Does God Care If You Eat a Bologna Sandwich During Lent?

As far as processed meats go, bologna ranks pretty low on the nutrition ladder. Essentially an oversized hot dog, bologna is a cooked sausage made up of various cured meat parts encapsulated into a casing made from the gastrointestinal organs of cattle or sheep. A bloated nightmare of saturated fats.

"My bologna has a first name..." Or so the old slogan goes. Actually, one likely would not be able to identify or even pronounce all the ingredients and additives that make up a tube of bologna.

But I digress. Do you think God cares if you eat a bologna sandwich on a Friday during Lent? How did the season of Lent originate? Is it even biblical?

According to its Wikipedia entry, the "traditional purpose of Lent is the preparation of the believer - through prayer, penitence, almsgiving and self-evaluation - for the annual commemoration during Holy Week of the death and resurrection of Jesus..." In most Christian religions, the celebration has a 40-day duration, with various restrictions sprinkled throughout.

Some religions advocate that all animal products be abstained from, while others permit the eater to consume dairy products from these animals only. Fish and shellfish are generally accepted. Other mandates have certain rules regarding fruits, breads or even promote a solid fast for a whole day or more.

Rather than a so-called canonical obligation, some religions promote Lent as a choice among their parishioners. Instead of following dietary restrictions, they may choose to give up a hobby or a particular vice so as to show their self-sacrificing sprit leading up to the celebration of the Passover of Christ. Indeed, Jesus gave the ultimate sacrifice, giving his perfect life in order to offset the sin of another perfect man Adam. Because of the death of Christ, we once again can be reconciled to God. (Romans 5:12, John 3:16)

It's interesting to note what the Catholic Encyclopedia has to say on the subject. Commenting on the origin of Lent, the encyclopedia points out that "Some of the Fathers as early as the fifth century supported the view that this forty days' fast was of Apostolic institution... But the best modern scholars are almost unanimous in rejecting this view."

It goes on to say: "Further, there seems much to suggest that the Church in the Apostolic Age designed to commemorate the Resurrection of Christ, not by an annual, but by a weekly celebration."

Indeed, Jesus himself directed his Apostles to celebrate the annual Passover "in remembrance of me." (Luke 22:19) Jesus himself celebrated the annual Passover, which was held on the 14^th night of the Jewish month of Nisan and commemorated the deliverance of the Israelites from the 10^th plague upon Egypt as the angel of God "passed over" the Israelite houses that were sprinkled with lamb's blood. The celebration that Jesus instituted on the night before his death replaced that Jewish Passover, and logically should also only be held on an annual basis.

The Catholic Encyclopedia makes it clear that the celebration of Lent, along with the weekly Eucharist or Holy Communion, were both inventions of the Church, and have no basis in biblical history. In fact, the idea of a 40 day celebration was prevalent among ancient Babylonians, Egyptians and Greeks; all were pagan worshipers of false gods.

Jesus never commanded any of his followers to celebrate anything other than his death. Not his birthday, not his 40 day fast in the wilderness after he was baptized (as a man by the way, not as a baby), not his resurrection or his ascension to heaven or anything else. There is no evidence that any of the early Christians celebrated anything other than the Passover.

The whole concept of Lent is skewed. Pre-Lenten festivals, popularized by Western Catholics, offset the idea that one's life should be free from excesses. Rio de Janeiro and New Orleans Mardi Gras lead the way in a gluttonous and voracious free for all party of beer and boobs just before one is required to show their noble and altruistic intentions. As if Almighty God is pleased by a day that rivals Sodom and Gomorrah followed by a few weeks where someone gallantly gives up their whiskey and Coke.

The Bible has always condemned such excesses, and encourages one to lead a life of moderation. Paul instructed Christ's followers to abstain from "fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct, idolatry, practice of spiritism, enmities, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions... drunken bouts, revelries, and things like these." (Galatians 5:19-21) A Christ-like way of life is not something that a true Christian practices only on a Sunday morning, or during a fabricated Lenten holiday.

Some may attempt to explain the idea of Lent through the scripture found at Matthew 9:15. Jesus there said, "The friends of the bridegroom have no reason to mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them, do they? But days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them, and then they will fast."

Jesus was here speaking in a figurative way, as he often did to help individuals grasp his teachings. But a review of the context helps to clarify the meaning. In verse 14, some of the Disciples of John the Baptizer approached Jesus and asked, "Why is it that we and the Pharisees practice fasting but your disciples do not fast?"

In answering this, Christ says the above, showing that there is no reason to fast when he (as the Bridegroom) is yet with him. A person feasts at a wedding reception, they do not fast. But does this not mean that they should fast after he is taken away?

Hardly. Jesus goes on to mention two illustrations about putting new wine into old wineskins and sewing a patch of new fabric on an old garment. (Matthew 9:16,17) New wine would burst an old wineskin as it ferments. A new cloth that has not yet been laundered would shrink and tear from a used garment. In other words, continuing to do things that are no longer necessary. Jesus never commanded that his followers continue to fast as was the custom under the Mosaic Law, which was rendered obsolete by the death of Christ. The words of Jesus at Matthew 9:15 only implied that his Disciples would appropriately choose to fast, out of mourning, at his death, which some of them did.

In fact, Paul's first Letter to Timothy, chapter 4, verses 1 through 3 warn about man made traditions that would creep into the Christian congregations. Wrote Paul: "However, the inspired utterance says definitely that in later periods of time some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons, by the hypocrisy of men who speak lies, marked in their conscience as with a branding iron; forbidding to marry, commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be partaken of with thanksgiving by those who have faith and accurately know the truth."

Fasting and the prohibitions of certain foods during Lent certainly is one of these misleading teachings that draw one away from the simple life teachings that Jesus instilled while he was on earth.

So no, while your doctor may advise otherwise, God certainly does not condemn anyone from eating a bologna sandwich, a Slim Jim or a double pepperoni pizza.

Sources:

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09152a.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lent#Fasting_and_abstinence