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’m not confused. The organisation you mention could do the good work without being linked to a religion.

I had no idea Lent fasting used to be from sunrise to sunset. Same principle as Ramadan fasting then. How interesting.

oh ok.....perhaps you could tell us where this books are and how you got access to them?....then we can do our own "research"

yeah but changing their name from 'the salvation army' to 'the army' might change the vibe.

it didn't....not since the 700's

I was raised Catholic and my mother never practised fasting during Lent, so I wasn’t even aware it was a thing. We didn’t eat meat on Fridays, but that’s it. Now that I’m older and have returned to the church recently, I only recently found out about the recommendation to fast on Ash Wednesday, but my church does not suggest fasting throughout Lent. I’m not sure it’s something I think is necessary to feel close to God, but I understand why a devout person would do it.

The Christian you spoke to is wrong. Abstaining from daytime consumption of food and drink, then feasting at night is Muslim fasting. Abstaining from luxury foods for 40 days and nights is Christian fasting. Modern Christian’s sometimes abstain from something else. One is not more challenging or proper than the other. They are different traditions. You are clearly not either Muslim or Christian, so you have taken one person’s word for it, then refused to accept the corrections you have received here.

Where did you do this historical research @Wonderingwhyyy ? Asking for a historian.

Because unless your friend is an extremely strict Coptic Christian and/or from the 7th century, I think they are very unusual in this type of fasting.

Orthodox and Roman Catholic Bibles all have the same books in them, so a 'special collection' will only contain something we don't have in our own churches (and houses) if it is one of the short Aprocryphal books, never regarded as canonical scripture by most Christians.

Antique books is a very vague description.

I can tell you coming from a Christian Orthodox land and with older family members of agricultural/farming community who have explained to me how they were doing things to “match” with the Christian life and traditions. People didn’t slaughter their animals during the Lent. Just before the lent they might have slaughtered an animal to have some of the last celebrations that they were allowed to eat meat, that was on a Thursday (Meatfare Thursday) before the Great Lent.
Then children and elderly or sick people who were unable to fast anyway, were allowed eggs and milk which was essential for children.

Children after a certain age they were expected to fast too at least during the last week before Easter Sunday even from dairy and eggs, let’s say after 8 years old back then, maybe now it’s a bit more lax without a strict rule as when and each family decides about that (I fasted for long periods of 1/2/3 weeks not just from meat but also from eggs and dairy since around 10 years old)
Any extra milk, and they had plenty, would be made into butter and cheese not to be consumed in theory but to have them when it’s allowed again, but again they would give to children and ill people.

Then any abundance of eggs was welcome too as they were reaching Easter as they would be collected and dyed red on Great Thursday, so they actually wanted to have many left during that last week and also needed more eggs for making Easter cookies, Easter bread and other delicacies that they were allowed to be eaten only from Easter Sunday and onwards (used to hide Easter bread and cookies in my pockets to have when we were at the church after the midnight when I was a child too).
Then some lambs were slaughtered before Easter and getting prepared on Great Saturday (seasoning, salted to be preserved) to grill on Easter Sunday.

Another interesting fact is that all this baking, egg dying, slaughtering animals, preparing the meat and cleaning the house for the Easter Sunday was forbidden on Great Friday and only egg dying was allowed on Great Thursday. What you didn’t have time to do between Great Monday to Great Wednesday, you were allowed to do on Holy Saturday after the liturgy so from the afternoon and onwards. Our house was like on fire with my mum doing still some cookies and some other delicacies and my dad salting the (whole) lamb while we were eating still non oiled foods (it’s called dry fasting) smelling the cookies etc.

You went and looked this up in antique books @Wonderingwhyyy I am very impressed. What language were they in?

@ohnowwhatcanitbe

Interesting.

I am raised Anglican and I dont know anyone who doesn’t fast for Lent.

Same! My mum does lent every year (she's 69) and I've done it every year from being a teenager (I'm 36) but it was only ever giving up Something, not full on fasting. I've never heard of anyone doing lent in that way to be honest.

I've given up chocolate as usual this year as it's my only real indulgence day to day, that's enough for me! Feels like I'm genuinely doing something, without taking it too far.

@Lampzade has found some stuff online that backs up what traditional Christian fasting was like.

I don't remember the details of every book I looked at.

Because there’s been a huge decline in religious belief since people became educated, and interested in science and critical thinking, so it’s only natural these institutions have to be more casual in their approach.

Whats pancake day and Mardi Gras for then? Its to use up fats, sugars etc so that over Lent you dont eat those things, you just have a plain simple diet. Not no diet.

Your associate may want to do that but its not traditional as far as I know. There are lots of devout catholic and orthodox christians in the world who have a culture of fasting such as in Eritrea and Ethiopia for example off the top of my head but not in this country

There's nothing in the bible which talks about lent, or fasting for it. Fasting itself is biblical, but not all Christians do it and it's not compulsory, biblically.

It's Catholic mainly (and then moved across into high CofE) and a lot of Catholicism isn't biblical so...

So...
You're not a Christian and therefore don't really understand how it affects someone's life to practice it.
You seem to have a black and white view of the world and especially religion and want to tell Christians how to be Christian.
You found an obscure tradition from before the SCHISM (even heard of that? It was pretty big) let alone the REFORMATION (another one to look up) and wonder why it's become "diluted". With zero links because "books" (lot of effort but okay).
You say you have a "friend" who does this but can't even say what denomination she's from.

Wait until you find out about all the books that didn't make it into the final version of the Bible. It's going to blow your rigid mind.

It took far too long for someone to say that.

Sure:

https://www.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/collections-and-resources/special-collections

Non University members can apply for reader access

You must remember which special collection you visited though?

I'm a practicing Catholic and I've never heard of anyone fasting like this. Fasting and abstinence on Ash Wednesday etc but that's basically no meat or fun stuff.

Does it matter what other people do? Surely the whole point of Lenten fasting if you are a Christian is that you are making a private arrangement (for want of a better word) with god. I don’t think it is a competitive sport. If your friend thinks it makes her a better Christian than the person who gives up Facebook then maybe their understanding of sacrifice has got a bit muddled up with those good old Christian values of self flagellation, wearing a hair shirt and going barefoot.

People were educated in the past too and there are religious educated people now too. Why is it that Christianity has become a lot more casual but not other faiths which are growing in number?

I have posted it. Take a look.