What Should You Give Up for Lent?

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What is Lent? Well, it's a period of fasting between Ash Wednesday and Easter Sunday that lasts 46 days or 40 days not counting

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Sundays started by the Roman Catholic Church after the fourth century. Ever since then the rules of Lent have been in constant flux.

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It used to be that Easter was for baptism and those who are going to be baptized would fast at their own discretion. After the

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Council of Nicaea the church began to formalize traditions and it became that the leaders of the church were supposed to fast 40 days in preparation for Holy Week.

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But in the fifth century Catholicism replaced believers baptism with infant baptism and Pope Leo said that everyone must fulfill with their fast the apostolic institution of the 40 days claiming that Lent was something the apostles came up with.

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After Lent became about fasting rather than baptism and spread from the leaders to the laity then came the dietary laws like abstaining from meat and dairy but fish was okay.

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Canadians ate beaver because it lived in water and that qualified it as a fish. By the 20th century you could exchange meat for anything like fasting from your cell phone or chocolate or Facebook.

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What does the Bible say about Lent? Nothing. The Roman Catholic Church just likes to make stuff up. But Jesus did say this about fasting.

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When you fast don't do it like the hypocrites who want their fasting to be seen by others. Truly I say to you they have received their reward.

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Instead anoint your head and wash your face that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your father who is in secret and he will reward you.