IF you are fasting or denying yourself something for Lent, WHY are you doing it?

[NightWatcher]

I am trying to understand the participation that many, even here in the godless DU (j/k), undertake on Lent. I know of people who say that they'll give up Beer, Pie, Candy, or something else for a period of 40 days leading up to Easter.

Is this merely a spiritual cleansing? If so, I comepletely get it as I myself will fast one to three times a year and try to participate in a good sweat lodge or other "cleansing".

Is this self-denial a reminder as to what Jesus suffered leading up to his death? This is the reason that somewhat confuses me. Most Christians believe that Jesus suffered severe mental and physical torture (nope, I refused to see The Passion) in the days leading up to his betrayal and Death prior to Resurection.

Please do not get me wrong, I am not mocking you. I was raised Baptist and am trying to get my head around this. I am still spritual and have a lot of faith.

(PLEASE DO NOT GET OFFENDED FROM THIS POINT FORWARD)

Do you hope to equate your giving up sweets (or whatever your self-denial) to the suffering that Jesus went through? Or is it just a reminder?


Please, Mods, dont kick this to the Religion/Theology forum as it will die, because few even go into the forum.

Please, DUers, dont turn this into a religious flamewar. I am trying to learn from the vast level of experiences and beliefs here.

Play Nice,
Thanks

[vadawg]

1. i am doing it as its part of my faith, no offense taken.

[NightWatcher]

2. as a ceremonial sacrement?

my ex was Catholic and I understand that reason for participation.

[Critters2]

3. I've never given anything up for Lent. My Puritan and Reformed ancestors

didn't do Lent, and I think they had the right idea. But I'm outvoted in my current congregation. My predecessor was a formerly Catholic woman, who wasn't so much "former Catholic" as she was "couldn't be ordained Catholic". Lots of my parishioners are former Catholics, too, who expect the church to "do" Lent. So, we do Taize services, partly because I don't have to preach, which means I don't express my misgivings about Protestants doing Lent.

I'm sorry...what did you ask? :hi:

[billyoc]

4. IBTB

[Critters2]

6. TB? nt

[Gidney N Cloyd]

8. "In Before The Bolt-o'-lightening" ?

[CreekDog]

11. LOL

[uberllama42]

23. In Before the Ban? nt

[terip64]

5. I gave up guilt years ago and never looked back ;) n/t

[CreekDog]

7. you do it as a reminder to yourself

the best way to get something useful out of Lenten deprivation is that if you give something up that you are accustomed to having frequently and accustomed to enjoying frequently is that each time you try to avoid it you are reminded that Jesus went through something incomprehensibly worse for your own sake.

it is a reminder.

if giving something up for Lent makes one feel that they are better or become a better person, then as a Christian, i would recommend that they NOT give up anything for Lent for in that case it is teaching them the wrong lesson.

:hi:

(ps-not offended in the least by your post)

[Dr. Strange]

20. That's a good description.

The thought about it making them a better person is interesting. I hadn't considered that angle before--much less the notion that it teaches them the wrong lesson.



You gave up listening to Rush for Lent, didn't you?

[Fresh_Start]

9. force of habit

its ingrained that it is the right thing to do

[Warpy]

10. Fasting during Lent made a lot of sense

since winter food supplies were running low, anyway. It was a way to make sure they'd last until the chickens started to lay and the greens started to grow as spring weather began.

My dad used to give up booze for Lent and was like a bear with a sore head for the full 40 days. My mother said it was a relief on Easter Sunday when he'd have that first bourbon.

I can't particularly remember being asked to deprive myself of anything but meat, which I never liked anyway. Lent was great for me, lots of fish and peanut butter sandwiches, no dreaded meatloaf.

I don't recall the relative privation of giving up heavy meals being sold as equivalent to hanging on a cross, but more a reminder of that suffering. It also gave people like my dad a period to reflect on whether his drug of choice was helping or hurting him.

Lent is one of the more benign traditions, but only if it comes from within.

[NeedleCast]

12. Most People Don't Give Up Anything That would really cause them any hardship

As an atheist, this is one of those surreal things to me. That somehow giving up some sort of token thing for a set period of time is going to bring one closer to their diety. My sister does this every year and always "gives up" alcohol, although she isn't a big drinker to begin with.

It doesn't seem to be about any sort of cleansing though, and the vast majority of people who I know that pratice lent don't give up anything that would actually cause them hardship.

[damntexdem]

13. When I was young, I always said I was giving up watermelon for lent.

Because back then, watermelon wasn't available until the summer.

[Seeking Serenity]

14. As a reformed/Protestant, I was never "required" by my church to observe

the penitential season of Lent. However, I have chosen to from time to time.

Usually, my Lenten discipline was less focused on what I "sacrificed" (i.e., gave up) as what I added: more time in Bible reading, and in self-reflection and discovery, more time in trying to be more Christ-like. (I guess one could look at it as a sacrifice of my otherwise more selfish desires.)

I have tried doing a daytime fast (Sundays excepted). That is very hard.

The notion of "giving up" something but not replacing it with something that enhances one's faith and walk with God is akin to "what are you dressing up for for Halloween" (i.e., a kind of empty, secular thing). And, of course, I think it's bad form to talk about what you've "given up." That should be between you and God.

Just my $0.02.

[rug]

15. This is pretty comprehensive.

http://www.churchyear.net/lent.html

[JerseygirlCT]

16. A bit of both

A reminder, an exercise. Obviously it's not likely to be as severe as death. But it keeps the season in the front of your mind.

We've also been encouraged not just to think in terms of giving something up for Lent, but maybe doing some more for Lent, either instead or along with. Which is also a good idea.

It's a way to be mindful of the season, and its meaning.

(And I really don't know if I can give up soda, as I've been pondering...)

[Dorian Gray]

17. Well...

it was kicked here.

I tend not to give up, but to do things that will aid my spiritual life. Attend mass more than once a week, earmark a certain amount of money for charity, , take time out to pray and read the Magnificat every night. I've thought about restricting my internet time this year (as I can spend hours surfing instead of focusing on my spiritual self... and my time would be better served doing something positive for our community than on the internet... but I haven't committed to that yet).

I used to give things up that would be good for me to give up. (Candy, beer, soda, etc.) Now I focus on the next forty days as a time to recharge my spiritual and catholic life.

[Marrah_G]

18. As a youngster I was taught it was a time to sacrifice something important to you

It has to do with the belief that Jesus sacrificed and so they sacrifice on a smaller scale in rememberence.

[Evoman]

19. I've done it in the past, more as a "testing my willpower". Why lent specifically?

Because there are a lot more people doing things, so you don't have to explain yourself. I.e. your giving up beer for a month in june. Your friends ask you why you aren't drinking. You say your giving it up. They give you a wtf face and then ask why. Well..because..um..I'm testing my will power. They just look at you like your stupid.

On lent, you just say lent and everyone goes.."oh, cool, I'm giving up blank".

I don't care about Jesus or shit like that. I also don't chicken out and pick easy things. I've picked things like sex, ALL fast food, ALL Bad foods. Hell, I've even gone one month without using my car. It's not to torture myself...it's to test myself. Will power is like a muscle you gotta work out and I want to make sure I'm strong enough to do it, so if I ever have to do it for real, I can manage.

[JerseygirlCT]

21. In a way, that works with religious reasons, too

in a sense, fasting of some sort during Lent is supposed to help you be more mindful, remembering the reason for the season and what it recognizes in a Christian context.

So if you choose something pretty easily done without (say, brussel sprouts), it's not likely to afford you much opportunity to stop and think throughout your day. Something that has been part of your life, OTOH, does afford you that opportunity.

We're encouraged as much to *add* something in to our day - something in our behavior, doing something more for someone or ones, that sort of thing - as to do without something. In many ways, those changes can be harder and more meaningful in the end.

After Lent, the chances that I'll continue to try to stay away from soda are pretty slim. If I were to start volunteering at the soup kitchen weekly, I'd probably feel connected to that and continue. (Unfortunately, though, time is an issue there. Silly work!)

So while you're testing your will, you're also using that test as a reminder to think on the season and its meaning.

[SarahJohn]

22. It is in spiritual preparation

to both face the horror of Holy Week and the glory of Easter. When you have fasted for Lent that Easter ham really adds to the spiritual joy! (and I'm not even including the Peeps)

[JerseygirlCT]

24. I'm happier to do without both the ham and the peeps, myself! nt