asceticism

asceticism , rejection of bodily pleasures through sustained self-denial and self-mortification, with the objective of strengthening spiritual life. Asceticism has been common in most major world religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, and Christianity: all of these have special ascetic cults or ascetic ideals. The most common ascetic practice is fasting , which is used for many purposes—to produce visions, as among the Crow; to mourn the dead, as among various African peoples; and to sharpen spiritual awareness, as among the early Christian saints. More extreme forms have been flagellation (see flagellants ) and self-mutilation, usually intended to propitiate or reach accord with a god. Asceticism has been associated with taboo in many non-Western societies and in such well-developed religions as Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism. See Essenes ; fakir ; hermit ; Rechabites .

Bibliography: See W. J. Sheils, ed., Monks, Hermits and the Ascetic Tradition (1985).

asceticism The strict discipline of one's body has been a precept of many religions, and clearly Christians who expected an early return of the Lord to earth prepared for it with prayer, fasting, and abstention from sexual relations. There is strong approval of renunciation of marriage in certain of the epistles (e.g. 1 Cor. 7: 7) and the gospels (e.g. Matt. 19: 12) and Rev. (14: 4). This was a minority opinion, but it became widely held that asceticism was a prerequisite for entering eternal life. It was certainly also a proof of serious discipleship and in Luke 9: 23 the word ‘daily’ has been significantly added to Mark 8: 34, so making a practicable kind of asceticism acceptable in the continuing life of the Church which was not shortly to be terminated by the Parousia.