Quizzes
Fasting: Is It Relevant Today?
Consider this quote before you watch today’s video.
“Everyone knows that fasting is a different experience from missing your dinner by accident or through poverty. Fasting asserts the will against the appetite — the reward being self-mastery and the danger pride: involuntary hunger subjects appetite and will together to the Divine will, furnishing occasion for submission and exposing us to the danger of rebellion. But the redemptive effect of suffering lies chiefly in its tendency to reduce the rebel will. Ascetic practices, which in themselves strengthen the will, are only useful in so far as they enable the will to put its own house (the passions) in order, as a preparation for offering the whole man to God. They are necessary as a means; as an end, they would be abominable, or in substituting will for appetite and there stopping, they would merely exchange the animal self for the diabolical self.”
As Lewis says, fasting helps us “reduce the rebel will” so that we can offer the whole self to God. Let’s begin:
Do You Think of Fasting as a Gift from God?
Fasting is about more than avoiding food. Fasting is about abstaining from legitimate sources of energy and strength, for the sake of spiritual growth. Many people who would benefit from fasting avoid it out of fear or ignorance. But the truth is, fasting is a gift that God has given us that allows us to step into his righteousness.
Test Yourself
Answer
Think About It:
Fasting is not a new topic, neither is the debate over its relevance. There were more than 10 quotes regarding fasting used in today’s video. Which one was most impactful for you and why?