers should be put to death. [Note: This is an abridged review which I published elsewhere].
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews