Those Wacky Legalists (13) - The Sabbath

Another of the bizarre beliefs of the sabbatarians I churched with was the doctrine of pumping gas on the Sabbath. Buying gas on Sunday caused the station attendant to work, so it was forbidden. Occasionally a sister church had afternoon lectures on Puritan history or some such thing, and one person would ask another, "Are you going?" "No, I don't have enough gas without having to buy some." "Oh, we have gas. Why don't you come with us?" "Oh, gee, great!"

This was about the time that gas stations first started using ATM cards, so one could buy gas without having the attendant work. This was still a violation of the Sabbath because the driver had to do the work. But they never considered that driving itself was work. So, spending 30 seconds using your right hand to pump gas into the tank was a violation of the fourth commandment, but spending 30 minutes using your right foot to pump gas into the carburetor wasn't! Go figure.