LENT – Origin and Practices
Lent
And that brings us back to Lent. At Christmas
it’s easy to come by someone who will tell you that the season of Advent gets
its name from Latin for “approaching” or “coming towards.” But at Lent, such
facts are harder to come by.
The English word “Lent” traces back to Old
Germanic words for “long” or “length.” Anyone who’s given up chocolate or
snacks for the 40 days of the season might think this refers to the painful
duration of 6 weeks of sacrifices, but the truth seems to be even more natural,
basic, and ancient than that.
“Lenz” is the modern German word for the
entire season of Spring, the period of the year in the Northern Hemisphere
where the sun rises earlier and sets later, lengthening day and diminishing
night. English seems to have taken this word for the whole season and applied
it specifically to the religious season at the same time, much like it took the
French word for cow, “boef,” and used it specifically in a culinary sense. So
for all of its modern connotations of ashes and penitence, the linguistic
heritage of “Lent” itself is simply a description of the effects of Earth’s
tilt relative to the sun. Which brings us to Easter.
Sunrise lights up the Great Smokey Mountains,
in the leafy splendor of the already lengthened says of Spring. (Photo by David
Alan Harvey)
http://newswatch.nationalgeographic.com/2013/02/12/surprising-meanings-of-lent-february-and-ash-wednesday/
Lent
Lent is a period of 40
days preceding the observance of Easter,
where the observers are expected to fast or cease from having the use of some
other “luxury.” Like the majority of modern, so-called Christian practices, its
beginning can be traced to heathen
practices.
In his book The Two Babylons, Alexander Hislop observed:
Let any one only read the
atrocities that were commemorated during the 'sacred fast' or Pagan Lent, as
described by Arnobius and Clemens Alexandrinus, and surely he must blush for
the Christianity of those who, with the full knowledge of all these
abominations, 'went down to Egypt for help' to stir up the languid devotion of
the degenerate church, and who could find no more excellent way to 'revive' it,
than by borrowing from so polluted a source; the absurdities and abominations
connected with which the early Christian writers had held up to scorn. That
Christians should ever think of introducing the Pagan abstinence of Lent was a
sign of evil; it showed how low they had sunk, and it was also a cause of evil;
it inevitably led to deeper degradation. Originally, even in Rome, Lent, with
the preceding revelries of the carnival,
was entirely unknown....
In the early 19th
century, German explorer Alexander von Humboldt noted the practice among the
pagans in Mexico, being held in the spring. His account states:
Three days after the
vernal equinox…began a solemn fast of forty days in honour of the sun.
A Lent of forty days was
also commemorated in Egypt. According to by English scholar John Landseer, in
his Sabean Researches (1823), an Egyptian Lent of forty days
was held in honor of Osiris.
There is a spiritual
signature which bears witness to the spirit of these traditions. It is called
Fat Tuesday, Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras. It is the custom of living it up to
get our fill of all the enjoyment the world has to offer before setting off to
“Church” in mock repentance on Ash Wednesday. Such celebrations are an
indication of the spirit behind the facade.
UNDERSTANDING THE ORIGINS OF LENT AND TRADITIONS
Standpoint” American Sentinel 10, 16,
pp. 121, 122.
THE Roman Catholic
claims the “power to command feasts and holy days,” and to “command them under sin.” That is, the church claims the power to
ordain holy days and the manner of their observance, and the power to pronounce
any disobedience of these commands to be sin, which, if not repented of,
results in the eternal ruin of the disobedient one. With this assumption of the
church in view, a few observations regarding the law of the church regulating Lent, just past, may be interesting and
profitable.” AMS April 18, 1895, p. 121.1 [American
Sentinel 10]
The following are the
commands of the church regulating the fast of Lent, as promulgated by
Cardinal Gibbons:— AMS April 18, 1895, p. 121.2 [IBID]
1.
All the faithful who have completed their twenty-first year,
unless exempt by dispensation or some other legitimate cause, are bound to
observe the fast of Lent.
2.
They are to make one meal
only a day, except on Sundays.
3.
A small refreshment, commonly called collation, is permitted in
the evening.
4.
5.
The following persons are exempt from the obligation of fasting:
Persons under twenty-one years of age, the sick, nursing women, those who are
obliged to do hard labor, and those who, through weakness, cannot fast, without
great prejudice to their health.
6.
The faithful are reminded that, besides the obligation of fasting
imposed by the church, this holy season of Lent should be, in an especial manner, a time of earnest prayer,
of sorrow for sin, of seclusion from the world and its amusements, and of
generous almsgiving.
“Let it be remembers
that to disobey these commands of the cardinal is sin. The reader, unacquainted
with the rules of the church, will think that these commands are very severe.
However, the pope has granted an “indult,” that is, an indulgence to the Roman
Catholics of the United States, by which they can violate the above commands,
without sin, where others in less favored countries, should they disobey them,
would be counted sinners. Here is the indulgence:— AMS April 18, 1895, p. 121.8
[IBID]
II
By virtue of an indult
to the United States, dated August 2, 1887, the following special dispensations
are granted:— AMS April 18, 1895, p. 122.1 [IBID]
1. The use of flesh must
be permitted at all meals on Sundays, and once a day on Mondays, Tuesdays,
Thursdays and Saturdays, with the exception of the second and last Saturdays ofLent. But flesh meat and fat
are not to be used at the same meal during Lent, except on Sundays.
2. The use of butter,
cheese, milk and eggs is also permitted every day in Lent.
3. It is allowed to take in the morning some
warm liquid, as tea, coffee, or thin chocolate, made with water, and with this
liquid a mouthful of bread.
4. Those for whom the hour of noon may be an
inconvenient time for dinner, may invert the order and take their collation in
the morning, and their dinner in the evening.
5. The use of hog’s lard, or dripping,
instead of butter, is authorized in preparing permitted food.
6. Persons exempt from
the obligations of fasting are free to take meat more than once on those days
when its use is granted by dispensation.” AMS April 18, 1895, p. 122.7 [IBID]
III
“The Paschal time
extends from the first Sunday of Lent till Trinity Sunday, during which time all persons who have
attained the proper age are bound to recite worthily the holy communion. The
holy season of Lent is a very proper time also for children to make their first
confession, which they ought to do generally about the age of seven years.
Parents should see to this.” AMS April 18, 1895, p. 122.8 [IBID]
By order of his eminence
the cardinal, W. A. REARDON,Chancellor. AMS April 18, 1895, p. 122.9 [IBID]
Baltimore,
Feb. 15, 1895.
It will be noticed that
while it is a sin to eat flesh on certain days, it is not sin to eat fish. It will be interesting to note further what is
included under the term “fish.” AMS April 18, 1895, p. 122.10 [IBID]
The American Ecclesiastical Review, a Roman Catholic
monthly, “published for the clergy,” with the authority of superiors (“cum approbationes superoum”),
in its April issue, publishes the following question and answer:— AMS April 18, 1895, p. 122.11 [IBID}
Qs. Does the privilege, which exists in the Southern States, of
eating seal-duck on days of abstinence, extend to all parts of the country? AMS April 18, 1895, p. 122.12 [IBID]
Resp.... Wherever this species of sea-fowl is commonly reckoned in the
same category of food as turtles, lobster, frogs, oyster, etc., which though
they cannot be called fish, are nevertheless held to be lenten food, there the
practice of serving seal-duck is licit. Some regard as included in this
category even the meat of beavers, otters, coots, and other semi-marine animals
which live almost exclusively in the water and obtain their food there. AMS April 18, 1895, p. 122.13 [IBID]
From this we learn that,
according to the church of Rome, it is a sin to eat flesh on
certain days, but it is not a sin to eat fish, seal-duck, turtles, lobsters,
frogs, oysters, beavers, otters and coots. In other words, the church damns a
man who eats beef or mutton, and commends him when he eats turtles, lobsters,
frogs, oysters, beavers, otters and coots. AMS April 18, 1895, p. 122.14 [IBID]
“Sin is the
transgression of the law” (1
John 3:4), but the Roman Catholic Church has thought to change that law
which the Lord, by the Psalmist, calls “perfect,” and by Paul calls
“spiritual,” “holy,” “just,” and “good,” and has erected another standard of
righteousness, a part of which declares that it is a sin to eat beef and mutton
on certain days in certain countries, but righteousness to eat turtles,
lobsters, frogs, oysters, beavers, otters and coots. AMS April 18, 1895, p. 122.15 [IBID]
Oh that Roman Catholics
would turn from the burdensome traditions of men to the law of God; from the
“vicar of Christ” and “the virgin,” to Him who said, “Come unto me.” AMS April 18, 1895, p. 122.16 [IBID]
A RELEVANT DOCUMENT OR TWO
“On this Balsamon, an ancient writer whose commentary is
appended to this canon, remarks that this canon is in harmony with the 64th
apostolical canon, which declares “that we are not to fast on the Sabbath, with
one exception, the great Sabbath” [the one connected with the passover] “and to
the 69th canon, which severely punishes those who do not fast in the Holy Lent, and on every fourth day of the week
and day of preparation.” So, it appears that they were commanded by the canons
to fast on the fourth and sixth days of the week, and forbidden to do this on
the Sabbath and first-day.” TFTC 103.3
[The Complete Testimony of the Fathers of the First Three Centuries
Concerning the Sabbath and First Day]
“The church of God is to-day courting the world. Its members
are trying to bring it down to the level of the ungodly. The ball, the theater,
nude and lewd art, social luxuries, with all their loose moralities, are making
inroads into the sacred inclosure of the church; and as a satisfaction for all
this worldliness, Christians are making a great deal of Lent and Easter and church
ornamentation. It is the old trick of Satan. The Jewish Church struck on that
rock; the Romish Church was wrecked on the same; and the Protestant Church is
fast reaching the same doom.” RCASDA 69.2 [Replies to Elder Canright’s Attacks on
Seventh-day Adventists]
“Another notable
instance was Louis XIV. of France. The early part of his reign was a time of
much license; “but in his old age he became religious; and he determined that
his subjects should be religious too. He shrugged his shoulders and knitted his
brows if he observed at his levee, or near his dinner table, any gentleman who
neglected the duties enjoined by the church. He rewarded piety with blue
ribands, pensions, invitations to Marlé, governments, and regiments. Forthwith
Versailles became in everything but dress, a convent. The pulpits and
confessionals were surrounded by swords and embroidery. The marshals were much
in prayer; and there was hardly one among the dukes and peers who did not carry
good little books in his pocket, fast during lent, and communicate at
Easter. Madame de Maintenon, who had a great share in the blessed work, boasted
that devotion had become quite the fashion.” ARSH May 13, 1884, p. 306.6 [The Advent Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol.
61]
And was politics
purified? With a vengeance! We read on: “A fashion indeed it was; and like a
fashion it passed away. No sooner had the old king been carried to St. Denis
than the whole court unmasked. Every man hastened to indemnify himself, by the
excess of licentiousness and impudence, for years of mortification. The same
persons who, a few months before, with meek voices and demure looks, had
consulted divines about the state of their souls, now surrounded the midnight
table, where, amidst the bounding of champagne corks, a drunken prince,
enthroned between Dubois and Madame de Parabere, hiccoughed out atheistical
arguments and obscene jests. The early part of the reign of Louis XIV. had been
a time of license; but the most dissolute men of that generation would have
blushed at the orgies of the Regency.”—Macaulay’s Essay on Leigh Hunt. ARSH May 13, 1884, p. 306.7 [IBID]
“IT is reported in a
leading religious journal that there is a rector of an Episcopal church in the
United States, who is known as “Father” Ritchie. At his church the “sacrifice
of the mass” takes the place of the communion service.” ARSH October 18, 1898, p. 669.1 [The Advent Review and Sabbath
Herald, Vol. 75]
This clergyman has so
nearly reached Rome as to prescribe the following program for the observance of Lent by his members:— ARSH October 18, 1898, p. 669.2 [IBID]
1.
Attend at least one church service every day.
2. 2. Take communion at
least once a week.
3. 3. Say a short prayer
daily at noontime.
4. 4. Go to confession
before Easter.
5.
5. Abstain from food on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday until
afternoon.
6. Eat no meat on Wednesday
and Fridays.
7.
7. Deny yourself something
you like every day
8. 8. Abstain from all
parties and places of public amusement.
9.
9. Try to save money each
day, by self-denial, for your Easter offering
10.
10. Do something every day (if only to say a
prayer) for some poor, sick, or troubled person.
“What could be more
encouraging to the Roman Catholic Church than this weakening of the churches
that have in the past protested against Romanism? While the church mentioned
may be an exception in this respect, there are too many that have departed from
the faith of their fathers, and are on the downward road.” ARSH October 18, 1898, p. 669.13 [IBID]
“Apostasy is the origin
of the papacy. Whenever God’s people lose their hold upon him, and begin to
trust in the inventions of men, the result is always the same. In Paul’s day
some departed from the faith; then the mystery of iniquity began to work, and
kept on working, until “that man of sin” was fully revealed, and exalted
himself “above all that is called God, or that is worshiped.” History gave to
this stage of the church the name “papacy.” But the name does not signify, as
it was the result of apostasy.” ARSH October 18, 1898, p. 669.14 [IBID]
“If the churches of
to-day leave the word of God, and put their trust in man-made institutions, it
matters not by what name they are known, the results will be exactly as before,
and will produce the living image of the papacy. Let there be an awakening, and
a seeking the Lord for the heavenly anointing, that in these times of apostasy
we may be true to him.” ARSH October 18, 1898, p. 669.15 [IBID]
“Editorial” American Sentinel 12, 11,
pp. 161, 162.
ABOUT as near as anyone
can come to divining the purpose of “Lent,” as related to Protestants, in the
absence of any authority on the subject, is to say that it institutes a sort of
“indulgence” for a life of doubtful duty during the rest of the year. AMS March 18, 1897, p. 161.1 [American Sentinel 12]
It would be possible for Lent to be only this, even if it were a season instituted by the
Lord; for God’s institutions often become perverted. And as it was not
instituted by the Lord, it is not possible that it should be anything but this. AMS March 18, 1897, p. 161.2
[IBID]
The real purpose of
penance, in the heathen system of which it forms a part, is that of an
indulgence, either to satisfy a past transgression, or to provide for a future
one. It is a principle of human nature—and human nature is strictly
heathen—that an individual can in some way and to some extent, atone for his
own transgressions. This principle crops out everywhere in an individual’s way,
before he becomes a Christian, of dealing with himself and with others. His own
bad deeds, or those of others, are offset in his view by the later “good” deeds
of the respective parties. He thinks that he must do something good in order to
become good; and that he must just make himself good in this way to a certain extent,
before he can come into touch with God. AMS March 18, 1897, p. 161.3 [IBID]
Having done what he
considers a very good deed, by way of penance, his conscience will be eased
until he again does something that he knows to be of a decidedly different character,
or until he has continued for some time in the pathway of “small”
transgressions. Then he feels that he must again do something to set himself
straight. So it happens that the Lenten period of penance supplies a want of
human nature, coming as it does in intervals convenient for that purpose. AMS March 18, 1897, p. 161.4 [IBID]
Upon this question of
the real nature and purpose of Lent, we may cite the
testimony of the papal church. That church is the author of the observance, and
being in no sense a divine ordinance, it has never been perverted from its
original purpose. In a late issue of Cardinal Gibbons’ organ, the Catholic Mirror, the following observations are made
by way of preparing the minds of “the faithful” for the occasion:— AMS March 18, 1897, p. 161.5 [IBID]
“With this week begins
the holy season ofLent, when according to the precept and immemorial
custom of the church, we should, as far as possible, lay aside worldly
thoughts, and especially worldly pleasures, and occupy ourselves with
considerations which relate to our eternal salvation. This, indeed, we should
do at all times; but more especially in Lent, when everything in the
divine offices of our religion reminds us that the passion and death of our
Lord are to be soon commemorated. AMS March 18, 1897, p. 161.6
[IBID]
“There is no person who
cannot give up something for the sake of Almighty God, in Lent—all that is necessary is the will to do
so. There are pleasures, of doubtful benefit to us spiritually at all times,
which should now peremptorily be abandoned. There are the very questionable
amusements in which many indulge—the play-going, the reading of light
literature, and the various diversions of society. During the penitential
season, at least, these recreations should be utterly relinquished, and the
discipline of the church should be complied with as rigorously as possible.
Then it will not follow at the end that one, looking back with regret and
self-reproach, will realize that the holy season for him or her has come and
gone in vain.” AMS March 18, 1897, p. 161.7 [IBID]
In brief, the idea here
expressed is that during this season of penance, “worldly pleasures” “of
doubtful benefit to us spiritually at all times,” “very questionable
amusements,” etc., should be laid aside, and the individual should conduct
himself in a strictly Christian manner. And what makes it a season of penance
is the very fact that he feels obliged to conduct himself in this way. For
forty days a heathen must try to act like a Christian. And truly, if that be
not a penance, we cannot think of anything that would be. Every individual who
has tried the experiment knows how hard it is to try to act like a Christian
before being one. AMS March 18, 1897, p. 161.8 [IBID]
It will be said, of
course, that Lent is for Christians—“the faithful”—and not for the heathen at
all. But we do not care anything about the theory ofLent. We are considering
only the reality of it, and the reality is that Christians can have no possible
use for Lent, because (1) it has no
sanction in the Word of God, and (2) a Christian acts like a Christian at all
times of the year, and not merely during some period of penance. And he finds
no penance at all, but only pleasure, in so doing. AMS March 18, 1897, p. 162.1 [IBID]
To seek to gain an
indulgence for a life of “questionable amusements” and “worldly pleasures”
during the rest of the year, by means of the Lenten penance, is no more
Protestant or Christian than to purchase an indulgence from the pope direct. AMS March 18, 1897, p. 162.2 [IBID]
THE PILGRAMAGE DECEPTION
“LATELY
a pilgrim in India, making his way to a shrine, was so loaded with chains and
iron bands that, when he decided to make part of his journey by railroad, the
company demanded that he pay for his passage both regular fare and freight. It
was estimated that there was on his body about two hundred pounds of iron; and
at night, in his journey on foot, he would stake himself out like an animal. To
object of all this was to do penance, to make atonement, for his sins. In
relating the occurrence, theInterior very
justly remarks: “What is Lent,
throughout three fourths of Christendom, but anattempt by personal sacrifice to
propitiate God? The same thought which lay at the basis of the Indian fakir’s
conduct lies at the basis of Lent’s
abstention. It is that man must pay at least part of the penalty of his sin in
bodily pains. It is that he must atone, in part at least, for that sin which
the Bible says was completely blotted out by the one sufficient Redeemer. ‘Old
Dan Chaucer’ struck the key-note of the Reformation in his pre-Reformation
line, when he wrote, ‘Either he forgives us every whit or not a dele.’ But
direct as that lesson is taught in the holy Gospels, it has not yet been
mastered by Greek, Romanist, or Protestant.” The REVIEW AND HERALD will help,
on this subject, everybody who will read them.” ARSH November 7, 1899, p. 720.12 [The Advent
Review and Sabbath Herald, Vol. 76]
A LITTLE HISTORY
31. The Bulgarian king
Bagoris had lately become a Catholic, and he sent an embassy to the pope in 866
with a list of one hundred and five questions, asking for instruction
concerning the new faith. Bagoris had undertaken to compel his people to adopt
his new religion. This caused revolt, and in putting down the revolt Bagoris
had massacred a number of his nobles, and even their innocent children. One of
his questions to the pope was whether in this he had sinned. In answer,
Nicholas told him that he had undoubtedly sinned in putting the children to
death, who had no share in the guilt of their fathers; but as for the rest of
his conduct Nicholas wrote thus:— ECE 286.3 [ECCLESIASTICLE EMPIRE]
“You advise us that you
have caused your subjects to be baptized without their consent, and that you
have exposed yourself to so violent a revolt as to have incurred the risk of
your life. I glorify you for having maintained your authority by putting to
death those wandering sheep who refused to enter the fold; and you not only
have not sinned, by showing a holy rigor, but I even congratulate you on having
opened the kingdom of heaven to the people submitted to your rule. A king need
not fear to command massacres, when these will retain his subjects in
obedience, or cause them to submit to the faith of Christ, and God will reward
him in this world, and in eternal life, for these murders.... You must feast on Sunday,
and not on Saturday; you should abstain from labor on the days of the festivals
of the holy Virgin, of the twelve apostles, the evangelists, Saint John the
Baptist, Saint Stephen the first martyr, and of the saints, whose memory is
held in veneration in your country. ECE 286.4 [IBID]
“On these days, and
during Lent, you should not
administer judgment, and you should abstain from flesh during the fast of Lent, on Pentecost, on the Assumption of the
Virgin, and on Christmas; you must also fast on Fridays, and the eve of great
feasts. On Wednesdays you may eat meat, and it is not necessary to deprive
yourselves of baths on that day and on Fridays, as the Greeks recommend. You are
at liberty to receive the communion daily in Lent, but you should not
hunt, nor gamble, nor enter into light conversation, nor be present at the
shows of jugglers during this season of penitence. You must not give feasts,
nor assist at marriages, and married people should live in continence. We leave
to the disposal of the priests the duty of imposing a penance on those who
shall have yielded to the desires of the flesh. ECE 287.1 [IBID]
“You may carry on war in Lent, but only to repel an enemy. You are at
liberty to eat all kinds of animals, without troubling yourself about the
distinction of the old law; and laymen, as well as clergy, can bless the table
before eating, by making the sign of the cross. It is the custom of the Church
not to eat before nine o’clock in the morning, and a Christian should not touch
game killed by a pagan.... ECE
287.2 [IBID]
“Before declaring war on
your enemies, you should assist at the sacrifice of the mass, and make rich
offerings to the churches; and we order you to take, as your military ensign,
instead of the horse’s tail, which serves you for a standard, the cross of
Jesus Christ. We also prohibit you from forming any alliance with the infidels;
and when you conclude a peace in future, you will swear upon the evangelists,
and not upon the sword.” ECE 287.3 [IBID]
32. Nicholas is very worthily classed with Leo I and Gregory
I, as deserving of the title of “the Great,” for “never had the power of the
clergy or the supremacy of Rome been asserted so distinctly, so inflexibly. The
privileges of Rome were eternal, immutable, anterior to all synods or councils,
derived from none, but granted directly by God himself; they might be assailed,
but not transferred; torn off for a time, but not plucked up by the roots. An
appeal was open to Rome from all the world, from her authority lay no appeal.”—Milman. 4 He died
Nov. 13, 867, and was immediately succeeded by—HADRIAN II, DEC. 13, 867, TO
NOV. 26, 872, who also was
consecrated and enthroned without the emperor’s sanction. But when the emperor
called him to an account for it, the excuse was again presented that it was not
out of any disrespect to the emperor, but because he was overborne by the
urgency of the multitude. The emperor accepted the plea and confirmed the
election. ECE 287.4 [IBID]
A SCRIPTURE OR TWO
Jesus said: “ Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am
meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light.” Matthew
11:28-30
“So, as much as in me is,
I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.
For I am not ashamed of
the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just
shall live by faith.” The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the ROMANS 1:15 -17
AMEN!
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