A nice intellectual discourse, however in our gluttonous materialistic self obsessed society if the church can encourage discipline and self sacrifice for 40 days that it is a good thing.
Me thinks thou dost protest too much.
Wouldn’t the “Agony in the Garden” be reason enough to observe Lent?
Lent is no more Scriptural than Xmas is. Both are traditions of men that have their roots outside of Scripture.
The Bible: "Upon this rock I shall build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not withstand it. Whatever you declare to be loosed on Earth shall be loosed in Heaven. Whatever you declare bound on Earth shall be bound in Heaven."
And that is why sola scriptura is self-contradicting.
Jesus fasted for 40 days and beat the devil and the devil’s shallow temptations.
Many Christian denominations show their appreciation for Christ’s suffering by sharing in His sacrafice during Lent.
But because the RCC has codified the practice, others have lightened the sacrafice, and the non-religious have turned the beginning of Lent into a pagan holiday, you elect not to participate?
Your lengthy treatise is heavy on criticism, but doesn’t suggest a remedy or how you intend to commemorate Christ. Sounds like you simply surrendered.
The Protestant and Reformed church, for the most part, has treated fasting as an individual and personal matter. Therefore, on special occasions, times of fasting and prayer have been called for and have been deemed appropriate. For these reasons I have decided not to observe the practice of Lent and not to recommend it to others.
If you are a member of a Protestant or Reformed church, then, by all means, follow the practices of your church and, if you wish, observe those special occasions during which your church deems fasting and prayer to be appropriate. No one is forcing you to follow the practices of another church.
The Catholic Church considers Lent to be a special occasion during which time fasting and prayer is deemed appropriate.
As a practicing Catholic, I observe this special occasion.
As a fellow Christian, I respect your right to follow Christ in the way you deem to be appropriate.
The history in this article is so bad as to make me think that the author — or his sources — is just making stuff up.
“Lent” is an English word from Latin via France origin meaning, “slow.” Any musician will tell you that. It’s because the we’re supposed to take more time out from business to pray.
Lent is practiced by communities which split from Rome long before Pope Gregory or even Nicaea.
Abstaining from fasts on Fridays is prescribed in “The Teachings of the Twelve,” a first-century document.
Huh? >> In Etheria’s (a fourth century pilgrim to Jerusalem) day the liturgical observance of Lent was still quite modest. Its main concern, we gather, was the keeping of the fast;... It was not until Gregory the Great (540-604 A.D.) that the practice of Lent began to take on the shape of an extended period of a more rigorous ascetic nature. << My only guess on this is that after the Donatists were allowed back into the church, the penance for reunion with the Church (and for forgiveness of any mortal sin) was a more severe asceticism leading up to reconciliation, which happened on Easter.
I look forward to observing Lent. The sacrifices I make are nothing compared to the suffering Jesus endured for me. I find that observing Lent refocuses my attention, grounds me spiritually and reminds me to plan my days around God and not something or someone else. Maybe it’s not for everyone and maybe I sound simplistic; it is a personal choice but for me, I find it rewarding.
So are the Reformers saying that they don’t want to imitate Christ?
Remember......Christ spent 40 days in the desert denying himself and praying.
Too bad these people don’t want to imitate him.
They need prayers.