Forms
In its simplest form, mortification of the flesh can mean merely denying oneself certain pleasures, such as abstaining from alcoholic beverages, internet, porn, or any area of life that takes the place of god (so, basically anything you do other than sit in contemplation and worship of God/Jesus - your job, your family, your interests, your amusements, etc.). For example, "I might sit on the internet all day everyday, and therefore be committing adultery against Jesus because my affections are with that rather than god himself. Therefore we must focus on Jesus and put him first in our life as Christians." It can also be practiced by choosing a simple or even impoverished lifestyle; this is often one reason many monks of various religions take vows of poverty.
Traditional forms of physical mortification are the cilice and hair-shirts. In some of its more severe forms, it can mean causing self-inflicted pain and physical harm, such as beating, whipping, or piercing.
Read more about this topic: Mortification Of The Flesh
Famous quotes containing the word forms:
“Your letter is come; it came indeed twelve lines ago, but I
could not stop to acknowledge it before, & I am glad it did not
arrive till I had completed my first sentence, because the
sentence had been made since yesterday, & I think forms a very
good beginning.”
—Jane Austen (1775–1817)
“The atmosphere of orthodoxy is always damaging to prose, and above all it is completely ruinous to the novel, the most anarchical of all forms of literature.”
—George Orwell (1903–1950)
“The method of authority will always govern the mass of mankind; and those who wield the various forms of organized force in the state will never be convinced that dangerous reasoning ought not to be suppressed in some way.”
—Charles Sanders Peirce (1839–1914)