Pilgrim Standard
Puritan Board Sophomore
I see no issue with sport or fitness in moderation. Team building skills, motor skills, reaction etc. can be gained through sport.
But, consider the Gymnasium built in Jerusalem under Antiochus Epiphanes. It was more than just a place of competition and fitness. It was the chief instrument of infusing the culture of Hellenism in the youth. It was built next to the Temple, and even the priests are said to have “gave up worshipping at the altar. They cared nothing about the temple, and they neglected offering sacrifices. And when the signal was given, they hurried off to take part in games that were against our teachings.” As a result of this, not only the youth, but the priests were swept away by the "culture" brought by a heathen run venue like this.
I plead warning against mixing with such institutions run by ways of the heathen. And I say this, as I have stated, the profaning of the Sabbath, idolizing of players, normalization of character of the players, the introduction of improperly dressed women cheerleaders (which are designed to pollute the mind of men young and old, in relation to women,) hyper competition etc.
This new gym with its unnoticed ephebeum has had it's effect on our culture today. Surely you have heard of or seen signs on churches in which superbowl events are promoted. Why is this tolerated? Our children are being taught that it is ok to engage in events where immorality is normalized in the “culture” of the event itself. We normalize it, and promote it when we partake in it. Oh! but we say, "we are reformed" and can look above this fray of vanity fair, but still accept it's fruits where we see fit without the fear of reaping what we actively sow.
Well nothing is new under the sun, and the fruits of this have been noted.
It is rather encouraging to even witness a discussion such as we are having in this world today. Andres has pointed out that none of us perfectly Keep the Sabbath, and truly we do not, to our own shame. Matthew has caused us to question things we may enjoy wrongly, and Miss Marple genuinely desires to parse out the question, “of what may we partake in which its essence, production, or procurement, involves Sabbath Violation.”
I think the issue at hand is the culture that we live in. Sadly it is dominated by an infrastructure that is based in Sabbath desecration. One is hard pressed to find employment that does not require Sabbath breaking in many fields today. (I mean fields where there is not a work of necessity.)
When we mingle with the ways of the wicked, and allow their council to be heard, (to even have a voice,) the rulers will take council against the Lord and His anointed, and we will face the seat of the scornful. We must remember that the wicked through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God, for God is not in all his thoughts, and that the wicked will walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted. This is where many of us live today.
Ask yourselves, if we lived in a hypothetical society in which the Lord’s day was honored as much as a society has done, and it was found that a manufacturer was utilizing methods or materials that made their gain from Sabbath Desecration, would you not shun the product in favor of a product not may on the Sabbath, out of love for the Lord, his blessing, and a love for your fellow humans? Since we are as far away from this as the Church has been in a long time, and we have engaged in globalization of economies and governments that mingle the ways of the wicked in such a way as to allow them to “set the stage” of activity in these spheres, our burden of checking or even our ability to check is enslaved.
Because of this, we cannot compare the threads or produce of heathen manufacture in one country, which was shipped to another country for processing, etc. etc. with an openly ungodly social event of vanity in which Sabbath breaking is made entertainment.
Ps 7:9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.
But, consider the Gymnasium built in Jerusalem under Antiochus Epiphanes. It was more than just a place of competition and fitness. It was the chief instrument of infusing the culture of Hellenism in the youth. It was built next to the Temple, and even the priests are said to have “gave up worshipping at the altar. They cared nothing about the temple, and they neglected offering sacrifices. And when the signal was given, they hurried off to take part in games that were against our teachings.” As a result of this, not only the youth, but the priests were swept away by the "culture" brought by a heathen run venue like this.
I plead warning against mixing with such institutions run by ways of the heathen. And I say this, as I have stated, the profaning of the Sabbath, idolizing of players, normalization of character of the players, the introduction of improperly dressed women cheerleaders (which are designed to pollute the mind of men young and old, in relation to women,) hyper competition etc.
This new gym with its unnoticed ephebeum has had it's effect on our culture today. Surely you have heard of or seen signs on churches in which superbowl events are promoted. Why is this tolerated? Our children are being taught that it is ok to engage in events where immorality is normalized in the “culture” of the event itself. We normalize it, and promote it when we partake in it. Oh! but we say, "we are reformed" and can look above this fray of vanity fair, but still accept it's fruits where we see fit without the fear of reaping what we actively sow.
Well nothing is new under the sun, and the fruits of this have been noted.
Well, I mentioned enjoying wearing a red shirt if the dye was manufactured on Sunday, or a bowl of ice cream if it was delivered to the store last Sunday, or using a pen that was bought on a Sunday even if you re-bought it at a garage sale, in an earlier post.
It is rather encouraging to even witness a discussion such as we are having in this world today. Andres has pointed out that none of us perfectly Keep the Sabbath, and truly we do not, to our own shame. Matthew has caused us to question things we may enjoy wrongly, and Miss Marple genuinely desires to parse out the question, “of what may we partake in which its essence, production, or procurement, involves Sabbath Violation.”
I think the issue at hand is the culture that we live in. Sadly it is dominated by an infrastructure that is based in Sabbath desecration. One is hard pressed to find employment that does not require Sabbath breaking in many fields today. (I mean fields where there is not a work of necessity.)
When we mingle with the ways of the wicked, and allow their council to be heard, (to even have a voice,) the rulers will take council against the Lord and His anointed, and we will face the seat of the scornful. We must remember that the wicked through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God, for God is not in all his thoughts, and that the wicked will walk on every side, when the vilest men are exalted. This is where many of us live today.
Ask yourselves, if we lived in a hypothetical society in which the Lord’s day was honored as much as a society has done, and it was found that a manufacturer was utilizing methods or materials that made their gain from Sabbath Desecration, would you not shun the product in favor of a product not may on the Sabbath, out of love for the Lord, his blessing, and a love for your fellow humans? Since we are as far away from this as the Church has been in a long time, and we have engaged in globalization of economies and governments that mingle the ways of the wicked in such a way as to allow them to “set the stage” of activity in these spheres, our burden of checking or even our ability to check is enslaved.
Because of this, we cannot compare the threads or produce of heathen manufacture in one country, which was shipped to another country for processing, etc. etc. with an openly ungodly social event of vanity in which Sabbath breaking is made entertainment.
Ps 7:9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.