Sabbath obedience and outdoor endeavors lasting longer than a week

[Tim]

There is a lot of room for a confessional response between attending your own church 52 weeks a year and frolicking on a mountainside or a yacht on the Lord's day. You have set up a false dichotomy that seems to fall more readily into my category 2 rather than 3.

I still don't think you are giving me the benefit of the doubt with the intent of my question.

Obviously, I picked some "extreme" examples, but the principle is really what is important. If you think there is no way a Christian could ever obey the 4th Commandment while traveling by sea or while on an 8-day hiking trip, then please do state your reasons. There have been some good responses already and I am open to more.

 

[Pilgrim Standard]

Obviously, I picked some "extreme" examples, but the principle is really what is important.

Tim,
I believe pastor Ruddell summed up how to approach the question of any degree of outdoor endeavor that may occur on the Lord's Day.

I do not believe climbing mountains for the sake of getting to the top, or racing 'round the word to be such necessary or merciful activities.

The Boundaries lie here... "Is it necessary or merciful?"

count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord

 

[Edward]

As long as you keep trying to set up false dichotomies, I'll keep calling you on it. The original question didn't deal with any travel by sea, but to a recreational adventure. Want to take a long voyage? Book a trip on a ship large enough to offer corporate worship on the Lord's day. Want to take an 8 day recreational hike? Arrange a route that allows a break on the Lord's day near a church where you can worship.

Or be honest with yourself and take an exception to the standards.

And I'll be happy to give my reasons - The Scriptures and the Westminster Standards.

 

[Tim]

Or be honest with yourself and take an exception to the standards.

Um, what? Where did I state any such conclusions?

Did you perhaps read this sentence of mine:

I am thinking of endeavors such as expedition mountaineering and ocean yacht racing.

...to mean that I was actually contemplating these specific activities and ready to sign up?

If so, I can see why you persist. Maybe I worded it poorly, but all I meant to communicate was that I wished to consider these as an example. I do not take exception to the Westminster Standards on this matter.

Perhaps I should have stated this earlier, but I always had in mind that there would need to be some sort of break from the activities given as example. But I take it from your most recent post that you suggest that this break (i.e., the whole first day of the week) should necessarily include corporate worship, and not just private or family worship?

 

[Rev. Todd Ruddell]

Tim, have you read the sermon by David Clarkson on Psalm 87.2, titled "Public Worship to be Preferred before Private"? This may help you to answer the question you posed in post # 34.

 

[SRoper]

This is an interesting question because it gets to the definition of "necessity" in the types of work permitted on the Lord's Day. I remember a discussion on here where it was suggested that a necessary work is one that cannot be done the day before or the day after--which I found to be a rather useful definition. If this is the case, then it seems that tending to a single-handed boat on an ocean crossing would fall under a work of necessity as it cannot be done ahead of time or put off to the next day.

Many here would be unsatisfied with this conclusion as it was not necessary to make the crossing in the first place. So the definition of necessity given before was at least incomplete. I find this to be a much more slippery approach. Most would agree that milking dairy cows on the Lord's Day is a work of necessity (in fact it was given as an example of a work of necessity in a previous thread). However, on the definition proposed on this thread, how could you escape the argument that it is not necessary to keep dairy cows?

 

[Tim]

Tim, have you read the sermon by David Clarkson on Psalm 87.2, titled "Public Worship to be Preferred before Private"? This may help you to answer the question you posed in post # 34.

I am familiar with the public > private principle, but I had not considered it in light of this question. Thanks - that is useful to consider.