Lesson ▪ 1998 Tags: Fasting Excerpted from Perspectives on Fasting
- “Fasting,
that is, complete or partial abstinence from nourishment, is an almost
universal phenomenon within both Eastern and Western cultures” (Rader 5:286).
- “[I]n
most cultures that ascribe to [fasting] at least three motivations are easily
discernible: (1) preliminary to or preparatory for an important event or time
in an individual’s or a people’s life; (2) as an act of penitence or purification;
or (3) as an act of supplication” (287). Specific reasons for fasting in
various religions include seeking spiritual power, preparing for ecstatic
revelations, achieving higher levels of union with deities, and averting evil
spirits (287; Behm 632).
- The
Mosaic Law imposed on the Jews only one regular fast—the Day of Atonement (Lev
16.29ff; 23.27ff). However, it also recognized the legitimacy of private,
voluntary fasts (Num 30.13). Religious and political leaders of the Jews called
for widespread fasting during times of urgent national need (e.g., 2 Chr
20.2-4; Esth 4.15-16).
- As might
be expected, the practice of fasting approved of by the Judeo-Christian
Scriptures is both similar to and distinct from fasting in other religions.
Biblical teaching concerning fasting will be outlined in the following
sections.
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