Atheism Stack Exchange Archive

Is Lent essentially a good idea?

posted by: Konrad Rudolph on 2011-03-10
tagged: lent, customs, rites
score: 1

For nonbelievers there is obviously not much sense in having a time of reflection about our belief in a god. Still, can’t Lent be also a time of constructive self-examination without a belief in a deity?

I have a few friends (some of them non-religious) who practice various forms of abstinence during Lent and I am very uncertain how to parse their behaviour; I am alternatingly torn between incredulity, annoyance, and grudging respect.

By the way, I don’t mean by this that we should be fasting, giving up our favourite food for a time. But rather that we try in general to take a step back from our usual life and re-examine what we take for granted.

Answer 3102

posted by: user unknown on 2011-03-10
score: 2
Hanging around here at atheism-exchange shows, that we prefer to reflect from time to time - doesn’t it? So yes, I agree, reflection is nice to have.
influencing the reflection with fasting, I don’t believe that that works. As child I was taught to avoid sweeties, which wasn’t a pleasure, but didn’t help me do reflections. Maybe it works better on adults - unfortunately I got atheist when getting adult, and, paradoxical, as a consequence of reflection. :)
Lent: A lot of agnostic people integrate wellness-fasting (while I think that wellness is a newer form of religion) into the time of the calendar, where other people do it for religious reasons. Which is somehow opportunistic, isn’t it? I’m more the confrontational guy, and if I expect benefits from regular fasting or regular reflection, I wouldn’t do it in the weeks before easter, or I would do it secretly. :)

Answer 3107

posted by: Satanicpuppy on 2011-03-10
score: 2

I don’t think there is anything wrong with a 40 day fast for health reasons; these days a lot of people could use to do a lot less eating. And 40 days of low calorie intake based on simple foods is certainly not a health risk as long as you don’t neglect one food group.

I also don’t think there is anything wrong with a 40 day period of introspection. Again, this is beneficial in a number of ways…I know I personally tend to bury issues that I have under my day-to-day schedule, and then they surface at inconvenient times. Better to stop and reflect at intervals.

One of the beneficial aspects of religion is forcing people to do these things (which are good for them) in an arbitrary way that cannot be gainsayed. Why should I do this? GOD WISHES IT SO.

So yea, I think it’s beneficial. I don’t think, however, that people tend to do unpleasant things, even if they are beneficial without some kind of reason.

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