Romans 14:5,6 -- Traditional Fast Days

Traditional Fast Days

Romans 14:5-6 is often urged as a reason that keeping the Sabbath is now an optional commandment of God. To read it just click on the link above. What does it mean to judge one day above another, or to judge every day alike? Here Roman's 14 is addressing the issue of fast days. Some of the faithful observed them all. Some observed none, and others only the ones they felt like observing.
There are at least four fasts in traditional Judaism:

The fast of Gedaliah
The tenth day of Tevet
The seventeenth day of the 4th month (Shoshanna).
The Ninth of Av

Now, these fast days are not a commandment. They are, in fact, tradition. However, since some of the prophets started these traditions, and since many Jews observe them as Law, it is no wonder that one's conscience might be bothered at the notion of skipping them, or only observing some of them. There is only one day in Scripture for afflicting the soul, and that is Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, and afflicting the soul need not mean a total fast even on that day.
Notice the context of Roman's 14:5-6:

One doth judge one day above another, and another doth judge every day [alike]; let each in his own mind be fully assured. He who is regarding the day, to the Lord he doth regard [it], and he who is not regarding the day, to the Lord he doth not regard [it]. He who is eating, to the Lord he doth eat, for he doth give thanks to God; and he who is not eating, to the Lord he doth not eat, and doth give thanks to God.

Do you see that "not eating" means fasting? Or do you think it means eating swine's flesh, and not eating swine's flesh? Or that the days in view are the Sabbaths? Hardly! At best one can make an ambiguous argument for that point of view. But we are supposed to interpret scripture with scripture. God had already said that the Sabbath was holy and that we are not to eat pig meat (sausage, ham, brats, hot dogs, pepperoni, salami, pork, bacon, etc.) And Paul has already declared that the Law gives us the knowledge of sin (Romans 3:19-20). So either Paul is talking about fast days, and we are vindicated, or Paul is not, and so contradicts himself and God's previous revelation, and we would be vindicated by throwing him out.