By MARK McLAUGHLIN
Edinburgh Evening News
17 December 2009
"WHOSOEVER doeth any work in the Sabbath day shall surely be put to death," was once the harsh censure for anyone caught kindling thy fire, sowing thy field or pruning thy vineyard on a Sunday.
If the ancient Israelites had an equivalent for professional rugby, this would probably have been forbidden, too. But judging by the flurry caused by Euan Murray's decision to refrain from games on the Sabbath, there will be few people lining up to stone his less devout team-mates to death at the opening Six Nations match on the first Sunday in February.
The fact that Murray's decision received such blanket media coverage is an indication of just how rare – and perhaps even strange – Sabbatarianism has become in a country where it is still effectively enshrined in law.
Scotland has always had a more liberal view of working on the Sabbath, but businesses in England and Wales were forbidden to open right up until the Sunday Trading Act of 1994.
Even now, larger stores are only permitted to open for six hours, a prohibition that can also be felt in the busy shopping precincts of Edinburgh where national chains tend to work to hours set by their England-based headquarters.
And even though the Sunday Working (Scotland) Act 2003 made it illegal to force staff to work on a Sunday, discrimination can still creep through.
"I remember I used to come in for a lot of stick for observing the Sabbath when I was younger," says Craigentinny and Duddingston councillor Ewan Aitken, an ordained minister and secretary of the Church of Scotland's church and society council.
"When I was in the Scouts as a boy, we often had activities on a Sunday morning that I would have to get out of, which would make me the butt of quite a bit of banter, but I just had to roll with it.
"Since I became a councillor, I've often had to say no to official engagements on a Sunday because worship always comes first. It's different for me though because I'm an ordained minister as well.
"I no longer have my own ministry but when I did I would often get people coming to apologise for not coming to church more often because their employer was putting pressure on them to work.
"Today, worship is still what I would choose to do most Sundays, but there are exceptions. Ironically, my son also plays rugby and I often need to accompany him to away games, which I will put before the Sabbath because spending time with your family is equally important."
The potential for religious observance to interfere with your work is not unique to Christianity or rugby.
The devout faith of Muslim Hibs players Abdessalam Benjelloun and Merouane Zemmama has forced the club to come up with tailored dietary plans and training regimes during the holy month of Ramadan, when they are forbidden to eat during daylight hours and have a heightened duty to pray regularly to Mecca.
A Hibernian spokeswoman said: "Hibernian FC works very respectfully and closely with individual players to ensure their dietary and fitness requirements are looked after whilst they observe any rituals or celebrations prescribed by their religion."
Edinburgh Central Mosque Imam Sajjad Asim adds: "Many of the people who attend our mosque tell us that they find it hard to take time out of work to come to prayer.
"However, they do not need to come to the mosque to pray as they are permitted to pray from their workplace, so many will try to arrange breaks around prayer time.
"There is really no requirement to abstain from drinking alcohol or eating haraam (forbidden] foods although we would advise against it. It's all about personal choice. Islam should act as a guide rather than a law."
Part of Murray's decision stems from the fact that he is a lay minister in the Baptist church, which requires him to give occasional sermons to his congregation.
Andrea Mill, a fellow Baptist lay minister who fits her duties at Bristo Baptist Church around her work as a slimming counsellor, said: "I wouldn't mind working the occasional Sunday, but I might take issue with it if I was asked to work every Sunday.
"Sunday is not the only time you can go to church or spend time with God. There are house groups and prayer meetings on other days of the week.
"As long as you set aside another day in the week to do something different from normal work, for rest and relaxation, time with family, as well as time with God, I think that would be fine."
THE DAY OF REST
Sportsmen whose faith has interfered with their sport:
Eric Liddell: The sprinter pulled out of the 100m at the 1924 Paris Olympics, his best event, because the heats were on a Sunday, only to go on and win a record-breaking gold in the 400m in a later heat.
Michael Jones: The flanker in the All Blacks' World-Cup winning side of 1987 missed many Sunday matches, including the quarter and semi-final victories that took them back to the World Cup final in 1995.
Jonathan Edwards: The triple-jumper pulled out of the 1991 World Championships because of his faith, before a change of heart and support from his vicar father led him to gold 1995 and 2001. He is now an atheist.
Shawn Green: The Los Angeles Dodgers right fielder and two-time Major League All-Star missed a crucial play-off game against San Francisco because he refused to play on Yom Kippur.
Roy MacGregor: The former Ross County chairman refused to attend a Scottish Cup Sunday tie against Rangers in 2001.
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