What's Lent all about? Before reading Danny's post on the subject, I had already pondered the whole thing. Without knowing or caring much about the history of Lent, I've decided that the idea is a nonsense. This may well reflect my Church of Scotland and conservative evangelical background.
Whether or not Luther liked Lent, he did write this line in his famous 95 Theses:
Our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, when He said Poenitentiam agite, willed that the whole life of believers should be [one of] repentance.
In other words, for the Christian, every day is a Lenten day, just as, simultaneously, every day is resurrection day. This is related to my understanding of various NT passages, which seem to teach that no days, including Sabbath days, remain special days for Christian believers.
In passing, this article by Bob Holman is related to ideas behind modern Lenten views. Holman's books seriously challenged my understanding of the poverty/inequality question.
2 comments:
Poenitentiam agite... ok you are showing off now (liked the thoughts though, will ponder them in sack cloth and ashes)
Have you heard Robert Schuller's summary of Lent - Let's Eliminate Negative Thinking? Certainly, a challenge to ways of thinking that seem to be more grounded in legalism than grace!
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