Brief History of Sunday: From the New Testament to the New Creation

Authoritative yet accessible historical overview of Christian Sunday worship In this book noted Christian historian Justo Gonzalez tells the story of how and why Christians have worshiped on Sunday from the earliest days of the church to the present. After discussing the views and practices relating to Sunday in the ancient church, Gonzalez turns to Constantine and how his policies affected Sunday observances. He then recounts the long process, beginning in the Middle Ages and culminating with Puritanism, whereby Christians came to think of and strictly observe Sunday as the Sabbath. Finally, Gonzalez looks at the current state of things, exploring especially how the explosive growth of the church in the Majority World has affected the observance of Sunday worldwide. Readers of this book will rediscover the joy and excitement of Sunday as the early church celebrated it and will find inspiration in an age of increasing indifference and hostility to Christianity.