During this time of year – some might ask – Why don’t you do lent? My answer is Why do it? Anyone who has had a child knows that the number one question asked of a parent is “Why?” This is a valid question that must needs be answered here. If you consider God’s Word, there is no mention of Lent the way it is practiced today. Why?! Lent is the pre-cursor to the most important “holy-day” according to some, so why is the practice not found in the Word of God? Did Moses say “thou shalt put ash on your forehead on the Wednesday after Fat Tuesday and give up something for forty days?” Most definitely-he did not! Therefore – we can deduce that this practice has It’s roots elsewhere.
According to Alexander Hislop in his book The Two Babylons, the forty days’ abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess (Ishtar – Astarte – the Queen of Heaven) … Among the Pagans this Lent seems to have been an indispensable preliminary to the great annual festival in commemoration of the death and resurrection of Tammuz, which was celebrated by alternate weeping and rejoicing …
To conciliate the Pagans to nominal Christianity, Rome, pursuing its usual policy, took measures to get the Christian and Pagan festivals amalgamated, and by a complicated, but skillful adjustment of the calendar, it was found no difficult matter, in general, to get Paganism and Christianity – now far sunk in idolatry – in this as in so many other things, to shake hands. (This amalgamation began around 400AD.)
Lent is another example of how the Romans attempted to redefine pagan idolatrous practices with Christian names to gain converts.
Another more obvious connection to paganism is the celebration in many countries under the names of, Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday and Carnival. In ancient times this was known as the Bacchanalia which were Roman festivals of Bacchus, the Greco-Roman god of wine, freedom, intoxication and ecstasy. How could anyone fail to see the connection or think any of this debauchery is acceptable to or has anything to do with God Almighty? He, in fact, hates all of it, starting with Saturnalia, Mardi Gras, Lent and Easter and everything in between. It all originates in Babylon, Egypt, Greece and culminates in Rome. It’s all pagan and anti-Christ; anti-God!
