Comment on The Origin of the Sabbath and the 7-Day Week by Sean Pitman.
@Ken:
However I think one can equally argue that to corroborate the Bible, extant biorhyms should match the biblical timeframe within which life was created. Even adding on a day of rest at most that would be 4 days.
There is no reason given in the Bible to support this assumption – especially given that mankind was created one day before the end of the first 7-day week. What? Would that suggest a 2-day weekly cycle for mankind?
It makes far better sense to simply take the Bible at its word when it says that God specifically created a 7-day weekly cycle of work and rest that was to be of benefit to mankind – suggesting that observing anything other than this particular weekly cycle would not be as ideal.
But I think you have to go further to test your seven day hypothesis as well. Take the human menstrual cycle. Presuming Eve had one, why wasn’t that seven days instead of 28?
Not all cycles need to be matched to seven days – for obvious practical reasons. Can you imagine your wife having a menstrual cycle every single week?! Once a month is bad enough. I’m sure all women and all men who are married would agree with me on this one. In fact, the menstral cycle is so inconvenient whenever it happens that Eve may not have originally been created to have one as we currently know it (especially given that there are various kinds of animals that reabsorb, rather than slough off, their endometrium).
The point I’m making is that the presence of circaseptan cycles does not necessarily indicate the benefit of seven day fiat creation. There are lots of other cycles to which life responds and adapts: night and day, 28 days, monthly, yearly, etc. Thus does one cherry pick the one(s) that augments arguments for optimal biblical cycles or consider them all and what they mean?
There are a lot of cyclical patterns in nature to which we must respond. The circaseptan cycle is entirely internal, not in response to any known external cyclical phenomenon (like night and day or seasonal cycles). This is why it is so interesting that humans and other living things have been created with so many of these internal circaseptan biorhythms… just as would be expected if the Bible was telling the truth about the promised blessings one might gain in following the pattern that God originally set in place (according to the Bible anyway).
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
Sean Pitman Also Commented
The Origin of the Sabbath and the 7-Day Week
@ken:
No, since the God of the Bible called everything “Good” at the end of creation week – which he would not have done if predation of sentient creatures existed on this planet before the moral fall of mankind. After all, the God of the Bible is pictured as experiencing pain in sympathy with animal as well as human suffering.
Given this background, it is quite clear that the eating of the fruit was only symbolic of allegiance. God made the tree and the fruit on it after all. It had no inherent power of its own, outside of God’s will and creative power, to prolong life…
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
The Origin of the Sabbath and the 7-Day Week
@Ken:
I do not disagree that there are numerous factors involved, to include genetics and overall lifestyle. However, it is interesting to me that there are other healthy groups of people out there who are also ethnically diverse. Yet, Adventists, in particular, live the longest among such ethnically diverse groups of people (note that the Okinawans are not ethnically diverse).
Again, all I can suggest is to try it out for yourself and see if you don’t notice a difference in your own personal experience…
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
The Origin of the Sabbath and the 7-Day Week
@Ken:
Consider that I’m presenting three different arguments at the same time. One argument is that there appears to be this intrinsic genetically-coded rhythm in all living things that is based on a 7-day cycle. That, by itself, is quite surprising and non-predictable form a naturalistic perspective – but not from a Biblical perspective.
After all, it was only the Bible that proposed, long before the circaseptan science came on the scene, to explain the origin of this 7-day rhythm as a creative act of God. The Bible also tells us how to best take advantage of this 7-day pattern by working six days and resting on every seventh day (my second argument) and that this work/rest cycle was given to us for our benefit (“The Sabbath was made for man”). In addition to this, the Bible claims that the original order of the days is important to God as a symbol between him and his people of their allegiance to God and he promises an additional supernatural blessing on those who strive to keep holy the true Sabbath day of his original blessing (my third argument).
In my opinion, these are all testable statements. The weekly cycle, by itself, has been shown to have intrinsic elements or biorhythms within all living things (first argument). If certain things are done in accordance with this pattern, living things function better (to include a lengthening of life for different kinds of creatures). On top of this, adding a “Sabbath” day of rest every 7th day appears to be beneficial to mind and body regardless of the actual 7th day chosen for rest – be that day Sunday or Saturday or Friday or whatever 7th day is chosen (second argument). So far, I don’t think there is very much disagreement with these arguments – even within the scientific community at this point (given the new information on circaseptan biorhythms within humans and all other living things and the general benefits of resting mind and body one day a week).
But, beyond this, it seems to me, from my own personal experience and the experience of certain key individuals that I have known, that if one strives to keep Holy the Biblical 7th day in particular (i.e., the Sabbath of the Jews or Saturday), that God actually gives such an individual an additional supernatural blessing (third argument).
Now, I’m sure that many will scoff at my last proposal. But, don’t be too hasty if you haven’t tried it out for yourself… If you haven’t actually tried to keep the Biblical Sabbath, Saturday, holy as the Bible describes. I think that this element plays a role in explaining why Adventists, among all ethnically diverse peoples of the world (to include other groups of people who try to be religious, healthy, and even vegetarian) live the longest and are generally the most blessed ethnically diverse group of people in the world.
Sean Pitman
www.DetectingDesign.com
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