Fasting?

[sling]

Every time the subject of fasting comes up someone will always say that anything (not just food or drink) you can temporarily give up in order to better focus on God can be considered a fast. Such as a media fast, a husband and a wife fasting from each other and even a fast from playing a musical instrument.

Vine's expository dictionary (as well as Strong's Greek and Hebrew dictionarys)seems to me to define a fast as abstaining from food. Every verse of scripture ( I can find ) points to food and drink as the things being given up.

Can the words abstain and fast be used to express the same thing?

It would seem to me that calling anything other than giving up food or drink a fast is at least misusing the word......

My wife says I "nitpick" everything to death.

All I am trying to do is rightly handle the word of truth!!!!!

Any input would be appreciated......

[scud]

I would think that a fast would be to be without food rather then drink for x period of days. When I have fasted it has been to this end. I have fasted for multiple days and I did drink coffee and hot chocolate during it. It was OK with God as I ask Him first, so that must be acceptable IMO.

[Beau Zoe]

A religious fast entails abstaining from food--some also include water in their definition. The fast is generally ended with the meal at the begining of the day. In English, we still call this meal "break-fast."

Trust your scripture study! You did a good job!

[jefferson101]

The word "Fast", as in "Fasting" has a specific meaning. It means not eating.

I've heard the same things that Sling has, and I'm personally of the opinion that it's a serious misuse of the meaning of the word, and probably done to attempt to impress the listeners with how pious the folks doing the "Fasting" from TV, or from music, or whatever, are being.

And since I consider flaunting one's piety to impress other people to be in poor taste, I would offer that they should try substituting the word "Chastity" or "Chaste" instead.

In most cases, that'll be embarrasing enough to them that they won't use it, and then we can go back to using words to mean what they actually mean.

One should evade and avoid temptations, but if you "Fast" from them, does that mean that you normally consume them in large quantities?

One can only wonder. Or one could ask those that misuse the language if that's the impression they are trying to convey.