To fast or not to fast? That is the question today…..The play on Shakespeare’s famous line could not be resisted. Ethiopia is a religious country of many faiths. Several facts are observed by tens of millions of devout believers. Millions of others though, feel that their can remain true to their respective religion with out being compelled to fast along with the majority. An intriguing issue and the topic of this Sunday’s Society.

What do you think of
fasting?

Yes I fast for the 55 days Lent and so do most of my friends. I enjoy fasting because it brings me closer to my religion. I think it is our duty to fast - whatever faith we hold.

Adamu Wesenseged –Student

No, I don’t fast but guess what, my friends and family don’t really fast either. They just pretend to along with millions of others like them. The only person I know that fasts according to the religious regulations is my grandfather. He doesn’t eat all day up to 3 in the afternoon and then, only a handful or so of roasted cereals (‘Kolo’ or ‘Ashuk’). Otherwise, I believe that most so called ‘fasters’ are actually abstainers of animal products.
Solomon K-Retiree

As a Muslim, I have to fast during Ramadan. It is the best time of the year as I feel I am more in touch with Allah and my better self. Ramadan makes me calmer, gentler, and more considerate of others, especially the poor. I can’t imagine a person who fasts –in any religion, can be a bad human being.
Khaled Ahmed –Teacher.

I’m an atheist. By the way, I can say this because it is in print and anonymous. I would not tell people I don’t believe in God! Anyway, about fasting; you may be surprised to know that I support it because people will be eating healthier food. The absence of meet and dairy products for even two months is beneficial to one’s wellbeing. Even science advises only sparse consumption of meat and fatty food.
M.S Amatuer runner

Less is More...

Abstinence and moderation are traits that are expounded by all religions and regarded as positive attributes by all people of good will.
Total abstinence from nourishment is from a medical perspective, a direct attack on the body and tantamount to slow motion suicide. Not surprising then that fasting is also a macabre weapon often used by activities who hold their death as a guillotine over the head of society. Hardly the most honorable act of defiance…...
Far more noble is the fast observed in commemoration of a spiritual truth or tenet. It is now necessary to elaborate on terminology.
Fasting-What does it mean?
Simply put, to fast is not to eat, drink or take sustenance of any kind for a specific period of time and only for a proscribed purpose. That means skipping breakfast and not making it home for lunch does not qualify as a fast. You simply did not eat. We have established that to fast, one must have a purpose-preferably religious, a formally limited time period and not consume any form of nourishment.
Let us take the earliest recorded extended fast in the Old Testament. Some background first. To ancient Hebrews, fasting was an integral part of worship. It was a literal purification of the physical self in order to become a better receptacle of the spirit of God.
The Jewish faith believes that the non-act of fasting is a symbol of man’s humility before God. As he led the people out of Sinai and to a Promised Land which he was denied, Moses said to his flock.
“Don’t you remember how angry you made Him at Mount Horeb? He was ready to destroy you. I was on the mountain at the time, receiving the contract which Jehovah made with you – the stone tablets with the laws inscribed on them. I was there for forty days and forty nights, and all the time I ate nothing. I didn’t even take a drink of water.”
Deteronomy 9:8-9
The pros and cons of fasting are in the final analysis, a choice and one that should be respected as one’s right. It is only when human are forced to fast through lack of food that we intervene as starvation is certainly not a fast.