Loughgall have had two appeals against the Northern Ireland Football League decisions relating to Sunday football upheld with the club claiming it would be discriminated against for its refusal to play on Sundays.
Ballymena United - located in a former council borough once dominated by Paisleyism and the fundamentalist wing of the DUP - has also opposed the move for Premiership games on Sundays.
Theologically, it is a Biblical battle between the Old and New Testament interpretations of verses. Basically, a Sunday is regarded as a day of rest - the problem is, how should Christians relax on the Sabbath in terms of activities?
The strict Sabbath fundamentalists point to the Old Testament book of Exodus and the commandments given to Moses, which are essentially the bedrock of the Christian faith.
In Exodus Chapter 20, verses eight to 11, it is very clear how the Sabbath should be observed:
Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work. But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor any stranger that is within thy gates.For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it - King James Version.
This has sparked a huge debate as to what constitutes work on Sundays, especially among the farming communities. Surely this passage from Exodus does not mean that farmers should not feed their livestock on Sundays?
What about the security forces and emergency services who have to work on Sundays? What about the doctors and nurses in hospitals and care homes who have to work on Sundays? Surely a very strict fundamentalist interpretation of this fourth commandment does not mean that all these essential workers should ‘down tools’ on Sundays?
Those who favour a more practical approach to Sunday activity point to the New Testament and the Gospel of Luke, and specifically the words of Jesus Himself in Chapter 13 and verse 15:
The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering? - King James Version.
Whilst the Luke verse would indicate that Christ was saying that essential work could be done on the Sabbath, there still remains a huge debate over the Old Testament view of ‘rest’.
Having been raised in the north east Ulster Bible Belt, that practically meant no television or BBC Radio One on Sundays; no reading of comics such as the Topper or Victor, and the only reading material was to be a Bible, hymn book, or the catechism.
Indeed, in the Sixties and Seventies, I have been in homes in that Bible Belt where no televisions were even allowed and the radio was only for news bulletins.
In the Seventies especially, Sundays were for worship. A typical Sabbath would be a morning Sunday school or Bible class following by a morning church service. After lunch, many chums attended an afternoon Sunday school. In the evening after tea, there would be the evening church service, followed by either a youth fellowship meeting or another service in one of the network of mission halls throughout the region.
In short, given that hectic Sunday schedules of worship, there was actually little time to rest or relax, especially if you were a cleric.
Given the fast pace at which we now live our lives in 2024, particularly with churches facing stiff competition from the digital revolution, how should Christians spend their Sundays as a day of rest?
What about sitting on the sofa reading a book or watching an Old Firm game between Rangers and Celtic, or one of the sports channels showing my beloved Gunners in action? What about a walk by the seaside?
What about the people who choose to watch a game or event with their families and friends? What about going to a restaurant to have a slap-up meal to celebrate a birthday or anniversary?
I recall in my teenage days travelling to Portstewart with a group of Christian friends from the youth fellowship for the annual summer convention. After the service, we went for a walk along the town promenade where we met girls from a neighbouring church. The glares I got from some of my fundamentalist chums when I suggested buying the girls an ice cream on the Sabbath!
During my 46 years in journalism, I have worked for a number of Sunday newspapers. On occasions, I have had lectures from Christians that I should not be working as a Christian for such titles!
Whilst as a democracy we must defend the right to freedom of worship, we must also have freedom of choice. If people choose to interpret ‘rest’ as going to a soccer match or GAA event, that is their choice.
If ‘rest’ for them is gathering as a family at church, that is their choice. The problem is for the churches to make their activities attractive so that going to worship is preferable to going to a sporting event.
With the new school year already underway, what about those pupils and teachers who have to use the Sabbath to either complete their homework or prepare lessons?
When the old Ballymena Borough Council was controlled by the DUP, there were jokes about the party having the swings chained on Sundays so that the children could not play in the park, and the ducks having their feet tied so that they could not swim in the pond!
Jokes they may be, but once Christians travel down that route in reality, we are well on our way to a mind-controlled fascist state.
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| Follow Dr John Coulter on Twitter @JohnAHCoulter Listen to commentator Dr John Coulter’s programme, Call In Coulter, every Saturday morning around 10.15 am on Belfast’s Christian radio station, Sunshine 1049 FM. Listen online. |
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