Fasting

I've been too busy eating venison steaks. Mmmmmmm boy. :thumbs: I'll take that over ground up fatty meat from a cow that is overflowing with hormones and fed on grain that has powdered ground up bones from other cows ANY day. :laugh:

 

Corn doggy,

I dont know, latley there has been much discovered in the medical community about fasting, the health benefiets that is. "Fasting Clinics" have become really popular in Europe, and so far everything they have showed goes against the traditional view of fasting, that it somehow wrecks havoc on the body and damages health.

Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit, I highly doubt that God would endorse a practice that would be severly damaging to our bodies. As you recall, Jesus actually went on a 40 day fast! He is supposed to be our example, was he promoting some strange form of self-mutilation? Definetly not.

Now, I dont have the time to go hunting up sources and links, but I do have a book that is widely regarded as an authoritative source on health(sold over 2mil), and it strongly endorses fasting and goes through about 3 pages explaining the health benefiets. When I get a chance I will look over these and come back here and hopefully be able to better articulate some of the proven medical benefiets to fasting.

Let me give you a brief testimonial of my last fast, it is as follows : Three days, only water. I have a VERY fast metabolism, and exercise regularly. So fasting for me is VERY hard. Somehow I continued the fast for three days, and at the end of the fast I could see certain clear benefiets, here :

1)Clear thinking.
I could not believe how my mind was working! I had excellent focus, came back to my academics with much more success, and my memory seemed to be enhanced. The ancient Greek philosophers had disovered this truth as well. It was known that they would often go on fasts for nothing more than to strengthen their minds. One of the Greek philosophers, maybe Aristotle had a very high standard for his pupils, he required them to go on a long fast (30 days if I'm not mistaken) before he would study with them.
2)Enhanced Energy
I also had much more energy. I would get somewhere around three hours sleep, and be able to continue my day as if I had had 8 hours. It was pretty astounding.
3)A healthier look
After my fast, I had a dinstictly healthier tone to my skin. I was really suprised actually!
4)Satisfaction
I had satisfaction that I sacrificed my appetite for that small period of time, and I was happy to reap the benefiets.

While this post may not be riddled with quotes and statistics, I believe the basic thesis is right; Fasting is healthy.

 

I don't see any scriptural support for NT believers (the Church) to fast. If anything, what Jesus said in Luke seems to imply we shouldn't (the bridegroom), and that the jews left during the Great Tribulation will begin to fast again.

Luk 5:33 And they said to him, "The disciples of John fast often and offer prayers, and so do the disciples of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink."
Luk 5:34 And Jesus said to them, "Can you make wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them?
Luk 5:35 The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in those days."

 

What do you do with Matthew 6:16-18? Jesus said, "When you fast..." Seems as if he expected his followers to fast. He also talked to the disciples about faith that could only come from prayer and fasting.

There is also Acts 14:23 "Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust."

How do you handle such texts if there is no support in the NT?

 

The "and then" in verse 35 is after the crucifixion, not during the tribulation.

 

Jesus stated He would never leave us nor forsake us. I don't see how this can apply to only after the crucifixion, but to the time when He truly leaves along with the bride.

 

Matthew 6 was pre-Church...and things were different in the very early church (tongues, etc.).

 

The bride groom (Jesus) was with them, and then taken away(crucified), thats when fasting would happen, after He was gone from them, not while He was there. John's disciples were fasting while with John, but Jesus's disciples were not fasting, Jesus said as long as He (the bridegroom) were with them they were to feast (as with a wedding party, eating, not fasting), once He was gone, they would then have time to fast. I see that as the context.

 

If you exercise regularly and are concerned about your physical health, if nothing else you should realize that fasting makes you lose muscle, there is no way around it. Working out then fasting is just not a real good combination. You are literally breaking down your own muscles in order to function during fasting, that's why your body goes crazy and you get these hormones and endorphins flowing around, hence the increased awareness and seemingly more energy. A "runner's high" is about the same thing... stress your body past the breaking point and you get a flood of hormones and endorphins, the heavens seem to align and your mind is extremely crisp.

Basically it may be good for the mind and soul, but fasting is horrible for the body. Hard on your kidneys, hard on your liver, your blood sugar is bottomed out potentially making you hypoglycemic, you lose muscle, and you teach your body to store fat. It's just really bad. If you are following a great diet to begin with, there is simply no physical reason to fast.

 

I am not saying this is what you are doing, but I have seen this arugment made before by people that just did not want to sacrifice their own needs and wants to do something spiritually focused.

Curious, why was it different in the sense of fasting? What is wrong with fasting? There are many examples of fasting in Scripture. So we are not to follow those because things are different now?

Have you ever personally fasted?

 

So can you see Jesus from where you're sitting right now?

 

I don't fast because of my migraines. I can't even fast for my annual physical if the appt. isn't early in the morning.

 

I know a woman like this, if she even gets hungry she gets horrorable migraines.

 

Where are we commanded to fast? Is fasting needed to give up our own needs and wants?

Why were tongues spoken freely? What is wrong with tongues?

This can be stated with lots of things...washing feet, tongues, drinking REAL wine for communion, meeting in homes, etc.

For spritual matters? No. I couldn't eat for three days before a colonoscopy, though.

 

What?
You mean to tell me Jesus has left you, or that He lied in Scripture?

 

Thats not what he said and you know it, he is asking about physically, do you physically see him standing there, just like you physically see your wife or boss.

 

That's exactly what he said! Quote:

Please show where Luke 5:33-35 mentions any kind of physical seeing of Jesus, or where "I will never leave you nor forsake you" is in reference to being able to physically see Him...

 

While there is no direct command in the letters to the churches, there is a clear sense that fasting has been a spiritual tool used by God's people throughout the ages.

I have not been commanded to have a prayer walk either, I have often found it to strenthen me spiritually.

Jesus teaches on fasting and we see it in the early church in the Scriptures I posted above. You can claim that all of this was different then, but seems you are arguing from silence. Do Jesus words on prayer, adultery, oaths and material possessions in the Sermon on the Mount get thrown out to because things are different today?

You are comparing apples and oranges. Tongues really have no place in this discussion.

None of these are in question, the question is involving fasting. Also, none of these have the Scriptural evidence that fasting does. Have you actually examined all the references to fasting in Scripture? You might be surprised. The pattern throughout the OT and the first part of the NT is that God's children fasted. Why should we not fast today for spiritual purposes?

Just a simple challenge here, try a 24 hour fast from food to devote more time to prayer. study of God's Word and hearing from God. Shouldn't you atleast try something before you argue against it?

 

So women are to wear head coverings, we are to wash feet, we should meet in houses, and we are to speak in tongues? Not apples and oranges, but practices of the early church.

If anything is apples and oranges, it's this. All of Chris't words are immutable truth, and I don't recall every denying that.

How can this be when they are mentioned IN Scripture?

The pattern I noticed seems to have fasting done by the jews. I'll study that further, but that seems to be the common pattern (Paul and Barnabas included).

Just out of curiosity, wouldn't it be more productive to cut out things that take up most of our free time? Eating only takes up maybe an hour a day. How many hours do we spend on the internet and watching TV? If the point of fasting is more time to devotion, why not use vacation days for this and cut out things that use most of our time, instead of food? It seems like meal time was a big deal in biblical times, and they didn't have the other luxuries in life to take up their time as we do. Times were a lot different then.

How exactly does one devote more time to prayer by only avoiding food? We would get...what...maybe an additional half hour? Why not eliminate TV, the computter, or better yet, a day at work...take a vacation day, pack a nice lunch and spend your time in nature alone with God?

Not always. I really have no desire to drink poison

 

Web, very well. You will not even attempt something that is clear in Scripture. Therefore you have no foundation from which to argue against it. Thanks for making that clear.

And you are exactly right. Jesus words are immutable truth. Jesus taught on fasting. Therefore it is immutable truth, and is applicable to our daily lives as God's children.