What Did You Give Up for Lent?

April 3, 2007 By Guest Contributor 16 Comments

Easter is approaching and Lent is almost over!

So, what did you give up?

And yes, atheists can participate.

(Side note: A friend once said she gave up religion for Lent. She’s now an atheist.)


[tags]atheist, atheism, Lent, Easter[/tags]

Filed Under: General 16 Comments
  • http://dubitoergo.blogspot.com Tom Foss

    A Catholic professor of mine said last year that for most of his life, he’d consistently and successfully given up Lent for Lent.

    Count me in the “gave up religion for Lent” crowd.

  • Richard Wade

    I gave up that stupid blue sweater. No more lent.

  • Mriana

    I gave up Church 3 Lents back and never returned. What’s else is there to give up?

  • http://atheistself.blogspot.com David W.

    According to my wife, giving up things for Lent is no longer in style (in liberal churches). Too negative. Now people are supposed to choose something [positive] to adopt for Lent, kind of like a short term New Year’s resolution.

    In that light, I propose that they all just adopt a little common sense and critical thinking.

  • Angela

    I was going out with a christian guy named Brian Lent, and I dumped him.

  • http://emergingpensees.blogspot.com/ Mike C

    According to my wife, giving up things for Lent is no longer in style (in liberal churches).

    Funny, it’s making a come back among evangelicals and among emerging churches.

    Personally I like the symbolism of personal sacrifice. We affluent Americans aren’t used to that concept. It’s good for us, I think, to voluntarily give up some of our comforts and toys once in a while.

    However, per Isaiah 58, I think fasts (and Lent is essentially a kind of fast) need to benefit not just ourselves, but the poor and the oppressed as well. That’s why last year my wife and I gave up food that wasn’t organic and Fair Trade (as much as possible – some staples are impossible to get Fairly Traded).

    This year we’ve given up chocolate made by slaves (which is most of the chocolate made by the major companies like Nestle, Hershey’s, M&M/Mars, etc.)

  • miller

    I gave up worrying what people would say, and came out of the closet. No one has commented yet.

  • http://www.thenewatheist.org BK

    For the second year in a row, I just gave up Lent.

    It was doubly easy since I was never Catholic, just Protestant. But the look on people’s faces when you say it is priceless.

  • Bill M.

    I gave up picking my belly-button for lent.

  • Mriana

    lol Oo! That’s disgusting! Good thing you gave it up.

  • Richard Wade

    It’s not disgusting, it’s good hygene. You can get a nasty infection if you don’t remove that lent. Why I knew someone who had so much lent in his bellybutton that he had a nest of fieldmice in there. Now that’s disgusting. He even lent his lent to someone else who didn’t have much.

  • Mriana

    I’ve never had a problem with belly button lint. I don’t know how people get belly button lint. Never could figure that one out, but that’s ok. I’m afraid if I tried figured it out, I’d have to end up wtih belly button lint. I don’t want it.

  • Richard Wade

    We’re talking about bellybutton lent, not lint. But you wouldn’t want to end up with that either, so let’s leave it alone.

  • Mriana

    OK then, I know nothing about that and don’t want to know. lol

  • Shell

    I gave up sex for lent, my husband doesn’t know yet but so did he.

  • Alan Bombria

    I’ve always told anyone that asks that I gave up Catholicism for lent just to see their reaction. Practicing Catholics turn a much deeper shade of red than Protestants.