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Originally Posted by AvyQuinn  Yet another religious rite/custom/tradition that confuses me.
If people are going to give up a vice for 40 days... then why not make it a permanent lifestyle change? Vices are bad or immoral or; some sort of sin or wickedness or corruption. In addition to giving up a favourite food, like hot wings (lol), what else are you doing to honour lent and it's traditions? Are you volunteering your time somewhere for a good cause? Are you going to church so that you can be closer to god?
Giving up something you love or indulge in is a good thing - especially if it is bad for one's health. Maybe, though, one should look at the benefits of sacrificing that one thing they've chosen for lent and extend it outside of the rite, and apply it to the rest of their lives.
Lent isn't really lent if you're not practicing it as it is supposed to be practiced. Giving up a food is just a diet. Going to church is just going to church and volunteering your time or donating your money is just being generous. All these things together create the religious tradition that is lent; they're not individual options to be chosen at one's discretion and then called lent.
I understand this topic of discussion was permitted to be posted by the mods; exempt from the http://www.yorkietalk.com/forums/off...s-threads.html but I believe that since not all of us are going to believe the same things when it comes to religion and since religious topics ARE a hotbed of opinions that these topics should remain banned from the boards. |
You don't sound confused at all, and I think you understand Lent better than the general public. Just as with those who believe in ''enlightenment", it's a journey not a destination. For children, I think Lent is meant to teach them to give up something they enjoy, as we journey further in our spiritual progress, it's about making sacrifices, and what those sacrifices teach us. For everything we give up, we are gaining much more in knowledge or spiritual enlightenment. For some, it may be just treating our bodies a little better, for others, it may be treating our spirit better. I see it as many different levels, and we are all on our own paths, and one path isn't necessarily better than another, just different.