lent?

Fasting - whether a total abstinence from food, or some other form of self-denial - has much to commend it. It's not commonly a part of Evangelical spirituality - which is odd, somehow, when it is clearly a New Testament practice. But a wise man once said "When you fast, do it in secret" (my paraphrase).

During my "Anglican Period" in my 20's (born of my locality, and the evident life of the Anglican church near me, rather than any particular theological bent) the more ready acceptance of fasting (in the most general sense, anyway, even among the more evangelical Anglicans) struck me all the more because it is so lacking in the traditions I'm more familiar with. Probably the majority were giving up something for Lent - half-heartedly, or with gusto.

But it surprised me, too: very often, there was an underlying assumption, and not necessarily a hidden one either, that someone would be a better person for giving up alcohol temporarily, or that God would love them more if they ate no chocolate until Easter. Now that, undoubtedly, is at odds with even the mildest of reformed theologies. How odd it was to hear it from evangelical lips.

Orwell called this doublethink. It was a prized trait in the world of "Nineteen Eighty-Four". It seems to be a necessary precursor to understanding modern theology. Should we embrace it, or denounce it?