Feb 20, 2015
Jan 29, 2015
Jan 26, 2015
More than Food (Part II)
by Derek Spink
“In a culture where the landscape is dotted with shrines to the Golden
Arches and an assortment of Pizza Temples, fasting seems out of place and out
of step with the times.” - Richard Foster
Many people in both the sacred and secular communities may be confused
by why Christians would fast, what fasting is, and what fasting is not. Let’s look at a quick breakdown of these
questions:
Why fast?
- To enjoy intimacy with
the presence of Jesus today (Mark 2:19-20)
- Jesus modeled it
(Matthew 4:2)
- A long history to
stand on (Acts 13:2-3; 14:23, plus the Patristics and later spiritual giants)
- For physical health
(even secular physicians commend its benefits)
- For spiritual
breakthrough (I Corinthians 6:12; 9:27; “When you take control of your physical
appetite, you develop strength to take control of your other appetites.” –
Elmer Towns)
- For the benefit others
(we intercede on others’ behalf—Ezra 8:21, and our deprivation develops within
us a new, acute awareness for others’ needs and hurts to which we can respond
tangibly)
What is fasting?
- An act of worship
(Luke 2:36-37)
- An act of humility
(John 4:32; we place ourselves in a vulnerable position before God, trusting he
will nourish us with spiritual food)
- A gift from God to
strengthen our spiritual vitality and victory
- An opportunity for us
to become more attentive to God (we recognize our inadequacies and his
adequacy)
What is fasting not?
- A legalistic adherence
to ritual (Isaiah 58:3-5)
- A way of ‘fixing’
problems in my life or convincing God (God will not be manipulated or cajoled)
- A way to demonstrate
piety/spirituality (not a public exhibition, as Jesus taught in Matthew 6)
- Mandatory/compulsory
(especially for salvation)
Having a healthier understanding of those basics, we can now embrace
two natural questions as follow-up:
What is a proper fast?
Biblically, we have no specific guidelines as to what a ‘proper fast’
should look like, which makes sense because we see such a variety of fasts
throughout scripture, each it seems with their own purpose. Jesus gave only one qualifier/rule for his
followers: Don’t be like the Pharisees.
In other words, don’t do it for show; don’t just put on a false
spiritual veneer. Do it unto God, not to
impress others. For both prayer and
fasting, Jesus instructs us not to make a scene (Matthew 6:5-6, 16-18).
How can I fast?
- A ‘normal’ fast—no
food; just water/juice
- An ‘absolute’
fast—nothing ingested at all; intended to be short-term, very serious health
risks possible
- A ‘partial’
fast—certain foods or certain times of day
- A ‘non-food’ fast—giving up time with
Facebook, TV, other habits, etc.
Remember: whether we forego food or entertainment, we must replace it
with something else. So, instead of
eating or playing a game or following social media, we spend time in prayer/meditation,
scripture reading, or even serving the needs of others.
DISCLAIMER:
Food fasts are not for everyone.
Depriving the body of food for any extended period can have serious
health risks for some people (e.g., expectant mothers, those with diabetes, or
others with a medical history). If that
is you, then you should consult with your doctor before beginning a
food-fast. Even though fasting is
healthful to many, God’s nature and character would never command a physical
exercise that would harm people either physically or emotionally. But, even if you are one for whom fasting may
not be physically possible, you can still enter into the spirit of fasting even
while remaining on your essential diets (as evidenced by the various types of
fasts described above).
Jan 19, 2015
Jan 12, 2015
More than Food (Part 1)
by Derek Spink
“In a culture where the landscape is dotted with shrines to the Golden Arches and an assortment of Pizza Temples, fasting seems out of place and out of step with the times.” - Richard Foster
Online and within churches, you can find people asking why Christians don’t seem to fast anymore (not a new question, by the way…although the motivation behind it is different now than in Jesus’ day—see Matthew 9/Mark 2/Luke 5). Richard Foster, in his Celebration of Discipline, argued that fasting appears to be a lost discipline. According to Foster, there are two culprits:
1. Feel-good religion We simply don’t want to be bothered with talk of self-denial or sacrifice. Our ‘get-all’ social mentality has convinced us that we are entitled to satisfying our urges—whether related to food, sexuality, money, etc. This consumerist mindset has also taken over our spiritual disciplines to such a degree that even in church circles we become focused, for example, on evangelism and outreach (and rightly so—that was Jesus’ model and command), yet we can forget the spiritual factors behind church growth. Slick marketing campaigns may have their place, but we mustn’t forget what Jesus said to his disciples—their greatest work could only be accomplished by their constant connection to God (along with, in some translations, its companion: fasting {Mark 9:29}). Self-denial has lost its place in many current church circles.
2. Misuse History, unfortunately, demonstrates an oft-wrong example. We have an image of monks and others who have ventured into unbalanced emphasis here. Gnosticism is a heresy that arose in the early days of the Christian church that separated physical matter from the spiritual realities. As a result, the body and all things physical were evil, which led to people living all kinds of licentious lifestyles; for, if the body was evil, it didn’t matter what I did with my body. As a result, some monks and mystics fell into a trap, and by their extreme fasting, they were saying, “Look, I’m not giving in to the evil, fleshly, material world!” What resulted was a misguided approach, completely unbiblical in thinking and completely unbalanced in practice. Self-flagellation/mutilation developed (even if unintentionally) into works-righteousness, attempting to earn God’s blessings and favour. We still see its residual effects on perceptions of fasting today (maybe most significantly during Lent).
Fasting Today
In 2012, a posting on an internet forum in the UK asked the question, “Why don’t Christians fast?” A “liked” response from the group was, “Because there’s food to eat. These age-old traditions came from practicality as much as anything else. Fasting is a good way to save food if there is little to eat.” While this is likely not the reason behind many Christians’ lack of practicing the fasting discipline, the reality remains that many in our churches don’t understand the importance of fasting for their spiritual lives. Many people are confused by why Christians would fast, what fasting is, and what fasting is not. Stay tuned for Part II where we will look at a quick breakdown of these questions and more!
Do you agree with Richard Foster’s assessment that fasting seems to be a lost discipline for Christians? Please feel free to take a moment and share your thoughts.
Jul 15, 2014
Mental Illness and Spiritual Struggle
This morning in my role as a hospital chaplain, I was working with our psychiatry people on a case, and then when I checked my e-mail I found an article about the fact that some evangelical Christians see psychiatry as the enemy. Sadly I have to admit that among Christians there are probably people who are in both camps described in this quotation from that article (URL below):
Among evangelicals, you will find some who are very open to dealing with mental illness as a physiological reality, but you will also find others who think that there is no other value to be gained from listening to the world.
As will surprise no one, I want to urge us to abandon such either/or thinking. When I checked my mail, I saw the link to this article which I would urge you all to read: [click here]
In the article you will find this quotation from Tim Keller: We must beware of giving people the impression that through individual repentance for sin they should be able to undo their personal problems. Obviously, we should not go to the other unbiblical extreme of refusing to acknowledge personal responsibility for sinful behavior as well...While we can't fall into the reductionism of believing all problems are chemically based and require medication, we also cannot fall into the reductionism of believing all problems are simply a matter of lacking spiritual disciplines. Schizophrenia, bipolar depression, and a host of other psychological problems are rooted in physiological problems that call for medical treatment, not simple talk therapy.
My advice is that if you have a parishioner who needs counsel beyond your own training, do not refer them to a Christian counsellor who sees psychiatrists as the enemy, or a counsellor who tries to diagnose things they have no training to diagnose. I’ve seen terrible harm done by such well-meaning counsellors. Before I refer to any Christian counsellor, I would want to talk with them and learn about their training and whether they have a psychiatrist to whom they refer clients whose needs are beyond their expertise. If you hear blanket criticism of psychiatry, or that they never refer to a psychiatrist, you know you are dealing with an incompetent counsellor.
Now someone will want to cite the circumstance where a psychiatrist had a bias against people of faith and did harm that way. I’m sure that such persons exist too. But my contacts with psychiatrists in my 15 years in hospital chaplaincy has been with none of that kind. And there is a growing consensus (typified in the linked article) among evangelicals that psychiatrists are God’s gift, just as are other physicians.
How I pray that pastors will not compound the problem of mental illness by steering people away from the medical professionals who can help them. I know I grew up with a bias against psychiatry, and have listened to enough conversations to know that the bias is still around.
Among evangelicals, you will find some who are very open to dealing with mental illness as a physiological reality, but you will also find others who think that there is no other value to be gained from listening to the world.
As will surprise no one, I want to urge us to abandon such either/or thinking. When I checked my mail, I saw the link to this article which I would urge you all to read: [click here]
In the article you will find this quotation from Tim Keller: We must beware of giving people the impression that through individual repentance for sin they should be able to undo their personal problems. Obviously, we should not go to the other unbiblical extreme of refusing to acknowledge personal responsibility for sinful behavior as well...While we can't fall into the reductionism of believing all problems are chemically based and require medication, we also cannot fall into the reductionism of believing all problems are simply a matter of lacking spiritual disciplines. Schizophrenia, bipolar depression, and a host of other psychological problems are rooted in physiological problems that call for medical treatment, not simple talk therapy.
My advice is that if you have a parishioner who needs counsel beyond your own training, do not refer them to a Christian counsellor who sees psychiatrists as the enemy, or a counsellor who tries to diagnose things they have no training to diagnose. I’ve seen terrible harm done by such well-meaning counsellors. Before I refer to any Christian counsellor, I would want to talk with them and learn about their training and whether they have a psychiatrist to whom they refer clients whose needs are beyond their expertise. If you hear blanket criticism of psychiatry, or that they never refer to a psychiatrist, you know you are dealing with an incompetent counsellor.
Now someone will want to cite the circumstance where a psychiatrist had a bias against people of faith and did harm that way. I’m sure that such persons exist too. But my contacts with psychiatrists in my 15 years in hospital chaplaincy has been with none of that kind. And there is a growing consensus (typified in the linked article) among evangelicals that psychiatrists are God’s gift, just as are other physicians.
How I pray that pastors will not compound the problem of mental illness by steering people away from the medical professionals who can help them. I know I grew up with a bias against psychiatry, and have listened to enough conversations to know that the bias is still around.
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