THE REVIVAL OF FASTING.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 24 January 1912, Page 3

THE REVIVAL OF FASTING.

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir,—The letter of Mr Lloyd Jones in your paper of the 10th inst., reminds one that the habit of fasting has gone quite out of fashion.' And yet fasting was once one of the doctrines of the Jewish and also of the Christian Church. David humbled his soul with fasting (35th Psalm). And Jesus said (Matt. 17 : 21) there was one kind of devil that could be cast out only by prayer and fasting. Christians, in these days,,find it very convenient to forget these things, but perhaps they lose very much thereby, ! for believe me, dear brothers and ; sisters, there is virtue in fasting. The philosophy of the Ancients with regard to fasting would appear to be this : —They believed that most diseases were caused by devils taking human bodies as their residences. These devils, it would seem, required material food, fasting stopped the supply, hence fasting caused them to leavfef < Now this seems to show that the Ancients had discovered that fasting was a cure for disease, but their explanation of the causes of the cure was different from ours. That fasting will cure the influenza I have good reason to believe. Last winter there was a very bad kind of influenza going about, and I was attacked the same as others. I went without my breakfast and reduced the quantity of the other two meals for two or three days and lo! " I was made whole." I was cured. The devil of influenza was cast out, I am etc., ZELANDIA.