There is a long history behind why so many churches and Christian denominations observe Sunday rather than the Sabbath (Saturday). Much of this record can be confirmed in history books and encyclopedias.

Many in the early church (during the second century A.D.) began to incorporate some of the practices of the traditional pagan religions in the Roman Empire around them, including the practice of worshipping on Sunday. The church leadership also compromised and blended practices of Greek philosophers with Christianity.

The motivation for doing so was to distance themselves from anything Jewish. Although Christianity's roots are found in Jewish practice (God's laws in the Old Testament), church leaders at that time were embarrassed by this association and determined to rid themselves of Jewish connections such as the seventh-day Sabbath.

While a few Sunday-keeping denominations today will cite a few scriptures from the New Testament supposedly giving "evidence" that the Sabbath was not kept in the early Church and that Sunday was, most will acknowledge that it was the political pressures in history that caused the change. Of course, this compromise with God's law (the Fourth Commandment) was also seen when churches began incorporating the trappings and practices now associated with Christmas and Easter.

If you would like to learn more about mainstream Christianity's history of replacing biblical practices with traditional pagan styles of worship, we suggest you read Holidays or Holy Days—Does It Matter Which Days We Keep? and Sunset to Sunset—God's Sabbath Rest.