Lent: Ship of Fools

Here's a link from one of the best satirical - poke fun at religion, especially the christian variety sites [it's british,of course]: ship of fools.
They have a page a day of getting beyond the typical thinking about lent

Lent. The only festival among world religions to be celebrated by the non-eating of chocolate.

Jesus spent 40 days in the desert, fasting and praying, preparing a mission, fighting temptation, working through his calling. Then in the early church, Lent was the time for new Christians to learn the faith, and for the rest of them to devote themselves to prayer and fasting, a spring cleaning of the soul in readiness for the big day.

And we have a six-week choc-free diet.

With a beginning like that - it's got to be good.

Did you ever feel today's Christianity was missing out on something? Identifying Lent with not eating chocolate misses the point almost as much as identifying Easter with eating it.

So this year let us bring you an idea a day for Lent: 40 ways to do something more with your 40 days.

With the help of a few friends, we have been digging out some more creative and adventurous approaches to the season. The challenging, the reflective, the alternative and the ancient.

Now you can read these 40 ideas for Lent, one per day, online here.

They involve carrier bags, paint, money, traffic jams and poetry. They are designed to stretch you, make you think, tone up some forgotten spiritual muscles, put your time to good use and get some fresh air in there. They are practical and positive.

We hope you'll try some of them, and give your spirit something new to do.

And go on, have a Mars Bar.