The Lenten fast: a hotel room with no TV and lots of prayer
A host testifies about swapping his Lenten sugar fast for a week of no TV, movies, or phone reels while at a conference: stuck in a hotel room with none of the trappings of home, he suddenly had time to pray, focus on praying, and catch up on reading. It got him thinking about how the pre-modern scope of life was smaller and distractions fewer — dinner was an all-day affair of catching and skinning the calf — and how few worries by count people had pecking away at them.
More on Fasting
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Ramadan and the cultural behaviors of Christianity
- What are the cultural behaviors of Christianity that can be kept without actually having a relationship with Jesus?
Ben asks what the cultural behaviors of Christianity are that can be kept without actually having a relationship with Jesus, prompted by a Ramadan display at a halal grocery after a daddy-daughter date.
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Lent: fasting, ritual, and embodied faith
- Do I need to give something up for Lent, or am I wrong for never doing it?
- Where does the word 'Lent' come from?
A host asks whether he is wrong for never giving anything up for Lent. Another host answers at length: scripture mandates nothing, but modern fear of 'empty ritual' has cost Christians embodied habits — sackcloth and ashes, anointing, fasting, going somewhere to pray.
From No. 364 · Golden Calf Purity Rings
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Dawson's buddy; Mike on God not repeating himself; the fasting test
Dawson prays not to miss disciple-making opportunities and confesses trying to coerce a struggling friend into his own conversion pattern.
From No. 595 · Trust But Verify
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Ask the pastor: the fast God chooses in Isaiah 58
Boova reads Isaiah 58 aloud in full, then asks what to make of the seemingly different fast God describes.
From No. 507 · What’s in a Name