Jurassic World star Chris Pratt has begun the new year with a 21-day diet based on the biblical book of Daniel.
“OK, hi, Chris Pratt here. Day three of the Daniel Fast, check it out, it’s 21 days of prayer and fasting,” Pratt said Wednesday in a now-expired Instagram Story.
“It’s gonna coincide also coincidentally with the ‘Lego Movie 2’ junkets, so by the time you see me, I’ll probably be hallucinating. Stay tuned,” Pratt said.
Enlisted into the service of the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar, Daniel was resolved not to defile himself by eating the food and wine from the king’s table, the Bible recounts.
The overseeing official was worried that Daniel and the three Israelites with him would look worse if they were to abstain from the prescribed fare, to which Daniel replied:
“Please test your servants for ten days: Give us nothing but vegetables to eat and water to drink. Then compare our appearance with that of the young men who eat the royal food and treat your servants in accordance with what you see.”
The official agreed to this and tested them for ten days, after which he found they looked “healthier and better nourished than any of the young men who ate the royal food” and so he took away their choice food and wine and gave them vegetables instead.
The Daniel Fast “is based on the fasting experiences of the Old Testament Prophet,” states a website dedicated to the diet. “It’s a partial fast where some foods are eaten while others are restricted. Most people use this method of fasting for 21 consecutive days.”
The website also recommends beginning the year with the “New Year Fast.”
The site says that entering into “a period of extended prayer and fasting is like pushing the ‘pause button’ on life so you can draw nearer to God.”
The Daniel Fast, popular among evangelical Christians, has spawned a cottage industry of compatible recipes for those who want to embark on the 21-day journey.
The program only allows followers to eat “food grown from seed” like fruits and vegetables, but this is extended to include all whole grains, nuts and seeds, legumes, and quality oils. The diet excludes all meat and animal products, dairy products, sweeteners, leavened bread, processed food products, deep-fried foods, and solid fats.
For beverages, the diet allows water and some versions permit unsweetened almond milk, coconut milk, rice milk, or soy milk. Alcohol is out.
Chris Pratt has not been shy about sharing his Christian beliefs with his fans.
It’s “authentic for me to be pro-Christian, pro-Jesus,” he told the Associated Press (AP) last September. “That’s my thing. I like it.”
And while accepting the Generation Award at the MTV Movie and TV Awards in June, Pratt told his millennial viewers “God is real,” they have a soul, and they have to take care of it, as part of his “Nine rules from Chris Pratt.”
As his rule number six, Pratt said: “God is real. God loves you. God wants the best for you. Believe that. I do.”
For number eight, he said: “Learn to pray. It’s easy and it’s so good for your soul.”
Follow Thomas D. Williams on Twitter Follow @tdwilliamsrome
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