Portland, Oregon Church  -  Affiliated with the Intercontinental Church of God and the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association

SUBJECT:  Lent

QUESTION:  What is the origin of Lent?

ANSWER:

Read our booklet, “SHOULD CHRISTIANS OBSERVE EASTER OR THE PASSOVER?”

It is posted at our web site at:   http://www.garnertedarmstrong.org/pubs/passover.htm

 

Here is an excerpt regarding Lent:

“Of course, as millions know and also observe, "Easter" is preceded by forty days of "Lent." But where did "Lent" come from?" Is it the past tense of "to lend"? Is it something found in one's navel? It certainly is not found in the Bible!

Let Hislop answer: "The forty days' abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of forty days, `in the spring of the year,' is still observed by the Yezidis or pagan devil-worshippers of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians. Such a Lent of forty days was held in the spring by the pagan Mexicans, for thus we read in Humboldt [Mexican Researches, v. i. P. 404] where he gives account of Mexican observances: `Three days after the vernal equinox…began a solemn fast of forty days in honor of the sun.' Such a Lent of forty days was observed in Egypt, as may be seen on consulting Wilkinson's Egyptians. This Egyptian Lent of forty days, we are informed by Landseer, in his Sabean Researches, was held expressly in commemoration of Adonis or Osiris, the great mediatorial god" (ibid. p. 105).” ~end of excerpt~

Following are some sources we found on the Internet regarding Lent:

The observance of the 40 days of Lent during the northern Spring season was derived from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. This 40 day of Lent is still observed by the Yezidis (pagan devil worshippers) of Koordistan, inherited from their Babylonian ancestors. The Lent of 40 days were also observed by the Pagan Mexicans, and the Egyptians who observed this tradition in honor of the goddess Osiris, also known as Adonis in Syria and Tammuz in Babylonia.

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Search the scriptures diligently, from Old Testament to New, and you will find no mention of Jews or Christians observing an annual period of 40 days of fasting and abstinence preceding the festival of the Passover, yet today much of the Christian world observes a 40 day period called Lent, which precedes the festival of Easter Sunday. A period of 40 days is rather common in scripture, however:

It rained 40 days and nights: Genesis 7:4, 12.

Forty days after sighting the tops of the mountains, Noah set forth a raven and a dove: Genesis 8:6-7.

Joseph mourned the death of his father Jacob for a period of 40 days: Genesis 49:33 - Genesis 50:3.

Moses on Sinai for 40 days: Exodus 24:18, 34:28, Deuteronomy 9:9-11.

Moses pleads for Israel 40 days on Sinai: Deuteronomy 9:18-25, 10:10.

Canaan spied on for 40 days: Numbers 13:25, 14:34.

Goliath taunted Israel for 40 days: 1 Samuel 17:16.

Elijah fasted and journeyed to Horeb for 40 days: 1 Kings 19:8.

Ezekiel bore the iniquity of Judah for 40 days: Ezekiel 4:6.

Jonah warned Nineveh of judgment in 40 days: Jonah 3:4.

Jesus fasted in the wilderness for 40 days: Matthew 4:2, Mark 1:13, Luke 4:2.

Jesus was seen for 40 days after His crucifixion: Acts 1:3.

So, if the Bible does not enjoin the Jew or the Christian to observe the 40 day period called Lent, then what is its origin? Can the answer be found in the Catholic Church?

540 ... "For we have not a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sinning" [Hebrews 4:15]. By the solemn forty days of Lent the Church unites herself each year to the mystery of Jesus in the desert.

Source: The Catechism of the Catholic Church, copyright 1994 by the United States Catholic Conference, Inc., published by Liquori Publications.

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Origins of Lent. The word "lent" is of Anglo-Saxon origin meaning "spring." Lent developed from the pagan celebration of weeping, fasting, and mourning for 40 days over the death of Tammuz (one day for each year of his life). Tammuz (the son/husband of the Babylonian idol Ishtar) was killed by a wild boar and then allegedly resurrected. This mourning of Tammuz is specifically prophesied by Ezekiel in the Bible and is characterized by God Himself as being detestable (Ezekiel 8:13-15).

Portland, Oregon Church  -  Affiliated with the Intercontinental Church of God and the Garner Ted Armstrong Evangelistic Association