"The Pagan Roots of Lent and Ash Wednesday"

 

Elisha Israel

 

"It should be known that the observance of Lent did not exist as long as the simple church kept its perfection intact." Cassian, 5th century A.D.

 

Lent is the "fortieth" day before Easter. It is celebrated in many Christian denominations. It is a six and a half week period from Ash Wednesday to Easter Sunday. During Lent, Christians fast and deny themselves various pleasures. This is said to be in preparation for the commemoration of Christ's passion, death, and resurrection.

 

While Scripture does indeed establish a period of fasting to commemorate Christ, it was not the forty-day period known as Lent. In Leviticus 23:26,27 we read: "Further the Lord said to Moses, 'On the tenth day of the seventh month is the Day of Atonement. It will be a holy convocation for you. You shall fast and offer burnt offerings to the Lord ...'" Furthermore, Paul prophesied about the doctrine concerning unholy fasting in his first Epistle to Timothy. In 1 Tim 4:1-3 we read the following: "But the Spirit openly says that in the last times some will fall away from the faith, inclining to deceitful spirits and to the teachings of demons. [This will happen] through such as lie hypocritically, having their own conscience seared. They forbid intermarriage, [command] abstinence from foodwhich God created to be received with thanksgiving by believers and those who have come to know the truth."

 

Paul in particular prophesies about the rise of the Catholic faith. In Catholicism, which is the mother of all other Christian denominations, priests are forbidden to marry. Furthermore, they have instituted a spring fast attributed to the suffering of Christ. Such a fast with its rituals, however, has its roots not in Christ but in the ancient pagan cult that preceded Christianity.

 

The word "Lent" in English for Lent means "spring" and is derived from the Old English "Lencten". Spiritually speaking, all roads lead to Babylon and so does the forty-day spring fast. In one version of the Babylonian myth, Tammuz, a great hunter, was killed while hunting a boar. The faithful mourned him in mourning ceremonies for forty days. In Ezekiel's time, this ritual was performed even among the Israelites. Ezekiel writes: "And he said to me: 'You will see even worse abominations committed by them.' Then he led me into the vestibule of the gate of the temple of the Lord, which is on the north side, and, behold, there sat the women and mourned Tammuz." (Ez 8:13-14).

 

Tammuz - alabaster relief from Ashur, c. 1500 B.C.

 

Tammuz worshippers sobbed with his wife Ishtar believing that his rebirth would signify the regeneration of life in nature. Similar holidays can be found among ancient pagan peoples. For example, the Egyptians observed a forty-day fast in honor of Osiris.

 

The sign of the cross made with ashes is not only typical of Constantinian Christianity, as it can be found throughout the ancient world. It was used as an important symbol of pagan gods, e.g., "the Tau cross was painted on the foreheads of newly initiated into Mithraism". It is also worth noting that the act of simply sprinkling ashes on the head, also taking place on Ash Wednesday, was also done in honor of the pagan Norse god Odin. The marking of the forehead with ash always took place on Wednesday, a day named in honor of Odin.

A Roman Catholic priest sprinkling ashes on a practicing Catholic woman.

 

If it is true, as Cassian testifies, that "the observance of Lent did not exist, so long as the simple church kept its perfection intact." (John Cassian "Conferences with the Fathers"). Why is it observed today? We find no commandment in Scripture to observe such a feast. Undoubtedly, if we remove the Christian facade of Lent, we see what the ancient pagan fast reflects.

 

The above excerpt is from Elish Israel's book "The Pagan Roots of Christian Festivals."

 

Translated by Jacko. thank you in the name of Jesus Christ.