The Christian Sabbath: Is It of Divine Origin?

In this rigorously argued 1894 critique, John E. Remsburg mounts a sustained assault on one of Christianity's most entrenched practices: the observance of Sunday as a divinely mandated day of rest. Drawing on biblical scholarship, the writings of early church fathers, and statements from Protestant reformers, Remsburg contends that the shift from Saturday to Sunday carries no divine authority. Rather, he argues, Sunday observance emerged from pagan solar traditions that crept into Christianity as the religion spread across the Roman Empire. The book reads as a methodical brief, stacking quote upon quote from St. Paul, Origen, Tertullian, Luther, and Calvin to demonstrate a surprising consensus: these authorities either remained silent on Sunday's sanctity or explicitly denied its divine origin. Remsburg's thesis is provocatively simple: if Sunday lacks biblical warrant, Christians observe it by tradition alone, not commandment. The work endures as a landmark text in the history of biblical criticism and free thought, appealing to readers interested in the intersection of theology, history, and the origins of religious practice.