What's the importance of Fasting?
Upvote:1
Fasting facilitates entry into low level non-ordinary states of consciousness. It allows the person fasting to connect to the world around them differently than an average day of eating. Fasting shows restraint, and when an adherent couples that restraint with devotion it is a powerful symbol of one's dedication in spite of the limitations and exigencies of the physical, material world.
Fasting is a practice observed by religions the world over. for some it is a mater of devotion by protesting the flash, for others it is an exercise in humility. Both serve to humble the flesh to elevate the mind. In other religions water fasting is utilized along with other spiritual technologies to accommodate advanced meditative techniques like vision quests or rites of passage. Dating has also served as a method of political protest in the context of oppression of minorities (frequently religious ones; i.e. Catholic, Bobby Sands in Maize Prison was protesting for political prisoner status as a member of a sectarian minority engaged in terrorist activity).
Physiologically, the non-ordinary states are initially derived from subjects experiencing many of the side effects initially of hypo-glycemia (low blood-sugar):
Hypoglycemia causes symptoms such as hunger, shakiness, nervousness, sweating, dizziness or light-headedness, sleepiness, confusion, difficulty speaking, anxiety, weakness (NIH)
Of course, there are different formats to fasting, in/excluding water, food after sunset. However, in any situation where you alter the fuel you are feeding your metabolism, it will need to adjust to accomodate; this can cause psychological effects as well as physical.
I would caution against charging into fasting without consulting a physician as, in contradiction of whatever that online source said, fasting is not always healthy for your body. See here for a run down that lays out some of the benefits, some of the complications, and some of the controversy surrounding both.
Upvote:6
Biblical teaching and accounts
Isaiah 58:3-11 taught the Isrealites of their false motives to fast, clarified some of the best reasons for fasting and listed both physical and spiritual benefits that would result.
Jesus himself teaches fasting in private in Matthew 6:16-18 and that you'll be rewarded by God.
Jesus was questioned in Mark 2:18-21.
Other instances of fasting in the Bible are Moses, David, and others
More post
- 📝 What are biblical arguments for congregationalist church polity?
- 📝 What was the justification of morality in Puritan Antinomianism?
- 📝 "Truth Matters 2013: Strange fire" conference" - What does the biblical term "strange fire" signify about the Charismatic movement?
- 📝 God as the Ground of Being
- 📝 What do baptists mean when they refer to an ordained baptist minister?
- 📝 Does LDS doctrine explicitly emphasize the atonement in Gethsemane?
- 📝 Where does the Catholic church procure most of its Bibles?
- 📝 Can someone tell more about this artwork of Jesus Christ?
- 📝 Does Christianity claim itself to be the final revelation from God?
- 📝 In which scriptures are Jesus' Words?
- 📝 Are Mormons Protestants?
- 📝 Was the date of Christmas just derived from Saturnalia and other winter pagan festivals?
- 📝 Is/will there be time in heaven?
- 📝 According to the Catholic Church, could a "Jesus-name" baptism ever be considered a valid baptism?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for Jesus Christ being a created being according to Jehovah’s Witnesses?
- 📝 Where can I find Julia Smith's translation of the Septuagint?
- 📝 Where does the Scripture say that you need to be in the state of Divine Grace in order to go to Heaven?
- 📝 Cities of Refuge - Churches of Refuge
- 📝 What is an overview of Christian spiritual practices for cultivating and increasing love over time?
- 📝 What are the main differences between the Catholic Popes and the Mormon Prophets?
- 📝 At what level does the orthodox church recognize the individual rather than the collective?
- 📝 Has there ever been a successful Catholic Christian rock or pop band since the Singing Nun?
- 📝 Identifying General and Universal Magisterium
- 📝 Are there any documented cases of paranormal activity preceding or during an exorcism?
- 📝 Assuming the Gospels are eye-witness accounts, how were certain events recorded where Jesus was alone?
- 📝 What does the Anglican Church teach about being born again?
- 📝 Can Bishops give dispensations from certain marriage vows?
- 📝 What was it like in the Temple at the time of Jesus?
- 📝 A.W. Pink and the Tripartite Theory of Man
- 📝 Difference between Augustinianism and Calvinism
Source: stackoverflow.com
Search Posts
Related post
- 📝 What are the first references to a tradition of fasting before partaking of the Lord's Supper?
- 📝 Who are the hypocrites associated with fasting in the Didache?
- 📝 What's the importance of Fasting?
- 📝 Was regular weekly fasting a widespread, formal tradition in the early Church?
- 📝 What was the Original Purpose of Fasting from "Wine" and "Olive Oil" in the Orthodox Tradition?
- 📝 What is the importance of Leviticus 19:19?
- 📝 When were the Fasting Patterns of the Eastern Orthodox Church Established?
- 📝 When did the Latin Catholic Church begin to generally require fasting only one hour prior to the Eucharist?
- 📝 Does the Dome of the Rock have any importance to Christianity?
- 📝 Weight of importance on the belief that Jesus is Michael for Jehovah's Witnesses?
- 📝 What are the reasons for fasting from midnight before Eucharist?
- 📝 In contrast to Judaism and Islam, what is the importance of Abraham's sacrifice of his son in Christianity?
- 📝 Did the importance of the resurrection increase as the New Testament was written?
- 📝 What is the importance of reading the Bible?
- 📝 Why such importance given to the hour of death?
- 📝 Are the Ten Commandments in OT arranged in the order of their importance to the believer?
- 📝 What was the importance of including all of the families in books like Numbers?
- 📝 How did the fasting and abstinence requirements of Lenten Ember Days differ from other days of Lent in the United States?
- 📝 What is the importance of reading the Bible personally in Catholicism?
- 📝 Why does the NRSV-CE omit mentioning prayer and fasting in Matthew 17?
- 📝 What is the Biblical basis for the doctrine of the Trinity?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis for the claim that abortion is immoral?
- 📝 When the Bible talks about wine does it mean alcoholic wine?
- 📝 What major translations of the Bible are in the Public Domain?
- 📝 Does Jesus ever claim to be God, or the son of God?
- 📝 Praying to people outside the Trinity
- 📝 The Bible seems to allow polygamy. Why doesn't the church?
- 📝 What is the basis for saying Christians and Muslims worship the same God?
- 📝 What is the biblical basis to claim that masturbation is a sin?
- 📝 Atheism is the default position. Isn't the burden of proof on the Christian to assert that God exists?