For those who have always wanted to study the origins of the Biblical Sabbath in other parts of the world beyond North America, comes a new study guide that explores Sabbath-keeping in Africa. Some 800 ministers of the Seventh-day Adventist Church were among the first to receive copies of the study guide for the book “Sabbath Roots: the African Connection” at Oakwood College in Alabama, United States, in December 2004. 

The book, published five years ago, pulls together research from historians and theologians that shows that Sabbath-keeping has been going on in Africa for centuries.  Adherents to the keeping of the Biblical Sabbath refer to the first book of the Bible where God set aside the seventh day of the week for man to fellowship with him.

Charles E. Bradford, the book’s author and former president of the church’s North American region, says the book connects the keeping of the Biblical Sabbath in Africa with Psalm 68:31.  The text says: “Princes shall come out of Egypt; Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God.”

He sees the text as prophesy coming true as Christianity on that continent continues to grow in large numbers.  He says that he also wants to recognize the part that Africa plays in Christianity—something that has long been ignored by Euro-centric authors.

The book was so positively recieved that it was only natural to provide a companion to help study the subject, says Nikolaus Satelmajer, associate ministerial secretary at the world headquarters for the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

“[The book] opened a door to a whole new area of research that has long been neglected,” says Satelmajer.

Bradford says he had been interested in the subject for about 20 years. He also notes that Ellen G. White, one of the founders of the Adventist Church, spoke of the importance of Sabbath-keeping churches in Africa.

The book is an important resource to be used in congregations and for evangelism, says Douglas Morgan, Ph.D., who compiled the study guide. A history professor at Columbia Union College, in Takoma Park, Maryland, United States, Morgan has also used the book in his own classes to advance a more global view of Christianity.

While many historians, such as Morgan, have been trained with the European and North American view of Christianity, there has been little scholarship on African Christianity. But that is changing, Morgan said, adding that there is a “major movement in the academic world to understand the history of Christianity in a more global way.” Morgan is also part of a committee that seeks to advance that purpose.

The primary purpose of the study guide is to try to get more people thinking and reflecting on the significance of select passages in the book, hey says.

While the book is aimed primarily at African Americans, Satelmajer said the book is for everyone. It has even attracted interest from clergy members outside the Adventist community, he notes.

The Ministerial Association became involved with the book because it is in keeping with its mission to provide relevant resources for pastors, Satelmajer says.  “Church members ought to be exposed to the African roots of Sabbath-keeping,” he comments, “especially since they have been keeping it there longer than anywhere else.”

Bradford agrees, saying that while the Sabbath-keeping culture probably stretches back to the beginning, it most likely originated back in the “days of King Solomon or with the Ethiopian eunuchs in Jesus Christ’s day and the days of the apostles.”

While the Ministerial Association has no plans to translate the book into other languages, it is planning to make it available to pastors in Africa.

For more information visit www.ministerialassociation.com.