Book Review

Book Review

Subversive Sabbath by A.J Swoboda

By

Gitonyi

Subversive Sabbath by A.J Swoboda

Subversive Sabbath is a book written by A.J. Swobooda. It has four chapters each have three subcategories.

Chapter 1

In the first chapter of Subversive Sabbath, author discussed the significance of time, rest, and health in humans. According to the author, Many Christians have forgotten the importance of Sabbath, and therefore, they are dissatisfied with lives. Although humans have every information available on their fingertips, yet they are busy working for God rather than understanding him due to which western churches have experienced marginalization and displacement. Furthermore, the author also explained the importance of rest for humans as, according to him, after the creation of humans on the sixth day, God rested from his work on the seventh day. Thus, humans are not robots, and to attain a healthy and balanced life; they require rest as well.

Chapter 2

In the second chapter of Subversive Sabbath, author discussed the significance of a relationship with God. In our daily life, we are so stressed about our work responsibilities that even on our rest day, we are still connected to our work. According to the author, if a person has no time for his or her family and God, then he or she must have taken more than what God had asked them to do. Thus, humans must re-organize themselves by understanding the importance of Sabbath. The author also focused on practicing Sabbath so that the poor and marginalized also find rest.

Chapter 3

In the third chapter of the Subversive Sabbath, author focused on the importance of the Sabbath and its role in keeping everything together. Specifically, discussing the Sabbath and land, the author discussed the correlation between land and Sabbath. According to the author, to restore land Sabbath is significant. Additionally, the author also explained that Sabbath is important for animals as well. In short, not only humans but everything that God created to need rest to function properly.

Chapter 4

In the fourth chapter of the Subversive Sabbath, author discussed the glorification of God in the community as well as the world. Many Christians worship on the seventh-day, yet due to the stress of work, many are unable to take rest completely. The author further highlighted the importance of Sabbath by explaining that humans tend to sacrifice rest to perform their tasks when, in reality, taking rest, an individual will experience God's care. Additionally, humans must be disciplined as this will help them in living a healthy, stress-free life.

Reflection

Living in an era where there is a tremendous increase in the use of technology, competition in every field of life is elevated. Due to this competition, humans are constantly working to attain success. However, during this process of constant struggle, humans have lost peace of their mind. The reason for this stressful life is a lack of familiarity with the Sabbath.

Being a student, I am always busy completing assignments and preparing for the quizzes. To attain high grades, I was constantly struggling and working without raking rest. However, when I read the book Subversive Sabbat I understood the concept of Sabbat and how important it is in our daily life. The concept of Sabbat changed the way I perceive the rest day. In the book, it was mentioned that after creating the universe, God rested from his work to set an example for humans that how important it is to take rest. The book facilitates a lot in learning the importance of Sabbat in every field of life.

The stress due to work not only destroys our peace of mind but our souls and our relationships with God and family. Although, due to God's merciful nature, humans are required to take a workload that they can bear rather than taking too much pressure. However, we humans put a lot of pressure on yourself that affects all our relationships. I also never used to focus on myself, my family, and my relationship with God. After gaining knowledge about Sabbat, I have decided to re-organize my life and pre-plan for Sabbat.

I have decided that I will also take rest and disconnect myself from all the work-related issues and spend my time on the things that will make God happy. This will help in strengthening my relationship with God. Additionally, I have decided to take complete rest so that I can also maintain a healthy, stress-free life.

Bibliography

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Swoboda, A.J. Subversive Sabbath: The Surprising Power of Rest in a Nonstop World. Brazos Press, 2018.