[29clepayJainync]

I've been seeing people partake in Lent since I moved from South Africa in '98. Now, I've gone to church every Sunday as a kid (Dutch Reformed, and Presbyterian), and occassionally since I got to college, but I am bewildered with this pagan ritual that goes by the name of Lent.

I won't claim to have read through the whole Bible, but I've had seen much of it, and I've never noticed anything regarding a ritual named "Lent". A quick search on BibleGateway.com yields a few results for the word Lent, usually used in either the word lentil or as a verb regarding the act of loaning.

I'm assuming this is a Roman Catholic tradition that was made up to include regional pagan religions and their practices, much like the gift exchange that occurs at Christmas (look into the Roman god 'Sol Invictus', you can also find a nice story told by the pope). This is no surprise since historically, the Roman Catholic Church's actions can be explained by a quote from L. Ron Hubbard, the father of scientology which he said 4 years before starting scientology: "If a man really wants to make a million dollars he should start his own religion". But maybe I am wrong, could someone please enlighten me if the annual celebration/ritual "Lent" has some legitimate support from the bible.