jgress wrote:Barbara wrote:I am glad that Jean-Serge pointed out that that remark by jonathan was condescending. Who can prove such an assertion
about an entire religion ?
It's better to not say anything when one has not studied very deeply about a subject.
Furthermore, Muslims customarily eat dates rather than fried food as their first food for what is called "Iftar" at the end of the day during Ramazan.
I think it is a completely reasonable statement. Islam and Judaism are both highly legalistic religions. This explains part of why they seem to take their faith so seriously: because it's all about the rules for them and it is easy to notice that.
Even True Orthodoxy can be considered to be legalistic, especially when a jurisdiction has lost the faith and is practicing heresy. Then rules and obedience to the Elder become more important that the Holy Faith. Here I am speaking of HOCNA, which unfortunately still portrays itself as True Orthodox.
Our fast during Great Lent can become legalistic if we forget the very reason for our fast, which is to help purify our nous so that we can grow in Theosis. We Orthodox can also pig out after a daily fast and eat a huge amount of food after sundown.
I am reminded of a sermon which a New Calendar Priest in the OCA gave. He said that he was still blessing homes during Great Lent as Great Lent had arrived earlier than in most years. It had become a tradition in this OCA parish for the parishioners to arrange the house blessing to coincide with lunch or dinner. Of course, if the blessing took place at noon, the priest was expected to eat something and forgo the one meal per day rule, especially if he had a dinner appointment also for the same day. He did not talk about that aspect of fasting. Instead the priest zeroed in on the sheer quantity of food served at dinner.
So, there was this parishioner who boasted that he had fasted the entire day on coffee and water, and that this dinner was his first and only meal of the day. At this meal, his wife had served spaghetti without meat balls, shrimp, bread, olives, salad, nuts, and fruit for dessert. There was Lenten cake too. The man of the house served a huge serving of this spaghetti for himself, and then dished out a very sizable serving for the priest. The skinny priest replied, "Thank you for your generosity, but my stomach could not possibly handle all that food, and I would hate to waste any."
In his homily, the priest reminded us that when we binge eat during the evening on Fast days, we are violating the spirit of the fast.