These Old Hymns

“We cannot afford to lose these old hymns. They are full of the Gospel; they breathe the deepest emotions of pious hearts in the noblest strains of poetry; they have been tested and approved by successive generations of those that loved the Lord; they are the surviving fittest ones from thousands of inferior productions; they are hallowed by abundant usefulness and tenderest memories.” 

Basil Manly Jr., from his preface to Manly’s Choice: A New Selection of Approved Hymns for Baptist Churches, 1891.

Buds And Babies

Buds And Babies by Christina Georgina Rossetti 

A million buds are born that never blow, 
That sweet with promise lift a pretty head 
To blush and wither on a barren bed 
And leave no fruit to show. 

Sweet, unfulfilled. Yet have I understood 
One joy, by their fragility made plain: 
Nothing was ever beautiful in vain, 
Or all in vain was good.

Abigail Kopf, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• Abigail Kopf, Teen Shot by Kalamazoo Uber Driver, 'Fighting For Her Life' -- "Doctors first thought Abigail's injuries had left her brain-dead and had started planning to harvest her organs for donation when she squeezed her mother's hand. Her mother, Vicki Kopf, described the moment as 'breathtaking'."
• Bad news for Ted Cruz: his eligibility for president is going to court -- "...while there is no longer any law defining 'natural born,' there used to be one — way back in 1790."
• Deaf Man Receives Touching Note From Starbucks Barista -- "I usually use my phone and I'll text them what I want to order."
• Did Jesus Contradict Himself about Who’s on His Side? -- "...the situation in the second passage is quite different from the one in the first passage."
• Five Observations of the Modern-Day Downgrade -- "But the illusion of unity among these religious systems is false, and dangerous...False doctrine creates divisions..."
• Grinding Axes -- "One may pride himself on bluntness or boldness but a word not spoken in love will never be heard!"
• How All the Apostles Died and Where You Can Find Their Remains Today -- Not really accurate, but interesting nonetheless
• ‘I could feel my intestines outside my body': Woman describes attack that killed her baby -- "Colorado woman Michelle Wilkins took the stand Feb. 17, in the trial of the woman accused of cutting Wilkins' baby from her womb in March 2015."
• Reader Mail: The NAR’s (Mis)use of Luke 9:49-50 -- "Notice that the disciples did not say 'we tried to stop him, because he is promoting aberrant and dangerous teachings'."
• Scalia’s Surprising Advice for Who His Replacement Should Be -- "Before Scalia’s death, six Catholics and three Jews made up the court."
• Seattle man tests transgender rule by undressing in women's locker room -- "Seattle Parks and Recreation is facing a first-of-a-kind challenge to gender bathroom rules."
• The Un-Resume: An Exercise in Professional Humility -- "I would like to pull back part of the curtain by writing a resume...of my failures..."

Happy 180th!

Today is the 180th anniversary of Texas independence. On March 2, 1836, delegates at Washington (on-the-Brazos) passed a declaration of independence from Mexico. In recognition of this date, I offer a link to The Myth and Meaning of Texas Independence by Stephen L. Hardin of Victoria College.

"March 2, 1836 dawned, frigid and gray; cutting winds blew through glass-less windows."

"Both Anglo-Celtic Texians and the native Tejanos fought for self-government within the federalist system created by the Constitution of 1824."

"Southern bankers...let Austin and the other agents know, however, that they might be interested if - and only if, Texians declared their complete separation from Mexico."

"The Republic of Texas was an ephemeral empire. Like the spring bluebonnets, it bloomed, blossomed, and blanched with the sands of time. But also like the state flower, its scent lingers in the hearts and imaginations of every Texan."

Though None Go With Me

Last week I watched a movie titled Though None Go With Me (2006). I don't make a habit of recommending movies, but I thought this one was well done and sent out a good message. Though None Go With Me is based on a novel by Jerry Jenkins with that same title. Sources say the movie premiered on Hallmark Channel. It was directed by Armand Mastroianni and stars Cheryl Ladd. It tells the story Elizabeth LeRoy, a Christian woman who endures great losses in her life. We can trust the Lord in our sorrow and suffering. The book's and movie's title comes from the words of a Christian song called I Have Decided to Follow Jesus (and part of the song is referenced in the movie).

I have decided to follow Jesus; 
I have decided to follow Jesus; 
I have decided to follow Jesus; 
No turning back, no turning back.

Though none go with me, still I will follow; 
Though none go with me, still I will follow; 
Though none go with me, still I will follow; 
No turning back, no turning back.

The world behind me, the cross before me; 
The world behind me, the cross before me; 
The world behind me, the cross before me; 
No turning back, no turning back.

The origin of this song lies in obscurity, and is often attributed as "author unknown" or "anonymous". The words were possibly written down by Sadhu Sundar Singh (1889--circa 1929) an Indian Christian minister, a Sikh who converted to Christianity circa 1905. In his book Why, God, Why, Peramangalam Porinju Job tells a story of the origin of the words -- some of which were based on the last words of a Christian convert in Assam in northeast India in the mid-1800s. Tribal leaders persecuted the man and his family and adjured him to renounce his faith. He replied, "I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back." The chief ordered the execution of the man's children, but the man said, "Though no one joins me, still I will follow." Next they killed his wife. With a final opportunity to recant, he refused to deny Christ. Before he was executed he said, "The cross before me, the world behind me." Job's story goes on to relate that the village chief came to know Christ, as well as many others in the village.

Singh, it is said, formed the words into an hymn. According to some sources, the melody is also Indian. It is titled ASSAM after the region where the martyr lived and died. William Jensen Reynolds, American musician, teacher, composer and Sacred Harp singer, made an arrangement of the tune, which was published in the Assembly Songbook (of which he was the editor, 1959, Broadman Press). This book was (apparently) used at the 1959 Southern Baptist Convention and Reynolds's version would later become a regular feature in Billy Graham's revival meetings. Much of the song's popularity can be attributed to that connection.

These words falling from the lips of modern Western Christians give the hymn a "decided" decision theology flavor. Knowledge of it's origin in the grace of martyrdom and movement of the Holy Spirit should set a more serious and solemn tone for it.

God's will, and other quotes

The posting of quotes by human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources.

"It's not the will of God if it goes against the word of God." -- copied

"Often we tend to miss the point [of the Scriptures] in an attempt to clinically and lifelessly probe a passage until it gives us either something new, or confirms our latest hypothesis." -- Braxton Hunter

"Public errors don’t have to acquire two or three witnesses for accusations to be made publicly, because the errors are already public."--  J. D. Hall

"Tolerance is a bludgeoning tool used to silence those with whom you disagree." -- Attributed to Josh McDowell (but I could not confirm it)

"The Bible doesn't need to be updated. It tells us truths about ourselves and about God that will never change." -- Billy Graham

"People foolishly choose celebrity personalities over truth." -- Sheryl [last name unknown]

"Theologians can end up looking less like scholars and more like mad scientists in a lab mixing and stirring various scriptural texts together in an attempt to find some way of elucidating a “truth” that is not there." -- Braxton Hunter

"The majority is almost always wrong. The crowd is untruth." -- Brian Zahnd

"God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." -- John Piper

"Far too few who believe in the risen Christ actually believe in his revolutionary ideas. There is a sense in which we create religion as a category to keep Jesus from meddling with our cherished ideas about nationalism, freedom, and war." -- Brian Zahnd

"The Lord gets his best soldiers out of the highlands of affliction." -- Charles Spurgeon

It's Leap Day!

What is "Leap Year"?
A leap year is a year that has 366 days, instead 365 days. A day is added to the end of the month of February so that it has 29 days instead of 28.

What is the purpose of "Leap Year"?
The time it takes for the Earth to orbit the Sun is 365.2421 days rather than the exact 365 days of the calendar. Every four years, an extra day is added to the calendar to realign our calendar with the Earth’s orbit around the Sun. There is an exception to the "four year rule" -- every four years "except for years evenly divisible by 100 and not by 400." According to mathematicians, 97 out of every 400 years will be leap years -- rather than 100 out of every 400.

What is the history/origin of "Leap Year"?
For us in the U.S.A. it goes back to what is known as “Julian Calendar”, though Egyptians were among the first people to calculate a leap year. The “Julian Calendar” was adopted in 46 B.C. (and instituted in 45 B.C.) under the reign of Julius Caesar, adding a leap day every four years. Before this, the Roman calendar (and many others, such as the Jewish calendar) used a "lunar calendar" that added an extra month on a recurring basis. Pope Gregory XIII adopted a calendar revision in 1582. Known as the “Gregorian Calendar,” it is still in use today. It gave the "evenly divisible" exception rule (mentioned above) to readjust for the discrepancies that had occurred between the “Julian Calendar” and the solar year.

Why is it called "Leap Year"?
A "Leap Year" is a year that contains a "Leap Day". Some say it is because in leap years fixed dates advance (leap forward) two days instead of one. That is, in regular (non-leap) years, fixed dates advance one day in the week per year; with the inclusion of a leap day, fixed dates advance two days instead of one. For example, Christmas fell on a Thursday in 2014. It fell on a Friday in 2015. If 2016 were a common year, Christmas would fall on a Saturday. But since 2016 is a leap year, Christmas will leap over Saturday and fall on a Sunday.

Why February?
When the 365-day “Julian Calendar” was devised, February was the last month of the year and the extra day was added to it.

Who are some people born on Leap Day?

• Ann Lee, founder of the Shaker movement (born 1736)
• Gioacchino Rossini, Italian composer (born 1792)
• Adolph Blaine Charles David Earl Frederick Gerald Hubert Irvin John Kenneth Lloyd Martin Nero Oliver Paul Quincy Randolph Sherman Thomas Uncas Victor William Xerxes Yancy Zeus Wolfeschlegelsteinhausenberdorft Sr., German individual with the longest name officially used by any known person (born 1904)
• Dinah Shore, American singer and actress (born 1916)
• Gretchen Christopher, American singer and songwriter, co-founder of The Fleetwoods (born 1940)
• Bart Stupak, American politician (born 1952)
• Peter Brouwer, leapling and co-founder of the Honor Society of Leap Year Day Babies, says, “The law of averages means your chance of being born on Feb. 29 are one out of 1,461.”

8 Reasons, and other music links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• 8 Reasons Churches Should Sing New Songs -- "Traditional worship, back before it needed to be called “traditional,” always featured new songs."
• 10 Worship Songs We Should Stop Singing -- "Congregational singing is a privilege; it’s also sacred duty, a discipline, part of the work of the people."
• Dewey Williams, 81st Birthday Singing -- "Short film about Dewey Williams made in 1979"
• Do words matter in worship songs in church? -- "Why sing these words if you don’t pay attention to the words?"
• Hymn Lining: A Disappearing African American Tradition -- "At 86, Troy Demps,of Orlando, Florida, is trying to preserve the tradition of this haunting and beautiful musical worship."
• It’s Time to Boycott the Worship Industry -- "Christian culture’s boycotts rarely do any good."
• Old-time hymns and beer combine for joyful noise in Nashville -- "...the Beer and Hymn Sing is attracting a growing number of people of various religious backgrounds, and some of them sip nothing stronger than a Diet Coke."
• South Alabama – Florida Panhandle Sacred Harp Singings -- Map of singing locations

Behaving brands, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• An End to Pretending: On Being Taught How to be a Sinner -- "Theologians often make doubtful Christians."
• Are Baptists Protestants? -- "If a church is yet at one with the world we cannot recognize it as a true church."
• Brands Are Behaving Like Organized Religions -- "Scholars have found that every organized religion offers three key benefits to its followers, a) a set of core beliefs and values, b) symbols, myths, and rituals, and c) relationships with members of a like-minded community."
• Brazen sexism is pushing women out of America’s atheism movement -- "Why would women join a movement led by sexists and populated by trolls?"
• Death, the Prosperity Gospel and Me -- "Put simply, the prosperity gospel is the belief that God grants health and wealth to those with the right kind of faith."
• Evangelicals Are Not the Boogeyman -- "There are so many misconceptions about 'evangelicals'..."
• Man Skipped Work For 6 Years And No One Noticed Until He Won An Award -- "For six years, a building supervisor in Spain quietly collected a $41,500 salary from his local government without showing up for work."
• Same-Sex Marriage Is Constitutionally Illegitimate, the Result of an Anti-Democratic Litigation Campaign -- "Both marriage and our constitutional system have been weakened by the illegitimate judicial legalization of same-sex marriage."
• The middle ground in the abortion argument -- "The most effective anti-abortion placard I ever saw...said simply: 'Abortion stops a beating heart.'"
• Victim of former missionary’s theft loses health, wealth, but keeps sense of humor -- "A trustee decision not to prosecute a missionary caught embezzling funds wound up costing an Alabama businesswoman..."
• What B. B. Warfield Got Wrong in His Doctrine of the Trinity -- "It is not, however, an accidental omission..."
• Withholding or Delaying the Baptism of Believers — Is it ever right? -- "I know of baptistic churches that hold the particular view that no one should be baptized until they are eighteen years old, without exception."

Supreme Court nominee

A lot of energy has been expended jawing about filling the vacancy in the Supreme Court left by the death of Antonin Scalia (some of which began when his body was barely turning cold). The chief issue is whether a lame duck president should nominate a replacement (both theoretically and really). I heard someone on the radio today complain because the people don't get to choose the nominee (i.e., by the election process). Fact is, we do get to choose in the way the Constitution specifies -- we choose the President and Senate who choose the Supreme Justice. Some have used the rhetoric "let the people decide" in referring to letting the next elected president nominate a justice. The other side complains that it is the current president's right to nominate a justice. Both are right. The currently seated president has the constitutional right to set forth his candidate. But the Senate also has the constitutional right to "advise and consent" -- which included the right to not consent. 

I personally believe is it wise to wait. But whichever side we come down on, it is US who elected (or will elect) the officials who will nominate and confirm the next Supreme Court justice. Like it or not, we are part of the process.

Kasich's Kupkakes

Speaking at the University of Virginia, Ohio governor (and nondescript presidential candidate) John Kasich, weighed in (sort of) the issue of bakeries and homosexual couples, saying, "But if you're a cupcake maker and somebody wants a cupcake, make them a cupcake." Perhaps Kasich doesn't understand what is at issue, or perhaps he was just playing to the crowd (though no presidential candidate has ever done such heretofore). The issue that has been front and center is about not selling cupcakes (or other baked goods) to someone who walks in off the street, but decorating wedding cakes and such like for a homosexual ceremony, which draws the baker's ideas and creativity into contact with the viewpoint of the ceremony being conducted. Whether or not you agree with bakers who refuse to do so, one should fairly represent what is at issue. A candidate for president should be clear and honest about where he stands.

Political signs

Hey, you. Yea, I mean you. You know who you are. You who damage, deface and destroy political road signs. If you want to oppose a political candidate, please do so by exercising your lawful right to vote. Don't oppose a candidate by breaking the law in damaging, destroying or illegally removing legitimate political signs. If they are placed on your property without authorization, remove them. If they are unlawfully displayed on state highway right-of-way, let the highway department remove them. If they are not illegally placed -- leave them alone! Be a shining example of American citizenry. Don't be a low-life nitwit.

The Burial of Sir John Moore after Corunna

Not a drum was heard, not a funeral note,  

  As his corpse to the rampart we hurried;  

Not a soldier discharged his farewell shot  

  O'er the grave where our hero we buried.  

  

We buried him darkly at dead of night,          

  The sods with our bayonets turning;  

By the struggling moonbeam's misty light  

  And the lantern dimly burning.  

  

No useless coffin enclosed his breast,  

  Not in sheet nor in shroud we wound him;   

But he lay like a warrior taking his rest,  

  With his martial cloak around him.  

  

Few and short were the prayers we said,  

  And we spoke not a word of sorrow;  

But we steadfastly gazed on the face of the dead,   

  And we bitterly thought of the morrow.  

  

We thought, as we hollow'd his narrow bed  

  And smoothed down his lonely pillow,  

That the foe and the stranger would tread o'er his head,  

  And we far away on the billow!   

  

Lightly they'll talk of the spirit that's gone,  

  And o'er his cold ashes upbraid him;  

But little he'll reck, if they let him sleep on  

  In the grave where a Briton has laid him.  

  

But half of our heavy task was done   

  When the clock struck the hour for retiring,  

And we heard the distant and random gun  

  That the foe was sullenly firing.  

  

Slowly and sadly we laid him down,  

  From the field of his fame fresh and gory;   

We carved not a line, and we raised not a stone,  

  But we left him alone with his glory.

The battle of Corunna was part of a war fought in Portugal and Spain, with France. The British joined in against the French. In battle an army of British under Sir John Moore (1761-1809) was forced to retreat to the Spanish port of Corunna. From there they intended to evacuate back to Britain. A fight with the French ensued. Though defeating the French, Moore was mortally wounded. Charles Wolfe (1791-1823) wrote "Burial of Sir John Moore" circa 1814 and it was published in 1817.

The Box

Several years ago, I wrote about The Box and the Button, something I'd seen on Twilight Zone in my youth. I found it was drawn from a short story written by Richard Matheson. A few days ago I noticed that the satellite programming had movie based on this same story -- "The Box" by Richard Kelly, with Cameron Diaz and James Marsden. According to Wikipedia, Matheson "strongly disapproved of the Twilight Zone version" of his story, but I must say that I enjoyed it much better than this movie. I found the vast differences in "The Box" and "Button, Button" made the "The Box" a torturous movie for me to try to watch. I didn't enjoy it, but forced myself to watch it through to see if it got better. It didn't.

The first test of a gentleman, and other quotes

The posting of quotes by human authors does not constitute agreement with either the quotes or their sources.

"This is the first test of a gentleman: his respect for those who can be of no possible value to him." -- William Lyon Phelps

Truth -- We need to get it right from those who got it right before us, that we may give it right to those who need to have it right after us.

"Suffering and success go together. If you are succeeding without suffering, it is because others before you have suffered; if you are suffering without succeeding, it is that others after you may succeed." -- Edward Judson

"Don't get rid of the old people; they have stuff to say." -- Steve Brown

"Having taken some steps in a bad direction is no good reason to continue further along the path." -- Bart Barber

"If the whole material medica, as now used, could be sunk to the bottom of the sea, it would be all the better for mankind—and all the worse for the fishes." -- Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.

"If you are more fortunate than others, it is better to build a longer table than a taller fence!" -- copied

"Be not angry that you cannot make others as you wish them to be, since you cannot make yourself as you wish to be." -- Thomas à Kempis

"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one." -- Albert Einstein

"Everybody who belongs to Jesus belongs to everybody who belongs to Jesus." -- John Wesley

Fattening up

William Lyon Phelps, long-time Yale professor, once said, "At a certain age some people's minds close up; they live on their intellectual fat." 

If that's true, you'd better start fattening up.

7 New Theology Books, and other links

The posting of links does not constitute an endorsement of the sites linked, and not necessarily even agreement with the specific posts linked.

• 7 New Theology Books You Should Read This Year -- "CT asked publishers which theology and biblical studies books they were most excited to publish this year. Here are the entries..."
• Alert: Girl Scout Cookies Differ Depending on Where You Live -- "There are only two bakeries in the United States contracted to make those most delicious of fundraiser foods..."
• Chelsea Clinton says Sunday school lesson made her a former Baptist -- "Chelsea said her family gets attacked from both ends of the spectrum, including secularists and atheists who question the sincerity of politicians who go to church."
• Mainstreaming “Animal Personhood” -- "Complacency is cultural subversion’s best friend."
• Man suddenly remembers who he is, solves his own cold case -- "Police concluded that Latulip had some kind of head injury that caused him to forget who he was."
• Orlando Baptist pastor resigns after former member sues church -- "Pastor David Janney's exit from ministry at Orlando Baptist Church was not an admission that the accusations are true, a church elder stated."
• Ruminations on the Role of Liberalism in the Collapse of American Undergraduate Education -- "What is left at the end of this process is an empty ideology committed to nothing more than the procedural principles of liberalism itself..."
• Schafly Unloads on Rubio -- "Conservative icon calls media favorite 'lackey for the establishment' Read more at http://www.wnd.com/2016/02/schlafly-unloads-on-rubio-he-betrayed-us-all/#HckIMCHltuQTQd2s.99"
• The Church in the Wilderness; or, The Baptists Before the Reformation -- "It is strange that when you speak with many so called fundamental Baptist preachers today you discover that their knowledge of church history extends back to Billy Sunday, D. L. Moody, and Sam Jones."
• The Twain Shall Meet -- "The real reason the New Atheists doubt the claims of religion...[i]s that these crusaders are convinced that science is the only arbiter of reality and truth."

The Affair of the Sausages

In 1522 in Zürich, Switzerland, preacher Ulrich Zwingli taught on the basis of sola scriptura that "Christians are free to fast or not to fast because the Bible does not prohibit the eating of meat during Lent." "The Affair of the Sausages" soon followed. 

"[Reformer, Ulrich] Zwingli’s sermon [Concerning Choice and Liberty Respecting Food, in 1522] inspired a couple of his supporters to eat sausage at the home of Christoph Froschauer, a nearby printer at Zurich. It may seem silly to us, but this occurred during the season of Lent and breaking the Lenten fast directly challenged the authority of the Church. Froschauer was arrested. While Zwingli did not join the others in breaking the Lenten fast, he did condone their actions in light of scripture and the concept of Christian liberty. This eventually led to a public disputation or debate in January of 1523."

From The Affair of Sausages (where you can read more)

Why Not Lent?

In a recent blog post, Southern Baptist pastor Bart Barber wrote, “Lent is not in the Bible, nor anything resembling it. Movement toward Lent is movement away from the idea that the New Testament should give us the pattern for ecclesiastical celebrations or individual spiritual formation.”

It is not inherently sinful to give up something or fast for forty days, even if those days happen to precede Easter. But observing Lent can be a sin. For some it is an errant religious ritual rising from a works-based philosophy. For others it is an empty religious ritual observed because others say so and do so. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. A person might voluntarily choose any day or set of days to fast (or give up something). He or she should not make a display of it (see Jesus’s words in Matthew 6:16ff. “When you fast...”). Starting a season of sacrifice and fasting with a mark of penance certainly does that.

Observing of days (or not) should be a private matter of the individual and not a public imposition on others (see Romans 14). This calls in question church-wide observations of church-sanctioned days that are not commanded -- whether they be Lent or Independence Day or Christmas. Let all be fully persuaded in their own minds. It is ill-advised to bring an unauthorized day into the church to all members to observe. For example, we might celebrate Christmas as a family at home, yet leave it out of the church and not set it before others who are offended by it. Further, preachers should not impose a so-called “church calendar” upon the membership in his preaching. It violates the Romans 14 principle.

The reasons for observing Lent in a free church tradition often come out of left field, while some might appeal to something like the “normative principle.”

• A biblical model, “… the Lenten fast is modeled after Jesus’ 40 day fast in the wilderness, so it too has a biblical origin…” To say that Lent is based on Jesus’s fast in the wilderness is one of the “left field” arguments. It is “reverse exegesis” -- doing something and then looking in the Bible for justification.
• The “if you do this” argument: “Neither Christmas nor Easter is found in the Bible, yet these holy days are universally celebrated in Baptist churches.” Bart Barber answers this argument well, writing, “having taken some steps in a bad direction is no good reason to continue further along the path.” It is also not true that these days are universally celebrated Baptist churches. Some churches oppose them, while others leave them out of the church gathering and for each family to determine what they will do in their homes. Similarly, in Christianity Today Steven R. Harmon claims, “All Baptist congregations observe some sort of calendar in their worship.” All Baptist congregations do not observe some sort of calendar in their worship -- unless one is including that we number our days by the Gregorian calendar. Baptists have no official or “Christian” calendar. And even if we did, that is not proof that it is a good thing.
• If God did not forbid something, then it is acceptable. This is a derivative of the normative principle, but is too loose to hang our hats on. There are many things that are forbidden by the fact that God commanded something else. The practice of Lent incorporates some things that God forbids -- such as announcing our fasting and setting days for others to observe.

Lent is an extra-biblical human tradition. We should order our faith and practice on the commandments of God rather than the traditions of men. In the Bible, fasting is not taught as a means of penance. It is not a means of obtaining the God’s grace. As Bible believers we shouldn’t be looking to find which religious traditions we can borrow from others, but search the scriptures daily to see whether such things are so.

See  Part 1

What is Lent?

Today is the next Wednesday after Ash Wednesday, one week into the Lenten season. But what is Lent? Once upon a time Bible-believing Baptists would have to look it up in a dictionary (since it is not in the Bible) -- but now in ecumenical times, modern Baptists embrace the practice of Lent and encourage others to do so! This is an unusual change for folks who claim the Bible as their rule of faith and practice.*

In some/many Christian traditions -- probably most often associated with Catholic and Orthodox -- Lent is a season of forty-six days (forty days, not counting Sundays) that leads up to Easter. It begins with a day called Ash Wednesday -- a ritual of rubbing ashes on a person’s forehead in the sign of a cross. It ends with Easter Sunday (One Catholic web site says that it “officially ends on Holy Thursday”; this may vary in different traditions). During Lent, participants give up a particular food, habit, etc. and fast -- varying according to what is required by the church affiliation of the participant. Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) marks the last day before the Lenten season, which began with people feasting on the foods that they would give up during Lent.

The practice of Lent is not derived from a biblical command or a biblical precedent, but evolved over a period of time. Many historians trace it back initially to Christians who prepared for Easter with three days of fasting and prayer -- which later developed into a “Holy Week”. There is a connection to the Catholic practice of preparing “catechumens” to be baptized at Easter. By the fourth century, Lent had evolved into much of its current days -- including its length of forty days. Most connect the forty days with the forty days fasting of Jesus in the wilderness before His temptation. Some also connect the period of "forty” with the forty years wandering of Israel in the wilderness.

Lenten comments

• Lent and Today’s Baptists -- “Baptists tend to reject and look with suspicion on that which is not explicitly outlined in Scripture.” 
• Roman Catholic -- “Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the Season of Lent. It takes place 46 days before Easter Sunday. It is a season of penance, reflection, and fasting...” 
• The Upper Room -- “Lent is a season of the Christian Year where Christians focus on simple living, prayer, and fasting in order to grow closer to God.” 
• United Methodist -- “Lent is a season of forty days, not counting Sundays, which begins on Ash Wednesday and ends on Holy Saturday...The forty days represents the time Jesus spent in the wilderness, enduring the temptation of Satan and preparing to begin his ministry...Lent is a time of repentance, fasting and preparation for the coming of Easter.”

* When I Googled “Baptists and Lent,” I got many more hits promoting Lent among Baptists than those rejecting it.

To be continued, Part 2