Abstinence

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Enjoined by God, from blood (Gen_9:4); and by the Jerusalem council, from blood and idol meats (Act_15:29), not to offend Jewish brethren in things indifferent (1Co_9:20-22). The blood was considered as the seat of the life, and as typifying the one Blood that cleanseth from all sin therefore it was treated as a sacred thing. "The children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day, because the angel touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank" (Gen_32:32); modern Jews, therefore, abstain from the whole hind quarter.
The law defined whole classes of animals, by the not eating of which the Israelites were distinguished from other nations (Leviticus 11); to mark the separation of the church from the world. Also certain parts of lawful animals, to teach typically that even in lawful things moderation and self control are needed (1Co_6:12-13; Lev_3:9-11). So the priests, from wine, during their ministration (See AARON) (Lev_10:1-9); also the Nazarites during their separation (Num_6:3-4); also the Rechabites, constantly, by voluntary vow (Jeremiah 35). All idol meats were forbidden, namely, such as after the first portion had been consecrated to the idol were then eaten as food among the Gentiles (Exo_34:15; Psa_106:28; 1Co_8:4-10; Rom_14:3).
Paul lays down the principle that Christians should act each according to his conscience in the matter, but not, even in the exercise of Christian liberty, so as to cast a stumbling-block before weaker brethren. This was the principle of the decree, Act_15:29. In 1Ti_4:3-4, he foretells the rise of Gnostic heretics, the forerunners of the ascetics of the apostate Greek and Latin churches who should forbid marriage, and command to abstain from meats which God created to be received with thanksgiving. Holy Scripture does not enjoin, nor yet forbid, vows of abstinence from intoxicants. The sacrifice of one's lawful right for our neighbor's good accords with the law of love: "It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor anything whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak." (Rom_14:21; Jeremiah 35.) (See RECHABITES.)
Fausset's Bible Dictionary
By Andrew Robert Fausset, co-Author of Jamieson, Fausset and Brown's 1888.

forbearance of any thing. It is generally used with reference to forbearance from food under a religious motive. The Jewish law ordained that the priests should abstain from the use of wine during the whole time of their being employed in the service of the temple, Lev_10:9. The same abstinence was enjoined upon the Nazarites, during the time of their Nazariteship, or separation, Num_6:3. The Jews were commanded to abstain from several sorts of animals. See ANIMAL.
The fat of all sorts of animals that were sacrificed was forbidden to be eaten, Lev_3:17; Lev_7:23; and the blood of every animal, in general, was prohibited under pain of death. Indeed blood was forbidden by the Creator, from the time of the grant of the flesh of beasts to man for food; this prohibition was continued under the Jewish economy, and transmitted to the Christian church by Apostolic authority, Act_15:28-29. (See Blood.) The Jews also abstained from the sinew which is upon the hollow of the thigh, Gen_32:25; because of the shrinking of the sinew of Jacob's thigh when touched by the angel, as though by that the part had been made sacred.
Among the primitive Christians, some denied themselves the use of such meats as were prohibited by the law; others treated this abstinence with contempt. St. Paul has given his decision on these questions in his epistles, 1Co_8:7-10; Rom_14:1-3. The council of Jerusalem, which was held by the Apostles, enjoined the Christian converts to abstain from meats strangled, from blood, from fornication, and from idolatry, Act_15:20.
The spiritual monarchy of the western world introduced another sort of abstinence which may be termed ritual, and which consists in abstaining from particular meats at certain times and seasons, the rules of which are called rogations. The ancient Lent was observed only a few days before Easter. In the course of the third century, it extended at Rome to three weeks; and before the middle of the succeeding age, it was prolonged to six weeks, and began to be called quadragesima, or the forty days' fast.
Biblical and Theological Dictionary by Richard Watson
PRINTER 1849.

abs?ti-nens: Abstinence as a form of asceticism reaches back into remote antiquity, and is found among most ancient peoples. It may be defined as a self-discipline which consists in the habitual renunciation, in whole or in part, of the enjoyments of the flesh, with a view to the cultivation of the life of the spirit. In its most extreme forms, it bids men to stifle and suppress their physical wants, rather than to subordinate them in the interest of a higher end or purpose, the underlying idea being that the body is the foe of the spirit, and that the progressive extirpation of the natural desires and inclinations by means of fasting, celibacy, voluntary poverty, etc., is ?the way of perfection.?
This article will be concerned chiefly with abstinence from food, as dealt with in the Bible. (For other aspects of the subject, see TEMPERANCE; SELF-DENIAL; CLEAN; UNCLEANNESS; MEAT, etc.). Thus limited, abstinence may be either public or private, partial or entire.
1. Public Fasts
Only one such fast is spoken of as having been instituted and commanded by the Law of Moses, that of the Day of Atonement. This is called ?the Fast? in Act_27:9 (compare Ant, XIV, iv, 3; Philo, Vit Mos, II, 4; Sch?rer, HJP, I, i, 322).
Four annual fasts were later observed by the Jews in commemoration of the dark days of Jerusalem - the day of the beginning of Nebuchadrezzar's siege in the tenth month, the day of the capture of the city in the fourth month, the day of its destruction in the fifth month and the day of Gedaliah's murder in the seventh month. These are all referred to in Zec_8:19. See FASTS.
It might reasonably be thought that such solemn anniversaries, once instituted, would have been kept up with sincerity by the Jews, at least for many years. But Isaiah illustrates how soon even the most outraged feelings of piety or patriotism may grow cold and formal. 'Wherefore have we fasted and thou seest not?' the exiled Jews cry in their captivity. 'We have humbled our souls, and thou takest no notice.' Yahweh's swift answer follows: 'Because your fasting is a mere form! Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure and oppress all your laborers' (compare Isa_58:3; Expositor's Bible, at the place). That is to say, so formal has your fasting grown that your ordinary selfish, cruel life goes on just the same. Then Yahweh makes inquest: ?Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is not this the fast that I have chosen: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? Then shalt thou call, and Yahweh will answer; thou shalt cry, and he will say, Here I am? (Isa_58:5-9). The passage, as George Adam Smith says, fills the earliest, if not the highest place in the glorious succession of Scriptures exalting practical love, to which belong Isa_61:1-11; Mt 25; 1Co_13:1-13. The high import is that in God's view character grows rich and life joyful, not by fasts or formal observances, but by acts of unselfish service inspired by a heart of love.
These fasts later fell into utter disuse, but they were revived after the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans.
Occasional public fasts were proclaimed in Israel, as among other peoples, in seasons of drought or public calamity. It appears according to Jewish accounts, that it was customary to hold them on the second and fifth days of the week, for the reason that Moses was believed to have gone up to Mt. Sinai on the fifth day of the week (Thursday) and to have come down on the second (Monday) (compare Didache, 8; Apostolical Constitutions, VIII, 23).
2. Private Fasts
In addition to these public solemnities, individuals were in the habit of imposing extra fasts upon themselves (e.g. Judith 8:6; Luk_2:37); and there were some among the Pharisees who fasted on the second and fifth days of the week all the year round (Luk_18:12; see Lightfoot, at the place).
Tacitus alludes to the ?frequent fasts? of the Jews (History, V, 4), and Josephus tells of the spread of fasting among the Gentiles (Against Apion, II, 40; compare Tertullian, ad Nat, i.13). There is abundant evidence that many religious teachers laid down rules concerning fasting for their disciples (compare Mar_2:18; Mat_9:14; Luk_5:33).
3. Degrees of Strictness in Abstinence
Individuals and sects differ greatly in the degrees of strictness with which they observe fasts. In some fasts among the Jews abstinence from food and drink was observed simply from sunrise to sunset, and washing and anointing were permitted. In others of a stricter sort, the fast lasted from one sunset till the stars appeared after the next, and, not only food and drink, but washing, anointing, and every kind of agreeable activity and even salutations, were prohibited (Sch?rer, II, ii, 119; Edersheim, Life and Times, I, 663). Such fasting was generally practiced in the most austere and ostentatious manner, and, among the Pharisees, formed a part of their most pretentious externalism. On this point the testimony of Mat_6:16 is confirmed by the Mishna.
4. Abstinence Among Different Kinds of Ascetics
There arose among the Jews various kinds of ascetics and they may be roughly divided into three classes.
(1) The Essenes
These lived together in colonies, shared all things in common and practiced voluntary poverty. The stricter among them also eschewed marriage. They were indifferent, Philo says, alike to money, pleasure, and worldly position. They ate no animal flesh, drank no wine, and used no oil for anointing. The objects of sense were to them ?unholy,? and to gratify the natural craving was ?sin.? They do not seem to come distinctly into view in the New Testament. See ESSENES.
(2) The Hermit Ascetics
These fled away from human society with its temptations and allurements into the wilderness, and lived there a life of rigid self-discipline. Josephus (Vita, 2) gives us a notable example of this class in Banus, who ?lived in the desert, clothed himself with the leaves of trees, ate nothing save the natural produce of the soil, and bathed day and night in cold water for purity's sake.? John the Baptist was a hermit of an entirely different type. He also dwelt in the desert, wore a rough garment of camel's hair and subsisted on ?locusts and wild honey.? But his asceticism was rather an incident of his environment and vocation than an end in itself (see ?Asceticism,? DCG). In the fragments of his sermons which are preserved in the Gospels there is no trace of any exhortation to ascetic exercises, though John's disciples practiced fasting (Mar_2:18).
(3) The Moderate Ascetics
There were many pious Jews, men and women, who practiced asceticism of a less formal kind. The asceticism of the Pharisees was of a kind which naturally resulted from their legal and ceremonial conception of religion. It expressed itself chiefly, as we have seen, in ostentatious fasting and externalism. But there were not a few humble, devout souls in Israel who, like Anna, the prophetess, served God ?with fastings and supplications night and day? (Luk_2:37), seeking by a true self-discipline to draw near unto God (of Act_13:2, Act_13:3; Act_14:23; 1Ti_5:5).
5. Abstinence as Viewed in the Talmud
Some of the rabbis roundly condemned abstinence, or asceticism in any form, as a principle of life. ?Why must the Nazirite bring a sin offering at the end of his term?? (Num_6:13, Num_6:14) asks Eliezer ha-Kappar (Siphrā), at the place); and gives answer, ?Because he sinned against his own person by his vow of abstaining from wine?; and he concludes, ?Whoever undergoes fasting or other penances for no special reason commits a wrong.? ?Man in the life to come will have to account for every enjoyment offered him that was refused without sufficient cause? (Rabh, in Yer. Kid., 4). In Maimonides (Hā-Yādh ha-Ḥăzāḳāh, Dē‛ōth Joh_3:1) the monastic principle of abstinence in regard to marriage, eating meat, or drinking wine, or in regard to any other personal enjoyment or comfort, is condemned as ?contrary to the spirit of Judaism,? and ?the golden middle-way of moderation? is advocated.
But, on the other hand, abstinence is often considered by the rabbis meritorious and praiseworthy as a voluntary means of self-discipline. ?I partook of a Nazirite meal only once,? says Simon the Just, ?when I met with a handsome youth from the south who had taken a vow. When I asked the reason he said: 'I saw the Evil Spirit pursue me as I beheld my face reflected in water, and I swore that these long curls shall be cut off and offered as a sacrifice to Yahweh'; whereupon I kissed him upon his forehead and blessed him, saying, May there be many Nazirites like thee in Israel!? (Nāzı̄r, 4b). ?Be holy? was accordingly interpreted, ?Exercise abstinence in order to arrive at purity and holiness? (‛Ab. Zārāh, 20b; Siphrā), Ḳedhōshı̄m). ?Abstain from everything evil and from whatever is like unto it? is a rule found in the Talmud (Ḥullin, 44b), as also in the Didache (3.1) - a saying evidently based on Job_31:1, ?Abstain from the lusts of the flesh and the world.? The Mosaic laws concerning diet are all said by Rabh to be ?for the purification of Israel? (Lev R. 13) - ?to train the Jew in self-discipline.?
6. The Attitude of Jesus to Fasting
The question of crowning interest and significance to us is, What attitude did Jesus take toward fasting, or asceticism? The answer is to be sought in the light, first of His practice, and, secondly, of His teaching.
(1) His Practice
Jesus has even been accounted ?the Founder and Example of the ascetic life? (Clem. Alex., Strom, III, 6). By questionable emphasis upon His ?forty days'? fast, His abstinence from marriage and His voluntary poverty, some have reached the conclusion that complete renunciation of the things of the present was ?the way of perfection according to the Saviour.?
A fuller and more appreciative study of Jesus' life and spirit must bring us to a different conclusion. Certainly His mode of life is sharply differentiated in the Gospels, not only from that of the Pharisees, but also from that of John the Baptist. Indeed, He exhibited nothing of the asceticism of those illustrious Christian saints, Bernard and John of the Cross, or even of Francis, who ?of all ascetics approached most nearly to the spirit of the Master.? Jesus did not flee from the world, or eschew the amenities of social life. He contributed to the joyousness of a marriage feast, accepted the hospitality of rich and poor, permitted a vase of very precious ointment to be broken and poured upon His feet, welcomed the society of women, showed tender love to children, and clearly enjoyed the domestic life of the home in Bethany. There is no evidence that He imposed upon Himself any unnecessary austerities. The ?forty days'? fast (not mentioned in Mk, the oldest authority) is not an exception to this rule, as it was rather a necessity imposed by His situation in the wilderness than a self-imposed observance of a law of fasting (compare Christ's words concerning John the Baptist: ?John came neither eating nor drinking?, see the article on ?Asceticism,? DCG). At any rate, He is not here an example of the traditional asceticism. He stands forth throughout the Gospels ?as the living type and embodiment of self-denial,? yet the marks of the ascetic are not found in Him. His mode of life was, indeed, so non-ascetic as to bring upon Him the reproach of being ?a gluttonous man and a winebibber? (Mat_11:19; Luk_7:34).
(2) His Teaching
Beyond question, it was, from first to last, ?instinct with the spirit of self-denial? ?If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,? is an ever-recurring refrain of His teaching ?Seek ye first the kingdom of God,? is ever His categorical imperative (Mat_6:33 the King James Version; Luk_12:31). This is to Him the summum bonum - all desires and strivings which have not this as their goal must be suppressed or sacrificed (compare Mat_13:44-46; Mat_19:21; Mar_10:21; Luk_9:59, Luk_9:60; Luk_14:26 with Mat_5:29, Mat_5:30; Mar_9:43-47; Mat_16:24; Mar_8:34; Luk_9:23; and Luk_14:33). In short, if any man find that the gratification of any desire of the higher or lower self will impede or distract him in the performance of his duties as a subject of the Kingdom, he must forego such gratification, if he would be a disciple of Christ. ?If it cause thee to stumble,? is always the condition, implied or expressed, which justifies abstinence from any particular good.
According to the record, Jesus alluded to fasting only twice in His teaching. In Mat_6:16-18, where voluntary fasting is presupposed as a religious exercise of His disciples, He warns them against making it the occasion of a parade of piety: ?Thou, when thou fastest, anoint thy head, and wash thy face; that thou be not seen of men to fast, but of thy Father who is in secret.? In short, He sanctions fasting only as a genuine expression of a devout and contrite frame of mind.
In Mat_9:14-17 (parallel Mar_2:18-22; Luk_5:33-39) in reply to the question of the disciples of John and of the Pharisees, Jesus refuses to enjoin fasting. He says fasting, as a recognized sign of mourning, would be inconsistent with the joy which ?the sons of the bridexamber? naturally feel while ?the bridegroom is with them.? But, he adds, suggesting the true reason for fasting, that the days of bereavement will come, and then the outward expression of sorrow will be appropriate. Here, as in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus sanctions fasting, without enjoining it, as a form through which emotion may spontaneously seek expression. His teaching on the subject may be summarized in the one word, subordination (DCG).
To the form of fasting He attaches little importance, as is seen in the succeeding parables of the Old Garment and the Old Wine-skins. It will not do, He says, to graft the new liberty of the gospel on the body of old observances, and, yet more, to try to force the new system of life into the ancient molds. The new piety must manifest itself in new forms of its own making (Mat_9:16, Mat_9:17; Mar_2:21, Mar_2:22; Luk_5:36, Luk_5:38). Yet Jesus shows sympathy with the prejudices of the conservatives who cling to the customs of their fathers: ?No man having drunk old vane desireth new; for he saith, The old is good.? But to the question, Was Jesus an ascetic? we are bound to reply, No.
?Asceticism,? as Harnack says, ?has no place in the gospel at all; what it asks is that we should struggle against Mammon, against care, against selfishness; what it demands and disengages is love - the love that serves and is self-sacrificing, and whoever encumbers Jesus' message with any other kind of asceticism fails to understand it? (What is Christianity? 88).
7. The Practice and Teaching of the Apostles
On the whole, unquestionably, the practice and teachings of the apostles and early Christians were in harmony with the example and teaching of the Master. But a tendency, partly innate, partly transmitted from Jewish legalism, and partly pagan, showed itself among their successors and gave rise to the Vita Religiosa and Dualism which found their fullest expression in Monasticism.
It is worthy of note that the alleged words of Jesus: 'But this kind goeth not out save by prayer and fasting' (Mar_9:29; Mat_17:21 the King James Version), are corruptions of the text. (Compare Tobit 12:8; Sirach 34:26; Luk_2:37). The Oxyrhynchus fragment (disc. 1897) contains a logion with the words légei Iēsoús, eán mḗ nēsteúēte tón kósmon, ou mḗ heúrēte tḗn basileı́an toú theoú̌: ?Jesus saith, Except ye fast to the world, ye shall in no wise find the Kingdom of God,? but the ?fasting? here is clearly metaphorical.
Literature
Bingham, Antiquities, W. Bright, Some Aspects of Primitive Church Life (1898), J. O. Hannay, The Spirit and Origin of Christian Monasticism (1902), and The Wisdom of the Desert (1904); Thomas ? Kempis, Imitation of Christ, Migne, Dictionnaire d' Asc?tisme, and Encyclopedia Theol., XLV, XLVI, 45, 46; Jewish Encyclopedia, and Bible Dictionaries at the place.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
PRINTER 1915.

Abstinence is a refraining from the use of certain articles of food usually eaten; or from all food during a certain time for some particular object. It is distinguished from Temperance, which is moderation in ordinary food; and from Fasting, which is abstinence from a religious motive. The first example of abstinence which occurs in Scripture is that in which the use of blood is forbidden to Noah (Gen_9:4) [BLOOD]. The next is that mentioned in Gen_32:32 : 'The children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day, because he (the angel) touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.' By the law, abstinence from blood was confirmed, and the use of the flesh of even lawful animals was forbidden, if the manner of their death rendered it impossible that they should be, or uncertain that they were, duly exsanguinated ] (Exo_22:31; Deu_14:21). A broad rule was also laid down by the law, defining whole classes of animals that might not be eaten (Leviticus 11) [FOOD]. Certain parts of lawful animals, as being sacred to the altar, were also interdicted. These were the large lobe of the liver, the kidneys and the fat upon them, as well as the tail of the 'fat-tailed' sheep (Lev_3:9-11). Everything consecrated to idols was also forbidden (Exo_34:15). Instances of abstinence from allowed food are not frequent, except in commemorative or afflictive fasts. The forty days' abstinence of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus are peculiar cases requiring to be separately considered [FASTS]. The priests were commanded to abstain from wine previous to their actual ministrations (Lev_10:9), and the same abstinence was enjoined to the Nazarites during the whole period of their separation (Num_6:3). A constant abstinence of this kind was, at a later period, voluntarily undertaken by the Rechabites (Jer_35:14-18). Among the early Christian converts there were some who deemed themselves bound to adhere to the Mosaic limitations regarding food, and they accordingly abstained from flesh sacrificed to idols, as well as from animals which the law accounted unclean; while others contemned this as a weakness, and exulted in the liberty wherewith Christ had made his followers free (Rom_14:1-3; 1 Corinthians 8). Mention is made by the apostle Paul of certain sectaries who should arise, forbidding marriage and enjoining abstinence from meats which God had created to be received with thanksgiving (1Ti_4:3-4). The council of the apostles at Jerusalem decided that no other abstinence regarding food should be imposed upon the converts than 'from meats offered to idols, from blood, and from things strangled' (Act_15:29).
The Popular Cyclopedia of Biblical Literature
by John Kitto.

Abstinence
(ἀσιτία, not eating, Act_27:21), a general term, applicable to any object from which one abstains, while fasting is a species of abstinence, namely, from food. SEE FAST. The general term is likewise used in the particular sense to imply a partial abstinence from particular food, but fast signifies an abstinence from food altogether. Both are spoken of in the Bible as a religious duty. Abstinence again differs from temperance, which is a moderate use of food or drink usually taken, and is sometimes extended to other indulgences; while abstinence (in reference to food) is a refraining entirely, from the use of certain articles of diet, or a very slight partaking of ordinary meals, in cases where absolute fasting would be hazardous to health. SEE SELF-DENIAL.
1. Jewish. — The first example of abstinence which occurs in Scripture is that in which the use of blood is forbidden to Noah (Gen_9:20). SEE BLOOD. The next is that mentioned in Gen_32:32 : “The children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day, because he (the angel) touched the hollow of Jacob's thigh in the sinew that shrank.” SEE SINEW. This practice of particular and commemorative abstinence is here mentioned by anticipation long after the date of the fact referred to, as the phrase “unto this day” intimates. No actual instance of the practice occurs in the Scripture itself, but the usage has always been kept up; and to the present day the Jews generally abstain from the whole hind-quarter on account of the trouble and expense of extracting the particular sinew (Allen's Modern Judaism, p. 421). By the law abstinence from blood was confirmed, and the use of the flesh of even lawful animals was forbidden, if the manner of their death rendered it impossible that they should be, or uncertain that they were, duly exsanguinated (Exo_22:31; Deu_14:21). A broad rule was also laid down by the law, defining whole classes of animals that might not be eaten (Lev_11:1-47). SEE ANIMAL; SEE FOOD. Certain parts of lawful animals, as being sacred to the altar, were also interdicted! These were the large lobe of the liver, the kidneys and the fat upon them, as well as the tail of the “fat-tailed” sheep (Lev_3:9-11). Every thing consecrated to idols was also forbidden (Exo_34:15). In conformity with these rules the Israelites abstained generally from food which was more or less in use among other people. Instances of abstinence from allowed food are not frequent, except in commemorative or afflictive fasts. The forty days' abstinence of Moses, Elijah, and Jesus are peculiar cases, requiring to be separately considered. SEE FASTING. The priests were commanded to abstain from wine previous to their actual ministrations (Lev_10:9), and the same abstinence was enjoined to the Nazarites during the whole period of their separation (Num_6:5). SEE NAZARITE. A constant abstinence of this kind was, at a later period, voluntarily undertaken by the Rechabites (Jer_35:16; Jer_35:18). SEE RECHABITE.
Among the early Christian converts there were some who deemed themselves bound to adhere to the Mosaical limitations regarding food, and they accordingly abstained from flesh sacrificed to idols, as well as from animals which the law accounted unclean; while others contemned this as a weakness, and exulted in the liberty wherewith Christ had made his followers free. This question was repeatedly referred to the Apostle Paul, who laid down some admirable rules on the subject, the purport of which was, that every one was at liberty to act in this matter according to the dictates of his own conscience, but that the strong-minded had better abstain from the exercise of the freedom they possessed whenever it might prove an occasion of stumbling to a weak brother (Rom_14:1-3; 1Co_8:1-13). In another place the same apostle reproves certain sectaries who should arise, forbidding marriage, and enjoining abstinence from meats which God had created to be received with thanksgiving (1Ti_4:3-4). The council of the apostles at Jerusalem decided that no other abstinence regarding food should be imposed upon the converts than “from meats offered to idols, from blood, and from things strangled” (Act_15:29). Paul says (1Co_9:25) that wrestlers, in order to obtain a corruptible crown, abstain from all things, or from every thing which might weaken them. In his First Epistle to Timothy (4:3), he blames certain heretics who condemned marriage, and the use of meats which; God hath created. He requires Christians to abstain from all appearance of evil (1Th_5:22), and, with much stronger reason, from every thing really evil, and contrary to religion and piety. SEE FLESH; SEE ALISGEMA.
The Essenes, a sect among the Jews which is not mentioned by name in the Scriptures, led a more abstinent life than any recorded in the sacred books. SEE ESSENES. They refused all pleasant food, eating nothing but coarse bread and drinking only water; and some of them abstained from food altogether until after the sun had set (Philo, De Vita Contemplativa, p. 692, 696). That abstinence from ordinary food was practiced by the Jews medicinally is not shown in Scripture, but is more than probable, not only as a dictate of nature, but as a common practice of their Egyptian neighbors, who, we are informed by Diodorus (1, 82), “being persuaded that the majority of diseases proceed from indigestion and excess of eating, had frequent recourse to abstinence, emetics, slight doses of medicine, and other simple means of relieving the system, which some persons were in the habit of repeating every two or three days. See Porphyry, De Abst. 4. SEE UNCLEANNESS;
2. Christian. —
a. Early. — In the early Church catechumens could be admitted to baptism; they were required, according to Cyril and Jerome, to observe a season of abstinence and prayer for forty days; according to others, of twenty days. Extreme caution and care were observed in the ancient Church in receiving candidates into communion, the particulars of which may be found under the head CATECHUMENS SEE CATECHUMENS . Superstitious abstinence by the clergy was deemed a crime. If they abstained from flesh, wine, marriage, or any thing lawful and innocent, in accordance with the heretical and false notions that the creatures of God were not good, but polluted and unclean, they were liable to be deposed from office. SEE ABSTINENTS. There was always much disputation between the Church and several heretical sects on the subjects of meats and marriage. The Manichees and Priscillianists professed a higher degree of spirituality and refinement, because they abstained from wine and flesh as things unlawful and unclean, and on this account censured the Church as impure in allowing men the moderate and just use of them. The Apostolical Canons enjoin, “That if any bishop, presbyter, or deacon, or any other clerk, abstain from marriage, flesh, or wine, not for exercise, but abhorrence — forgetting that God made all things very good, and created man male and female, and speaking evil of the workmanship of God, unless he correct his error, he shall be deposed, and cast out of the church.” At the same time, strict observance of the fasts of the church was enjoined, and deposition was the penalty in case of non-compliance with the directions of the canons on this subject.
b. Romish. — In the Romish Church a distinction is made between fasting and abstinence, and different days are appointed to each. On days of fasting, one meal in twenty-four hours is allowed; but on days of abstinence, provided flesh is not eaten and the meal is moderate, a collation is allowed in the evening. Their days of abstinence are all the Sundays in Lent, St. Mark's day, if it does not fall in Easter-week, the three Rogation- days, all Saturdays throughout the year, with the Fridays which do not fall within the twelve days of Christmas. The observance of St. Mark's day as a day of abstinence is said to be in imitation of St. Mark's disciples, the first Christians of Alexandria, who are said to have been eminent for their prayer, abstinence, and sobriety. The Roman days of fasting are, all Lent except Sundays, the Ember-days, the vigils of the more solemn feasts, and all Fridays except such as fall between Easter and the Ascension. SEE CALENDAR.
c. Protestant. — The Church of England, in the table of vigils, mentions fasts and days of abstinence separately; but in the enumeration of particulars, they are called indifferently days of fasting or abstinence, and the words seem to refer to the same thing. The Word of God never teaches us that abstinence is good and valuable per se, but only that it ministers to holiness; and so it is an instrument, not an end. — Bingham, Orig. Eccles, bk. 10, ch. 11, § 9. SEE ASCETICISM.

CYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLICAL, THEOLOGICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL
press 1895.

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