Nov 14
Nesteia
I decided to challenge myself this week spiritually and physically by fasting. It began at midnight Tuesday morning, and I plan to end the fast at lunch time on Friday, which will be about 85 hours.
That’s 85 hours of nothing more than coffee and chicken broth.
Oddly enough, foregoing food has not been as difficult as I anticipated. And for someone like me, who might be able to turn eating at a buffet into an Olympic event, that’s saying something. But it is something I really wanted to do for a dear friend who has had a major impact in my life.
The main reason for the fast is to pray for Archie and the rest of the team at South Bay Church in Northern California; their first preview service, the culmination of several months of work and prayer, happens this Sunday. It’s a moment that they have really worked hard to reach, and I hope you will join me in wishing them all well.
If you missed the “Arch-a-thon” I held back in August, and you’d like to know more about this incredible guy, just click the “Arch-a-thon” tab and start reading.
In any case, if you’re so inclined, please say a prayer for them that things would go well for their first service.
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November 14th, 2008 at 2:49 pm
Patrick,
You know me, and my attitudes towards religion. At first, when you started to adopt a much more spiritual tone in your blog, I simply shrugged, and moved on. I have debated with you in the past on religion, but I couldn’t see the value of doing that daily, so I simply declined to read those posts of a religious nature. But now, I have to say that I am worried about you. You have changed dramatically since you joined this church. I’m sure in some ways you see the change as being for the better, but when it comes to things like prolonged fasting, I have to disagree. Prolonged fasting is never medically advisable for any reason. I strongly urge you to discuss this with your doctor. Do not allow your church to influence you to do things that are harmful to yourself. There is nothing moral, spiritual, or Godly about harming yourself.
November 14th, 2008 at 8:20 pm
Paul,
First, let me say thanks for your note. I appreciate your concern. Really.
I suppose I’m a little surprised that of all of my regular or semi-regular readers, it’s one who identifies himself as a non-Christian who seems to have been one of the first to notice that I have changed “dramatically” since joining this church. I realize that religion is not a favorite topic of yours and I agree that daily debates on the subject can have little value. But I’m still impressed that you seem to have noticed that I have changed beyond the point of just altering the tone.
You’re quite right that I see the change as for the better. It is unquestionably for the better, but even if you were a devout Christian, it would be difficult for me to explain exactly why the change is necessarily for the better as opposed to just being something different; religion is a very personal thing, faith means different things to different people, and God talks to each of us in our own way when we take the time to really, genuinely seek Him out.
Even that isn’t all that easy to explain. Maybe one day I will make a concerted attempt to do so. That day, however, isn’t today.
Putting myself in your place, I can understand your concern, and, again, I appreciate it.
Just so that the facts are clear, neither my church nor anyone in it influenced me to do anything harmful. Last year, I had a talk with a church member who was participating in a fast for a different reason. This person has a medical background, so it was with his gesture in mind that I decided to do this. Neither my friend Archie nor anyone else associated with the church in California knew I was going to do this in advance. I decided that it was something I wanted to do, and in some ways, for reasons that probably wouldn’t make sense to anyone but me, something that I needed to do.
For my friends. But also for me.
But it was, first and foremost, my decision. No one else’s. In fact, no one else even got the chance to make any input one way or the other, because I was going to do what I wanted, and felt that I needed, to do.
November 15th, 2008 at 12:27 am
Patrick,
You have some idea how I feel about faith–so I need not go into it.
That said, I agree with Paul about having some concern about your decision, not to fast, but to do so for a prolonged period without first having a check-up. Coffee and chicken broth do not provide essential nutrients and you’d need to be in prime physical condition for such a fast to be risk free.
Be careful. And don’t do this again without medical clearance.
November 15th, 2008 at 12:37 am
Yes, but, the idea that fasting would “challenge you spiritually” didn’t just pop into your head out of the ether. It has been suggested to you somewhere…and it is not healthy, physically, spiritually, or emotionally. It is a sign that your church is exerting an undue influence on you.
November 15th, 2008 at 7:56 am
It is a sign that your church is exerting an undue influence on you.
It’s only a sign that my church is to blame when you choose to look at it that way, Paul. As I stated earlier, my church had nothing to do with it.