Words of Praise for
FASTING
“What a wise and challenging exploration of one of the most misunderstood practices of the Christian life: fasting. In short, Scot McKnight explores how fasting can be a tool of ongoing conversion. I can’t wait to gather a group of folks in my church, read this book together, and, with Scot McKnight’s guidance, discern how we might be called not only to read about but also—more riskily!—to practice fasting.”
Lauren Winner, Duke Divinity School,
author of Girl Meets God and Mudhouse Sabbath
“A very helpful work that offers a radically reorienting perspective on the Christian discipline of fasting.”
Ruth Haley Barton, cofounder and president of
Transforming Center, author of Sacred Rhythms:
Arranging Our Lives for Spiritual Transformation
FASTING
scot mcknight
© 2009 by Scot McKnight
All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
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All Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW REVISED STANDARD VERSION of the Bible. © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.
ISBN 978-0-8499-4605-9 (trade paper)
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
McKnight, Scot.
Fasting : fasting as body talk in the Christian tradition / Scot McKnight.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8499-0108-9 (hardcover : alk. paper)
1. Fasting—Religious aspects—Christianity. 2. Body, Human—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Title.
BV5055.M35 2008
248.4'7—dc22
2008037270
Printed in the United States of America
10 11 12 13 14 RRD 6 5 4 3 2 1
For Rob and Linda Merola
CONTENTS
Introduction: A Montage of Christian Voices on Fasting
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About Fasting: The Ancient Practices“Fasting is the body talking what the spirit yearns, what the soul longs for, and what the mind knows to be true.” — Scot McKnight Christianity has traditionally been at odds with the human body. At times in the history of the church, Christians have viewed the body and physical desires as the enemy. Now, Scot McKnight, best-selling author of The Jesus Creed , reconnects the spiritual and the physical in the ancient discipline of fasting. Inside You'll Find: • In-depth biblical precedents for the practice of fasting; • How to fast effectively—and safely; • Different methods of fasting as practiced in the Bible; • Straight talk on pitfalls, such as cheating and motivation. Join McKnight as he explores the idea of “whole-body spirituality,” in which fasting plays a central role. This ancient practice, he says, doesn’t make sense to most of us until we have grasped the importance of the body for our spirituality, until we can view it as a spiritual response to a sacred moment. Fasting—simple, primitive, and ancient—still demonstrates a whole person’s earnest need and hunger for the presence of God, just as it has in the lives of God’s people throughout history. The Ancient Practices There is a hunger in every human heart for connection, primitive and raw, to God. To satisfy it, many are beginning to explore traditional spiritual disciplines used for centuries . . . everything from fixed-hour prayer to fasting to sincere observance of the Sabbath. Compelling and readable, the Ancient Practices series is for every spiritual sojourner, for every Christian seeker who wants more. |
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