Its my 23rd day of fasting (now I am eating 200 gr boiled fish every two days). Ascetism is forbidden in contemporary Judaism, yet in the past it was widespread, so much that Isaias and Jesus predicated against the practice of doing it in public. Apparently, the Jews desisted from exhibitionist fasting, but the practice persisted among Christians.
Simeon Stylites was a Christian ascetic who did a profession of fasting in public. The wiki tells us that he started with a severe regimen of fasting for Great Lent. Later, to get away from the ever increasing number of people who came to see him, he moved to the top of a pillar. This first pillar was little more than four meters high, but his last was over 15 meters from the ground.
Simeon's fame spread throughout the Empire. The Emperor Theodosius and his wife Eudocia greatly respected the saint and listened to his counsels, while the Emperor Leo paid respectful attention to a letter he sent in favour of the Council of Chalcedon.
The pic shows Saint Simeon on his pillar, Christ in the mandonla above and the serpent with its temptations below. Anyone knows about a suitable pillar with internet access in Kever Benjamin city?
10 comments:
"When he was brought back to the monastery, it was discovered that he had bound his waist with a girdle made of palm fronds so tightly that days of soaking were required to remove the fibres from the wound formed. At this, Simeon was requested to leave the monastery."
Even then they recognized that the man was mentally ill. He also refused to be in the presence of women, even his own mother - this is another psychosis often exhibited by Moslem fanatics - Atta the WTC pilot requested in his will that no women attend his funeral. These characters have problems forming normal relationships with women. Perhaps they are attracted to men but due to their upbringing are repulsed by their own thoughts and feel that they have to punish themselves or become martyrs as a penance.
K
Sure yet Emperors begged for his advice.
Fasting and girdles were common among orthodox Hungarian like my maternal grandfather. He used to fast twice a week and use a girdle called cilitzium in Hungarian. Probably they too were a bit out of their minds, although my grandfather was a wealthy grain trader.
I hope you're getting some fat in your diet, J. Fish doesn't have a lot and if you eat pure protein you could run into some trouble, I believe. Zero carbs, though, is doing the trick.
Congratulations on your feat, now you just need a pillar.
When my grandmother used to go on a diet, which she did frequently, she used to eat that in addition to her normal food.
Curiously, she never lost weight but was always cheerful and lived well into her 90's.
Anon.
Thanks Dennis,
The fish seems to have some fat, but it is my own fat that I am consuming. My Russian doctor (I call him Rasputin) and his sexy assistant say I am all right and basically we are talking about when I will come and how much cash shall I bring. The "treatment" is very expensive, and he says that if I am not paying with freshly minted cash the treatment will not work. Quite humbling, but this is so.
"freshly minted cash"
The world's central banks have been working overtime minting fresh cash, so there's no shortage. You won't have any trouble finding any, I bet.
How about positioning yourself at the top of the McDonald's Arches?
Anon.
Too easy to come down to order a BigMac.
It will be a test of the will.
AND, if you do not succumb to temptation, McD will pay you to go away, as a bad advertisement.
Anon.
The environmentalists used to demonstrate against McD because it was treating the cows badly or because it had no vitamins or whatever.
I could adopt the cause and declare that I am fasting AGAINST McD's inhuman treatment of bovines. Or its encouragement of cannibalistic practices.
No, some people would take me seriously.
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