Rhode Island Catholic Says ‘Why Not Give Everyone Sunday Off?’ In Wake Of New Supreme Court Case

Gerald Groff, a “strict Sabbatarian Christian”, refuses to work on Sunday because it violates the “third commandment”. He proposes that Sunday is the day to choose for a day off in the workplace.

I want to highlight a few things through out this article and point out some inaccurate and un-true information. Let’s dig into this article and clear some things up.

On January 26th, 2023, Rhode Island Catholic published this:

“There is a case before the Supreme Court that could decide whether or not employees get a day off. Gerald Groff is a strict Sabbatarian Christian, that is, he refuses to work on Sunday because it violates the Third Commandment. He worked for the U.S. Postal Service since 2013.”

NOTE: This gentlemen named Gerald Groff is a Roman Catholic. Reason being, in the Bible the seventh day sabbath commandment to rest on the seventh day of the week, which is in fact Saturday not Sunday, is the 4th commandment, not the 3rd. You can find the full unadulterated list of ten commandments here: Exodus 20:1-17

Roman Catholics have their own set of changed and maniupulated “Ten Commandments”. Because they believe they have the authority to change and abrogate God’s Holy Law. They removed Commandment #2, which is the commandment not to bow before graven images or idols in worship, and to fill that gap then split the 10th Commandment (thou shalt not covet) into two. So it doesn’t look like anything has changed because there is still “Ten” commandments in their catechisms. But if you look a little closer you will see the changes between the two. Another issue is they shorten the 4th Commandment completely to “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy.”, rather than the full 3 verses (Exodus 20:8-11) that the Bible gives to the commandment. The Ten Commandments of the Bible total 295 words in length. However, the Roman Catholic ten commandments are a total of only 77 words. A lot has been removed! Let’s continue on to the article:

“At first, management tried to accommodate Groff’s beliefs. That changed in 2017 and in 2019 he quit. He subsequently sued the USPS for failing to accommodate his religious practice. A district court ruled in favor of USPS, alleging that Groff imposed undue burdens on “his coworkers, disrupted the workplace, and diminished employee morale.” The case now goes to the Supreme Court.”

“Two parts of this case deserve examination. First, the argument that Groff’s religious practice imposes an undue burden on his fellow employees. At first glance, this makes sense: no one likes being forced to cover an absentee fellow employee. Yet, Groff’s absence is not the problem, nor is he necessarily the one imposing the burden. What about the company? Why not give everyone Sunday off? Groff’s fellow workers should not get mad at him, but at the company which treats them as instruments to maximize profit.”

“Second, we ask the question: Why did God give us the Third Commandment? Does God need our worship? Not at all. God is perfect; He needs nothing and no one. God instituted the Sabbath rest for humanity. Contrary to popular opinion: God’s commands are good for us. Rest is the basis of culture. Groff’s case is not just about the freedom to practice one’s religion, it is about being able to take time for rest.”

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I grew up in an ‘Apostolic Lutheran’ church where we also followed the Catholic ten commandments. We had what you call “Martin Luther’s Small Catechism”. We were taught from that little green book each and every Sunday in Sunday School. We had to memorize a commandment or a portion from it each Sunday school for the next week, then recite it in front of the class. Of course, most of us, in our careless, indifferent youth, waited until Sunday morning and forcibly, frantically memorized that portion assigned the prior Sunday. Little did I know as a young child, and even into my upper teens, that the ten commandments within this little green book had been changed by the Roman Catholic power as a part of prophecy. For Daniel 7:25 says:

“And he (Vatican, Papal Rome) shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

It wasn’t until one day, after God began to work in my heart and I started to read the Scriptures, that it came to me. I realized something was different in the little green catechism, when comparing in the Bible. Now, at first, I wasn’t quite sure what was different, but I could tell something was. I still remember coming to the realization of the two completely different sets of commandments. I grabbed my king James Bible, and grabbed this little green book. I went through Exodus 20, and compared word for word with my childhood catechism. I was truly shocked at what I found!

Don’t take it from me, get it right from the source:

“The Pope is of great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret even divine laws… The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man, but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth.” -Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Ribliotheca, “Papa,” art. 2, translated.

“The Pope has the power to change times, to abrogate laws, and to dispense with all things, even the precepts of Christ.” “The Pope has the authority and often exercised it, to dispense withthe command of Christ.”Decretal, de Tranlatic Episcop. Cap. (The Pope can modify divine law.)Ferraris’ Ecclesiastical Dictionary.

“The authority of the church could therefore not be bound to the authority of the Scriptures, because the Church had changed…the Sabbath into Sunday, not by command of Christ, but by its own authority.” Canon and Tradition, p. 263

https://thericatholic.com/stories/keep-holy-the-sabbath-is-about-rest,13513