to wonder why Lent fasting has become so diluted?

[Wonderingwhyyy]

I was talking to a Christian who told me she fasts the traditional way in Lent. No food or water from sunrise to sunset. She was the first I had met who actually abstains from food and drink for a significant period of time.

Other Christians I know choose to give up one food e.g. chocolate, wine, tea, coffee. One Christian told me she gave up Facebook for Lent.

The Christian who said she fasted the traditional way told me she gained many benefits such as spiritual closeness to God, self discipline, greater self control.

It did make sense. Giving up Facebook doesn't seem likely to bring many benefits although may it did for that one person.

I wonder why it became diluted and whether Christianity has lost its followers by allowing most things it did not used to.

I have never known this type of fasting for Lent. I'm a Catholic and traditionally people "gave up" cigarettes/chocolate etc and didn't eat meat on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.
I once met a very devout Catholic who wouldn't eat anything on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, but they were the exception and the other 40 days of Lent they ate as normal. Some don't eat meat on any Friday during Lent.
I've never heard of all day fasting!!

"OP you still haven't posted a link to your research?"

Indeed! I wonder why that might be 😅

They feasted on eggs at Easter. That's where the idea of Easter eggs comes from.

My colleague broke her lent fast of not eating chocolate because her daughter gave her chocolate for Mother's Day and did not want to disappoint her!

Perhaps you could point us to some of your research? Lent has always meant many different things to Christians, starting with how long it is. There's a good piece on Lent at https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m00297dt (22:45 onwards) and a long tradition e.g. Romans 14:1-4 about not being especially legalistic or judgemental about the practices of others. Fasting in the middle-eastern way (sunrise to sunset) is definitely not a mainstream Christian thing.

My very devout Roman Catholic grandmother observed a ‘black fast’ on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday with no food eaten during the day between breakfast and supper and only black tea (this was before drinking copious amounts of water was invented!!) Otherwise, during Lent, she observed the one meal /two collations rule with no meat in Friday. I can’t recall how many ounces were in a collation. My grandfather did his own version of this with meant he didn’t break the rules where Granny could see him!

What Christian denomination is your friend OP? It might be more an Eastern custom. I had a google and the only information I can find about extreme fasting during Lent are either AI generated or Wikipedia, neither of which I trust. You seem to think it’s the changing of the rules which has caused Christians to leave. Maybe rules have changed because Christians are leaving and it’s an attempt to keep Christianity ‘relevant’ and engaged??

I've been a practising Catholic for most of my 48 years and I have never heard of any fasting like the practice you describe.

We would avoid meat on Fridays during Lent and Ash Wednesday, have two small meals on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, and give up something for the duration of Lent, but that's it. My very devout grandmother would avoid meat on Fridays year round.

I'm a Christian - church of Scotland- and we have never done anything for Lent.
It's never mentioned at all.

The rules around fasting in Lent haven’t been diluted because in the western tradition they don’t exist.

I don’t know why you’re trying to tell people who know what they’re talking about that they don’t on the misinformation of one “Christian”.

I gave up cigarettes, DD(10) alcohol, and DH Rollerblading.

It's the same every year.

I have just googled ‘fasting and prayer’ and there are loads of videos and information about biblical fasting and the spiritual benefits .Some Christians are fasting in the manner described by the Op. In fact, some fast from food for longer periods to get spiritual strength
One learns something every day

😂

I couldn't BEGIN to guess.

I went to a convent school in the 80s and have not heard of this, I don’t even remember the nuns doing this.
What we did do was ‘fasting lunch’ where you gave your dinner money for charity and just had bread, cheese and water, so not even fasting. I think it was just Fridays in lent though.
Actually our nuns were more keen on you doing something extra for lent rather than giving things up.

That sort of fasting is not part of my Presbyterian Christian fasting and never has been.

The research was done in special collections of bibles and antique books. Unsurprisingly I do not have links to those.

Same, although ash wednesday and good friday were a bit stricter than just no meat. It was one meal and two collations. The 2 collations shouldn't add up to more than one full meal. So 1 meal and two small ones. It was fish every friday of the year, not just in lent.. I particularly remember my mother's poached smoked haddock. It was basically boiled in milk. It was vile.

You were also supposed to give something up for lent. I assume that was a not to full fasts that would have been done in the past.

I'm 60 and the full fast was long gone when I was a child. My parents are mid 80's and it wasn't a thing in their day either.

But you must have references to those books?

What “antique books”?

All religions do that

I admire the stricter Orthodox tradition around fasting, but the time I tried to do something like it in Advent and Lent I got a string of horrible chest infections and it put me off trying again.

And as anyone who 'does Lent' knows, the fast is only one element, we are also supposed to increase our prayer and Bible study and our almsging.

More than half-way through now; three weeks until lighting the fire and blessing the water.

Yes, still waiting with interest. Also noted that the OP has chosen to ignore the Bible's final say on fasting, posted further upthread, but would rather depend on something they were once told by a friend who they say is a 'christian'. Methinks maybe they are on a wind-em-up-and-watch-em-go exercise?

They haven’t changed in the last 50 years when I remember people giving up chocolate or the like.

Im not saying this to offend anyone just my take on it .
I think many catholics realised that is now considered something that only extreme religious people do so they no longer agree with it . I came from a very Catholic country and nobody does it apart from the religious fanatics . It’s frowned upon

I believe Christians in the Eastern Orthodox Church are vegan during Lent ( but still eat during the day).
When you say “diluted” OP, do you mean by several hundred years as my father (who would have been 100) didn’t practise this and he was very Catholic

In Ukraine (mostly Catholic and Orthodox) and in Russia (mostly Orthodox) I saw special Lent menus in many restaurants, it seems fairly common in these cultures not to eat meat during those times, and I think there are some restrictions on eggs, dairy and fish too.