Lent

[Nancy]

Can you give up observing Lent for Lent? That's what I'm doing............

Lol...

 

[Nancy]

I gave up my opinion for Lent one year - it was eye opening

Yer a humble guy Ron!

 

[Episkopos]

i am giving up campaigning for my understanding of the Truth of God and my Church and my opinion. I will state it, discuss it, but I will not insist that you all see it my way. I will put relationship over doctrine. If you practice Lent, what are you giving up?

I lent many things to people without desiring them back. If something is lent...then don't expect it back. That is the biblical perspective on lending and on things that are lent.

 

[Nancy]

I lent many things to people without desiring them back. If something is lent...then don't expect it back. That is the biblical perspective on lending and on things that are lent.

 

[Nancy]

You are quite the "punny" guy @Episkopos

 

[Jane_Doe22]

i am giving up campaigning for my understanding of the Truth of God and my Church and my opinion. I will state it, discuss it, but I will not insist that you all see it my way. I will put relationship over doctrine. If you practice Lent, what are you giving up?

Like all Christian holidays/celebrations, Lent exists to help us focus our hearts of God (at least that's what it should be doing if you're doing it right). That is an admirable thing.

For me this year: due to job situations, I'm doing without a lot of luxuries this spring. Which isn't a fast per say and it's not happening because of Lent, but it is happening and it is reminding me thoroughly about God. The last extended purposeful fast I did was last fall, in which I gave up negative social media. I was originally planning on only two weeks, but enjoyed being without that toxicity so much it went much longer than that. I still strive to remember those lessons, and will likely be repeating such a cleansing fast again this year.

 

[CoreIssue]

Like all Christian holidays/celebrations, Lent exists to help us focus our hearts of God (at least that's what it should be doing if you're doing it right). That is an admirable thing.

For me this year: due to job situations, I'm doing without a lot of luxuries this spring. Which isn't a fast per say and it's not happening because of Lent, but it is happening and it is reminding me thoroughly about God. The last extended purposeful fast I did was last fall, in which I gave up negative social media. I was originally planning on only two weeks, but enjoyed being without that toxicity so much it went much longer than that. I still strive to remember those lessons, and will likely be repeating such a cleansing fast again this year.

It exists as a cult invention.

Not needed to change ones life.

 

[Butterfly]

I thought you would come back with some kind of response like that.
Just because something may not be deemed as ' holy ' doesn't mean that it is not good or worthy.

Rita

 

[Butterfly]

Sorry, I thought you were referring to my statement in post #12.

That's okay xx

 

[CoreIssue]

I thought you would come back with some kind of response like that.
Just because something may not be deemed as ' holy ' doesn't mean that it is not good or worthy.

Rita

My point remains the same. It is not a holy day but Passover was. Substituting Easter Passover occurs in the holy day, totally violates the meaning of Passover and corrupts that portion of the Bible.

Celebrate them as secular holidays all you want but don't put them in the churches as biblical.

The only thing the Bible pushes to remember is the resurrection. But even there they never created a holy day to remember it. It is something one is supposed to remember year-round.

So assigning one day actually diminishes it.

 

[bbyrd009]

Shouldn't we be practicing "lent" throughout the year? Is there anything biblical about the ashes, other than ashes to ashes and dust to dust?...I know it is mans "tradition" but is it a biblical principle?

^
if you practice Lent then you are giving up Living Sacrifice I guess, ya

 

[bbyrd009]

JW?

Christian I guess, sorry

where is Lent in Scripture again?

 

[Helen]

i am giving up campaigning for my understanding of the Truth of God and my Church and my opinion. I will state it, discuss it, but I will not insist that you all see it my way. I will put relationship over doctrine.
If you practice Lent, what are you giving up?

Amen brother.

Q = Just for Lent...or as a commitment and permanent choice?

God also put relationship above doctrine.
Correct doctrine is not a heart thing...I know too many who boast of the perfect doctrine yet know nothing about relationship or fruit.

22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. "

God is a fruit checker, not a doctrine checker.

 

[historyb]

Lent, Easter and Christmas all came from paganism.

So Christ being tempted in the Desert 40 was pagan, I see. Calling what Christ did evil, gusty move because Lent is based on Christ in the Desert.

 

[Laish]

The only biblical example is the forty days of fasting by Christ immediately after His baptism, during which the devil tempted Him to no avail.

It would appear that the idea of Lent (forty days of fasting) began with Athanasius in 331 AD. But he claimed that it was a universal practice in Christendom at the time, and urged people to maintain this fast.

Ash Wednesday was a Roman Catholic practice where before Mass the priest would put *blessed* ash on each person's forehead to remind them that they are dust and will return to dust. But ashes are not dust.

On the number 40 there is also a connection to the 40 days and nights of rain in the historical narrative of the Flood . Then we have the 40 years in the desert spent by the children of Isreal.
Moses spent 40 days and nights on MT Sinai . The Israelite spies spent 40 days surveying Canaan .
Moses after killing the Egyptian fled into the desert for 40 years . Goliath taunted Isreal for 40 days before David confronts and kills him . Interesting how 40 shows up .
Also on the lent fast Athanasius dose mention 40 days but earlier Tertullian almost 100 years had it at 40 hours and some of his contemporaries had it at 6 days . Seemed they kept pushing it out .
Blessings
Bill

 

[CoreIssue]

So Christ being tempted in the Desert 40 was pagan, I see. Calling what Christ did evil, gusty move because Lent is based on Christ in the Desert.

Christ being tempted was real.

Lent was invented by the Catholic Church.

 

[aspen]

Christ being tempted was real.

Lent was invented by the Catholic Church.

Yes the church chose to call the season remembering Jesus in the desert, Lent. Why is this a problem?

 

[Nancy]

Yes the church chose to call the season remembering Jesus in the desert, Lent. Why is this a problem?

It's not a problem.
Since "Ash Wed. is a Catholic tradition, I always had a knee jerk reaction to the practice (after leaving the CC) that I grew up with. I do not see the day itself as central to any kind of doctrine; core to the Christian faith. Not really knowing a whole lot about it except for a black cross that turned into a black blotch on my forehead as a kid, lol. I say, let'm have at it, lol.

 

[Enoch111]

On the number 40 there is also a connection to the 40 days and nights of rain in the historical narrative of the Flood .

Forty is the number of TESTING in the Bible. And you are correct in bringing out the many references to forty. From God's perspective, Christ needed to be shown to be tested/tempted and found totally victorious over the world, the flesh (human lusts), and the devil. Christians -- by the power of the Spirit -- can also be tested and become overcomers.

As far as the underlying thought behind Lent, for Christians it is supposed to be an ongoing mortification of the flesh (Rom 12:1,2).

 

[Waiting on him]

It’s under the verse that says don’t disfigure your faces as the hypocrites do.
@bbyrd009