About fasting by monotheists

The previous days found many people fasting. There were Christians, Jews and Muslims abstaining from certain things, be it sweets to full meals. Some people find spring a time to fully purify themselves and therefore proceed to a certain time of “eating nothing” but drinking only pure water.

By Catholics, the fast period strangely enough begins with a day that they go for letting a little cross being placed on their forehead as a sign that they are just dust and ashes, though the majority believes that they will go to heaven after death, instead of deteriorating to dust. In the previous century in several Catholic countries, Catholics tried to eat less and did not eat meat on Wednesday and Friday (as if that would really be doing shortage to them) Today there is not really much fasting in most Catholic families.

In the Scriptures (Old and New Testament) we find several examples of people who thought about the fact that they are just human beings who shall end up dead, to decay in the grave (sheol/hell). Even the sent one from God took time to think about his mortality and after his death landed up in sheol. Though several people who call themselves Christian say Sheol or Hell is a place where sinners would be placed to be burned eternally. Jesus did not get burned. He even did no sin, so there would have been no reason to land up in hell or to be tortured by hellfire for his sins. Indeed, Jesus is the only human being who remained without blemish and therefore deserved to go straight to heaven. But he too did not go directly to heaven after his death. First, he was laid in a tomb, where he stayed for three days. Then he was raised from the dead by his heavenly Father and came to roam the earth for a few more days, before being exalted by God to sit beside Him and act as high priest and mediator between God and man.

Like many Jews did before him, Jesus went for forty days in the desert, to think about his mortality and his relationship with God. The Hebrew people before him, after they were liberated from the slavery of the Egyptians, also came to wander for a very long time in the wilderness. In moments, they had not enough food and were starving. After they had complained to God, they received food from heaven (manna).

Thousands of men and women before us took some time in their life to think about the Divine Creator and His Plan. Moses and Elijah, went without food in their respective fasts.

Fasting has been promoted and practiced from antiquity worldwide by physicians, by the founders and followers of many religions, by culturally designated individuals (e.g., hunters or candidates for initiation rites), and by individuals or groups as an expression of protest against what they believe are violations of social, ethical, or political principles. {Encyc. Brit. Fasting}

The essence of fasting is to clean the body, giving it time to get rid of the damaging things. Letting the body purify itself, one can give it time to heal. Fasting is an important natural part of the recovery process of one’s health.

Fasting for special purposes or before or during special sacred times remains a characteristic of major religions of the world. For Jesus and his disciples, there were many dietary laws and customs. They hold on to those traditions and observed several annual fast days, primarily on days of penitence (such as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement) when they sought to expiate their sins and achieve reconciliation with God.
The Bible refers to Yom Kippur as Shabbat Shabbaton (“Sabbath of Solemn Rest,” or “Sabbath of Sabbaths”) because, even though the holy day may fall on a weekday, it is on Yom Kippur that solemnity and cessation of work are most complete.

Like on Yom Kippur the past few days certain of our brethren and sisters made an effort to purify their bodies in the hope that could also help by the individual and collective purification by the practice of forgiveness of the sins of others and by sincere repentance for one’s own sins against God. This year the ninth month of the Muslim calendar and the holy month of fasting felt together with the period before Passover. The same as for the Jews and Jeshuaist for Muslims is their Ramadan a period of introspection, communal prayer (ṣalāt) in the mosque, and reading of the Qurʾān. Instead of earthly food, Jews, Jeshuaists, Messianics and Muslims those people trying to go throughout the day without that earthly food, use a lot of time to read their Holy Scriptures trusting God shall provide them with the proper spiritual food that will bring them much further than what the earthly food can give them.

By fasting, they give themselves to their God.

Photo by Thirdman on Pexels.com

For all adult Muslims who are not acutely or chronically ill, travelling, elderly, breastfeeding, diabetic, or menstruating, there is the is fard or the religious duty to have the daily prayer (salat) so that purification of the heart can take place. According Muslims the spiritual rewards (thawab) of fasting are believed to be multiplied during Ramadan.

Iftar serving for fasting people in the Imam Reza shrine

The method of fasting adopted by the Islamists is to be taken with a grain of salt though, and actually not a healthy way of fasting as they then start eating copious amounts of sweet things after sunset, which is very bad and actually counteracts purification. Though the ifṭār, the fast-breaking evening meal has some good aspects when it is really a gathering of friends and extended family. For those gathered it is also a time for taking spiritual food by additional prayers offered at night( called the tawarīḥ prayers), during which they also recite the entire Qurʾān over the course of the month of Ramadan.

If one wants to fast solidly, one is best to build it up by moving from solid to liquid food and then to teas and finally to just drinking water for several days, without eating anything else. Then, after not eating anything at all, it’s back to liquid food, via teas, to return to solid food. Such a real and efficient fast period should only be done under medical supervision

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Preceding

All Scripture Has Its Point of Origin In God’s Mind

9 Adar and bickering or loving followers of the Torah preparing for Pesach

Coming days to indulge in good food

A bird’s eye and reflecting from within

For those who would go to eat a lot tonight for Passover

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Additional reading

1. Was Jesus Religious
2. Matthew 6:1-34 – The Nazarene’s Commentary on Leviticus 19:18 Continued 3 Forgiveness and neighbour love
3. Matthew 9:14-17 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Bridegroom and Fasting
4. Matthew 9:14-17 – What others are saying about feasting at the sinners’ table instead of fasting for God’s table
5. Mark 2 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Mark 2:18-22 – The Question on Fasting
6. Mark 7 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Mark 7:17-23 – How to Defile the Heart
7. Advent and advent calendars
8. Worthy partakers of the body of Christ
9. Cross-bearing
10. The principle of atonement
11. 9 Av: Tisha B’Av 2020
12. Who Celebrates Easter as Religious Holiday
13. Today’s thought “He who was also subject to human weakness” (November 30)
14. A perfect life, obedient death, and glorious resurrection
15. Death and Resurrection of Christ
16. Jesus three days in hell
17. Death spread to all men, because all sinned
18. Heaven and hell still high on the believers list showing a religion gender gap
19. Is there an Immortal soul
20. Grave, tomb, sepulchre – graf, begraafplaats, rustplaats, sepulcrum
21. This month’s survey question: Heaven and Hell
22. Separation from God in death, the antithesis of life
23. Being of good courage running the race
24. 8 Reasons Christian Holidays Should Not Be Observed
25. Hanukkahgiving or Thanksgivvukah
26. Indulgence still offered by roman Catholic Church
27. In Coronatime thinking about death
28. Soar to Places Unknown
29. Lost senses or a clear focus on the one at the stake
30. Redemption #4 The Passover Lamb
31. One Passover tradition asking to provide the less fortunate with foods and help
32. Wednesday 5 April – Sunday 9 April 30 CE Pesach or Passover versus Easter
33. The Most important weekend of the year 2018
34. For Passover 2023
35. Why we do not keep to a Sabbath or a Sunday or Lord’s Day #1 Before rain of food from heaven
36. Wanting for more than you need or hearing the Inviting encouragement
37. People Seeking for God 5 Bread of life
38. Today’s thought “Man lives by every word that comes from the mouth of Jehovah” (April 24)

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Related

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25. Day 15 of Ramadan: Love and Mercy in the Month of Ramadan
26. Eid al-Fitr: A Joyous Celebration of Breaking Fast and Giving Thanks
27. Health Benefits-fasting 16 Hours A Day | Benefits Fasting 16 Hours
28. Ramadan, Roza 2023 Diet: Tips To Keep Your Heart Healthy During The Fasting Period
29. Low sugar trouble how to fight dizzy spell while fasting
30. Diabetes and Ramadan: How to Eat Right and Stay Healthy
31. Day 14 of Ramadan: Binding the Heart to the Creator
32. Preparing for Easter: The Importance of Lenten Season for Christians