In our family, we try to make the sabbath the "family day". This means we try to do things as a family: go to church, spend time together with each other and not with friends, etc.

Nothing gets a married couple (the core of the family) closer than sex, so if anything, we often are more intimate on Sabbath (which is Sunday for us) than other days.

I'd be curious to hear about other couples.

That's an interesting reply that I really didn't expect to hear. Not the sex on Sunday part, but the reasoning for it, to get closer to the person you love. That's really sweet and actually very romantic.

Quite frankly that's a good Christian message that most people probably wouldn't see as very Christian lol.

How intriguing! My first husband is Jewish and it never came up. Of course, he's from a Reform Synagogue and isn't very involved. As a Catholic, I never heard of such a restriction. We're supposed to abstain from work, but its not a problem and I don't know if its something we are supposed to confess or ask forgiveness for. Christine de Pizan, the first female French professional writer and proto-feminist/Catholic addressed this issue explaining that God gets it and understands that some people must work and miss services and this isn't sinful. (Very paraphrased and very, very shortened by me.)However, don't believe sex is considered work by Biblical (or my personal) standards. I've never heard anything like that. I would be interested in knowing if there is a specific rule or scripture that deals with this.

Actually, depending upon what denomination you are, some Christians do not even see a need to observe the Sabbath. Upon recent studies, which is what brought this up, I discovered that in the New Testament, it can be construed as the Sabbath having gone the way side the same as sacrificing lambs on the alter.

It just all depends on your specific belief system. The main thing I was always brought up with is that the Sabbath day was to be kept holy and pure, which always made things difficult. Even seemingly innocent areas such as watching football opened doors for lustful thoughts (shots of the scantily clad cheerleaders would stick them in a 14 year old boys head faster than anything save for a Playboy magazine.)

So I have just always been fascinated by this. Particularly when it came to married couples who were free to do as they pleased in the eyes of God considering they were married.