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Fasting: The Ancient Practices

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Just in time for the season of Lent, which starts on Ash Wednesday (this year February 25), Thomas Nelson has just released the newest book in its "Ancient Practices" series: Fasting by Scot McKnight. This volume offers both a deeply rooted theological case for fasting and a firm caution against the dangers that fasting poses to one's health, if done excessively or without an understanding of how the human body works.

Here at Englewood Christian Church, the only practice we have of fasting is to fast during the day on Good Friday, a fast which we promptly defame with our gigantic potluck dinner that follows our evening prayer service. I've tried fasting on my own a few times, particularly on retreats, but to paraphrase G.K. Chesterton, fasting is a practice that I've found difficult and therefore one that I've pretty much left untried. I recognize the biblical and historical significance of fasting, but have never really been part of a church community that valued fasting as a significant practice.

It seems to me that at least part of our hesitancy toward fasting here at Englewood is the ways that we've seen fasting being done in theologically appalling ways. At the book's outset, McKnight names one such erroneous and detrimental way that fasting is practiced, to which he will frequently return over the course of the book: viz., fasting in order to produce results. Such a practice of fasting, which McKnight calls an instrumental view of fasting, is not a healthy spiritual discipline, but rather a "manipulative device." McKnight argues instead that fasting is a responsive practice, saying that fasting is a body's natural response to grief. He does not deny that sometimes results do come from fasting, but he is adamant that for the people of God, the why of fasting should be a response to grief and not a means to an end - however good that end might seem. McKnight is also careful to point out that avoiding chocolate, coffee, television or some other enjoyable habit for Lent can be helpful as a sort of abstinence, but should not be called fasting.



Throughout this book, McKnight's approach to fasting is to examine it as a historical practice of the Church, and even more as a practice of the people of God that began in the Israelite people before the time of Christ's earthly ministry. One of the things that I deeply appreciate about McKnight's historical approach here is that he makes a seamless transition between the history of Israel and church history. In the first chapter, McKnight notes that fasting is a bodily practice and that many of our problems with fasting - both in not doing it and how it is done when we practice it - stem from our misconceptions of the body. Although in Western culture, we are inclined toward a dualism that severs the body and soul (or spirit). McKnight argues convincingly that we are biblically to understand the person as an "organic unity." He goes on to elaborate some destructive ways that we come to view our bodies as a result of making a sharp body/soul distinction: "a monster to be conquered," "a celebrity to be glorified," etc. He concludes this chapter by concisely stating his understanding of fasting:

[A] unified perception of body, soul, spirit, and mind creates a spirituality that includes the body. For this kind of body image, fasting is natural. Fasting is the body talking what the spirit yearns, what the soul longs for, and what the mind knows to be true. It is body talk - not the body simply talking for the spirit, for the mind or for the soul in some symbolic way, but for the person, the whole person, to express himself or herself completely (11).



The bulk of this book is spent on examining the variety of contexts in which fasting has been practiced throughout Scripture and church history. The first such context is that of "body talk," and here McKnight emphasizes again that fasting should be a response to a "grievous sacred moment," a way of communicating (or "talking") our grief through our whole person. The next context is that of "body turning," which McKnight notes is the most common form of fasting in the scriptures (24). Fasting in this context is a practice of repentance, individual and corporate. He notes here practices of fasting during Lent, during times when God seems absent, at times when we realize our complicity, and at the time of conversion and baptism. Two more contexts in which fasting occurs are those of "body plea," when fasting accompanies our prayers, and "body grief." Fasting has also been practiced throughout the history of God's people as a regular (often weekly) practice of "body discipline." Such routine, stationary fasts come in response to grief that is rooted in "consciousness of sin, consciousness of weakness, the need for God's empowering grace, the desire to cut back in life in order to find our center, and a yearning to grow morally in love and holiness" (64). He is quick to emphasize however that excessive body discipline can become "body battle," which is rooted in the "monster to be conquered" variety of dualism and is very unhealthy. Another context of the church's fasting is to remember seasons of the Christian year, particularly Lent and the Holy Week leading up to Easter. Perhaps the most striking context in which McKnight examines the practice of fasting - particularly for churches in urban places like Englewood - is that of "body poverty": i.e., as a response of grief to the injustices that occur around us. McKnight points out that fasting in this context should often be accompanied by the twin practices of generosity (given what we would have eaten in food to those who need it) and solidarity. The final two contexts in which McKnight examines fasting are as a form of worship or "body contact" - which comes as a grievous response to the realization of "the superficiality of [our] intimacy with God" (113) - and fasting as "body hope," a response to the deep longing for the full realization of God's kingdom.

The second part of this book is much shorter than the first and in it, McKnight looks at the problems with the ways in which we practice fasting (e.g., manipulation, cheating, legalism, hypocrisy, etc.) and the benefits of fasting (a very brief chapter with strong emphasis on the fact that we should not fast in order to receive these benefits). The book concludes with a chapter on the effects of fasting on one's body. I have read a few other books on fasting in the life of the church, and I've never seen another chapter like this one that pleads with the reader to understand how fasting works physiologically and to practice fasting with extreme caution. Indeed, this chapter is a refreshing one because it reminds us that God created us as beings with an organic unity of body, mind, soul and spirit and that one way of understanding the shalom that God intends is in terms of health in the most holistic sense. With God's shalom in mind, McKnight firmly warns us that fasting, if not done properly, can cause great damage to ourselves - and thus indirectly to others with whom we are in relationships - and possibly even death.

Fasting is a rich book that seeks to understand the practice of fasting in the contexts of Christian theology and of the history of God's people. I hope and pray that Englewood and other churches will read this book - perhaps during the season of Lent - and consider how fasting can be a part of their community's life together. Ultimately, fasting is primarily a practice of the church, and when I or anyone else undertake fasting as an individual practice, we are at a much greater risk of falling into one of the unhealthy patterns of fasting that McKnight names here.

"This is not a book for the cowardly." That's how Phyllis Tickle, the General Editor of the Ancient Practices Series, introduces Scot McKnight's startling new book on "Fasting." If it's done right, she says, the experience can be downright "disturbing."

Those are surprising words when talking about a subject we all think we understand: Fasting? It's giving up food, right? Or, maybe it's giving up things in general, right?

Billions of people around the world do it--certainly Jews, Muslims, Baha'is, Christians and followers of many other faiths. We do it, because ... Well, because it's a tradition, right? A requirement of the faith. And because, it somehow ... somehow ... connects us with larger spiritual truths, doesn't it?

Well, yes it does, writes Scot McKnight, the Karl A Olsson Professor in Religious Studies at North Park University in Chicago and the popular author of more than 20 books. But--the spiritual truth of fasting is a whole lot larger than most of us suspect.

Fasting is whole-body spirituality. It's disturbing, Phyllis Tickle points out, not only because of the physical demands--but also because it's admitting that we're not merely a spirit hooked to a physical form. It can be disturbing to admit that we are whole beings--mind, body, spirit hooked together as a whole.

The opening line of Scot's book is: "Fasting is a person's whole-body, natural, response to life's sacred moments."

He gives us great examples of fasting out of the lives of biblical figures as well as later major figures in the Christian faith. And he also argues strongly against the temptation to recommend fasting as a sort of boot-camp quick-fix for bulking up on our prayer life. Fasting is a response of compassion to needs in God's world, Scot argues, and not a tool to juice-up our prayers.

Each of the books in this series by Thomas Nelson is an in-depth look at an ancient spiritual practice, written primarily for a Christian audience--although the millions of spiritually minded Americans who aren't Christian likely will enjoy the series as well. The books are great for small-group study.

It will be unfortunate, yet not surprising, if Fasting, the newest book by Scot McKnight and newest installment in Thomas Nelson's Ancient Practices series does not sell well. Not suprising - because American evangelicals have shown little appetite for the practice of fasting. Unfortunate - because Scot's new book is one of the best treatments of this subject to find its way onto Christian bookshelves.

Not too long ago, a seminary friend questioned my desire to fast during the season of Lent. When I asked him why he was opposed to the Lenten practice, he pointed to its lack of prescription in the New Testament as well as the possibility to take such fasting to extremes. My response? "I don't think that evangelicals are suffering right now from too much fasting."

Scot McKnight claims that one of the reasons why we have neglected this ancient discipline is due to an unhealthy view of the body. Philosophically, we grativate toward dualism, which would have us view spiritual disciplines as just that - spiritual. We then miss the biblical view of embodied spirituality - a living out in the body that which one desires and yearns for in the spirit.

For Scot, "fasting is the natural inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment in life" (xx). Therefore, we are wrong to see fasting as a manipulative tool that guarantees results. It is instead a response.

Fasting is a comprehensive and helpful book. I enjoyed Scot's honesty in describing his struggles with fasting (even as he was writing this book!). The distinctions he makes between normal fasting, absolute fasting and partial fasts (where we abstain from certain kinds of food or certain activities and things) help to clarify what it is that we are doing when we fast.

The greatest strength of the book is Scot's picture of fasting as a response, never an instrumental practice in which we try to receive something. We go without food because of what has taken place in our hearts.

The book lays out the different ways that fasting serves a response. It can be an expression of repentance, a response to a moment in which we feel we must earnestly seek God, a response to grief (Scot sees grief as the thread that connects all the various fasting practices). Fasting can sometimes be a response to our need for spiritual discipline, a response to our corporate life together, even a response to poverty and injustice.

Again and again, Scot drives the point home: we do not fast to get something. We fast as a response. And if we receive something after or during the fast, it is because God has used the yearning in our heart (expressed through the fast) in order to grace us with more of his presence.

I thoroughly enjoyed the historical anecdotes contained in this book. Scot uses examples throughout church history, and points to people from all spectrums of Christianity. He is not afraid to critique traditions or misguided intentions with the Bible. Though he appreciates the different streams of the church, he does not appreciate them uncritically. He constantly points us back to the Bible. Even men like Francis of Assisi and Dallas Willard are evaluated, appreciated, and critiqued in light of Scripture.

As I came to the end of this book, I could not help but feel challenged and convicted as I considered the apathy often evident in my Christian life. Am I risky enough or take on some of the practices in this book?

Do I respond with a heavy heart to my sinfulness in a way that would take away my appetite?

How much do I truly feel when it comes to motives for grief in this world?

Fasting comes highly recommended. It is a comprehensive treatment of the subject written in terms any layperson can understand. But let me warn you. God may do a work in your life that will then lead you to respond by fasting!

This is not a bad book. Nihil obstat. It will not lead you astray. But it's not a good book either. It doesn't get at the whole reality of fasting, but rather reduces it to a "natural, inevitable response of a person to a grievous sacred moment in life" (xx). McKnight seems more committed to developing a universal religious phenomenology of fasting (the question: why does every religious tradition do it?) than a specifically Christian theology of fasting (why do Christians fast?). His book is biblical, to be sure. There are ample quotations from the Good Book, especially from the Old Testament. Some of his references are a bit perplexing, even seeming to beg the question, like McKnight's use of Psalm 77 on p.55. Despite the fact that this psalm does not mention fasting, McKnight holds it up as a response to a "grievous sacred moment." "The fundamental responsive nature of fasting," he writes, "finds its natural words in this psalm."

Of course, this is precisely the problem. McKnight's book is really a study in the biblical response to "grievous sacred moments." Grief is mentioned some 21 times; grievous 45. In a 176 pages of text, this means that "grief" or "grievous" appears every 2.6 pages. (That passes within a whisker of ad nauseam.) Fasting, in this study of grief, enters in as a baffling secondary player. McKnight doesn't quite get it, and his wonderment shows. At one point, McKnight admits that he was not himself fasting as he began to write the book (p.16).

McKnight fails to ground fasting in the person and work of Jesus Christ or in our following Jesus as disciples. I find this strange, since at least according to some websites, McKnight considers himself an Anabaptist. Little could be more central for Anabaptists than understanding Jesus as the interpretative key to faith and Scripture.

We are left wondering how fasting might be an act of worship (worship is mentioned a mere 13 times in the main body of the book), or how fasting might stand at the intersection of worship and discipleship. Questions like these might best have been taken up in the chapter "fasting as body discipline." But McKnight's fear of "body discipline as an instrumental form of fasting," which he admits "is perhaps the most common understanding of fasting" (p.63) means that he underdevelops, downplays, and attempts to force "discipline" into his "grievous sacred moment" schematic. Discipline is the unruly stepchild he tries to hide in the back row of the picture.

Indeed, I sense some shoe-horning going on. The seams are bulging at places, like on p.128, where the author's Orthodox friend and colleague Bradley Nassif writes him a note. McKnight apparently asked what "grievous sacred moment" prompted St. Anthony to fast. Nassif graciously responded that for Anthony there was not "a particular incident that served as a catalyst for fasting."

McKnight's concern that fasting become "instrumental" prompts him to develop a novel definition of fasting. Unfortunately, "novel" is not the goal when you're trying to describe and prescribe an ancient Christian practice.

Fasting by Scot McKnight and Phyllis Tickle was a pleasure to read. In coming to the book, I was not really sure what I was in for. I had read only one other book in the eight book classic series, The Ancient Practices, prior to this one and I did not give it so favorable of a review because of its biases. This book however hid the biases very well.

I would recommend this book as a standard for anyone interested in learning more about fasting. It is thorough as well as concise, packing in great content within short chapters. For McKnight, fasting is `a natural response to a grievous, sacred moment'. As we give up something, it allows us to have something else. As we neglect something, we gain something better.

There are three main areas I would like to highlight in this book:

First, the historical perspective not only from a biblical perspective, but a historical theological perspective was great. This book traces many practices of fasting from the early church to more recent times. It is clear that the author has spent much time researching and understanding the practice of fasting and how we can learn from other brothers and sisters in the Church and apply it to our own cultures.

Second, the theological work on fasting is superb. McKnight I am sure played a key role in this based on his background, but it is clear that this book was done so as to be as exhaustive as possible on the subject. There is not a focus on one aspect of Scripture on one genre either. The book covers many genres in the Bible, highlighting both Old and New Testament so as to develop a Biblical theology of fasting.

Finally, the practical implications and recommendations are great. The authors do not say one way of fasting is better than another. They do not suggest to do things their own way. They lay out the principles and allow the reader to see what works for themselves while emphasizing the emphases of the Scriptural context.

This book is highly recommended for anyone interested in learning more about fasting. It is done well and worth the read!

Fasting is the most misunderstood spritual discipline.

While it appears several times in Scripture, was practiced by David, Isaiah, John, Jesus, and Paul, its purpose is clothed in mystery and innuendo, rarely explained in ways that make sense to the modern Western mind.

That is, before Scot McKnight's new book 'Fasting' came across my desk.

McKnight defines fasting as, 'a natural response to a grievous, sacred moment.' In other words, it is what we naturally do in some instances - for example when a spouse dies, a child goes into the hospital, or we lose our jobs. These grievous, sacred moments frequently accompany a loss of appetite and/or attention to matters of such weight that we simply forget to eat. We already fast, we just don't call it that.

Compare this to what we often call fasting - giving up chocolate, coffee, or Facebook, and we realize abstaining may be a better term. Abstention is not bad, it is also a spiritual discipline, but it is not fasting.

Now that Lent is upon us, and the challenge to partake in fasting (the Episcopal Church recommends members fast on this day and on Good Friday) McKnight has provided a good blueprint to challenge myself to fast not for myself, but for others for whom I am more deeply paying attention, ie Libyans being slaughtered, Haitians dying from curable diseases, and inner city kids joining gangs because there's no other family around. These are deeply grievous events, and our invitation to take on the burdens of those suffering during Lent couldn't be more helpful.

Yes, I am a member of Booksneeze and have been compensated to review McKnight's book, but as many of you know that does not influence my review. What has influenced it is McKnight's clarity. While many people fast to get - a word from the Lord, direction, or a deeper sense of connection with Jesus - we cannot fast to get. We fast to give, by taking on the burdens of others and looking to improve their lot, not our own.

If you are curious about fasting and are longing to understand it in a 20th century context, McKnight's book is an easy read, practical (there's a study guide in the back), and just may be what you've been looking for to help you redeem this ancient discipline for yourself.

Fasting: The Ancient Practices (Ancient Practices Series)Admittedly, I am intrigued by the topic of fasting. As sparse the evidence in the New Testament may be for pragmatism, I honestly believe the symphony of scripture provides plenty examples for our own personal implementation. What is addressed in this particular book treating the topic, is obviously anecdotal. What exactly is fasting, its past manifestations and origins, its contemporary examples, and just how do some of humans conduct ourselves while doing it? Jews, Christians, Muslims, and many other world religions, practice fasting. The question this book seeks to answer is, what in the world is your point? If you are fasting, is it to convince God to create a result in your favor? Or do you fast in response to something requiring the practice of body submission?


This is the first time reading any works by the author Scot McKnight. This particular offering was well balanced and demonstrated scholarly aptitude worthy of examination. At times, the book does begin to smell of ecumenism, but only to the extent of acceptance of ancient Catholic scholars and authorities on the practice of fasting. The author also systematically treats the various pros and cons related to the abundant forms of fasting we see occurring today. One of the examples treated in the book are a comparison of abstinence to fasting. This reminded me of my employment with McDonald's Restaurant and the purposeful marketing of the Double Filet O'Fish during Lent. It was amazing how many fasting Christians would demonstrate their piety with their manners and super-sized fish meals. I mostly enjoyed this book and found it interesting to see a fair treatment of the variety of fasting one could observe in practice in most every given circumstance fasting occurs.


In Fasting, The Sacred Practices Series by Scot McKnight, you will find that he is consistent with his thesis, critically treats the text, and concludes the book with a fair view of the 'medical' impact fasting has on the human body. The most interesting nugget of them all came in knowing that physiologically, the human body can hold out during a fast for 40 days before all things go haywire. Pick this book up today if you are at all interested in learning about fasting and what it really is about biblically. Hint, it is not about what you will get, it is about why you do it. Sorry Jentezen Franklin, I'm going to have to go with the Anabaptist Scholar on this one.

McKnight does a fantastic job of leading the reader to understand the Biblical discipline of fasting (a discipline that has largely been ignored or forgotten in many modern evangelical circles). The book is well organized, well thought out and includes a few chapters of practical nature to help those who are interested in picking up the discipline of fasting for the first time.

Admittedly McKnight is an academic. However his writing style is clear, concise and reader friendly. I really enjoyed the book because the author covers the topic well. He draws a clear and simple definition around Biblical fasting and then proceeds to share his research on how various traditions have esteemed fasting.

McKnight makes a strong case that fasting is a response to a sacred moment. Tragically today many picture fasting as a currency get what you want. While God's blessings may come after fasting, His blessings are always gifts of His grace. In essence we are to fast in response to sacred moment (like realizing injustice, personal sin, national sin, sickness of a loved one, death of a loved one, etc). Fasting is primarily responsive, not causal.

I wish this book had been around when I first began to experiment with fasting in my late teens and early twenties. Another great resource on fasting is John Piper's book A Hunger for God: Desiring God through Fasting and Prayer.



Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson as part of the BookSneeze program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

Spiritual disciplines? The formation of souls? Training exercises? In recent years there seems to have been a surge in emphasis on ancient practices and their role in Christ-like growth, and I believe this is a good thing.

I recently wrapped up Scot McKnight's Fasting, a volume in Thomas Nelson's Ancient Practices Series. I'll share a few brief thoughts about the book.

First, and perhaps most importantly, McKnight challenges the common presupposition that fasting is about obtaining results, and instead offers that the Bible and the Christian tradition teaches us rather that fasting is a natural, inevitable response to a grievous sacred moment. We do not fast to obtain something, but we fast in order to bring our bodies into contact with the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He describes fasting as a movement from (A) the grievous sacred moment (death, sin, fear, threats, needs, sickness) to (B) fasting, and then finally to (C) response (life, forgiveness, safety, hope, answers, health). But again and again, through the book, McKnight offers his readers the constant reminder that fasting is not about what some will receive in choosing to fast, as though we could control God through the exercise of discipline, but that fasting is a healthy, human expression of embodied spirituality that properly orients us toward the Divine when we are faced with hardship.

McKnight's book is filled with numerous biblical and historical examples of how fasting has been utilized and understood. McKnight identifies how fasting is a proper response to sinfulness, is a helpful expression of solidarity with the poor and oppressed, commonly undertaken to express grief, and can be utilized to discipline the body. He warns against some of the common errors that can occur when one fasts, including hypocrisy, legalism, and meritoriousness. He also directly addresses some of the health related questions and concerns that surround fasting.

As someone who is trying to further develop an understanding of Christian spiritual disciplines both in order to teach and more faithfully practice, McKnight's book provided many helpful insights. I'd say it is worth checking out.

Anyone looking for a great book on fasting need only turn to Scot McKnight's newest work, Fasting, part of the Ancient Practices series. This book draws on Biblical examples of fasting to illustrate what fasting is, and how it should be done. McKnight is thorough and researches extensively, using familiar fasters such as Daniel, Moses, and Jesus from the Bible, and even covers fasting saints of the early church such as Jerome and Francis of Assisi.

McKnight focuses not on the results of fasting, but the reasons why people fast. In his opinion, there is a formula to fasting: A=>B=>C. A represents a sacred moment(such as death or grievious sin), B represents fasting, and C represents the result. McKnight states that fasters in the Bible did not emphasize on the results, but that the fast was a response to a sacred moment. He points out that the fasts of Biblical saints did not always produce results, but that fasts were often the response to sacred moments.

There is a chapter at the end that describes the potential harm(both spiritual and physical) of fasting. McKnight writes in an intelligent but down-to-earth tone, making this book a great read.