A Mozambican pastor, Francisco Barajah, has died after attempting to fast for 40 days, emulating what Jesus Christ is said to have done in the Bible, according to reports. Barajah, 39, who founded the Santa Trindade Evangelical Church, collapsed and was admitted to a hospital in the city of Beira after reaching 25 days without food, losing a significant amount of weight and strength.
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Despite attempts to rehydrate him with IV fluids and feed him liquid food, doctors could not save him. He was diagnosed with acute anaemia and digestive organ failure.
Members of Barajah’s church said it was common for him and his followers to fast, but not for such an extreme and dangerous length of time. According to the BBC, Barajah was also a French teacher in the town of Messica, near Mozambique’s western border with Zimbabwe.
The Bible’s Gospel of Luke says that after his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he fasted for 40 days. The Gospel of Matthew goes on to say that the fast went on for ‘forty days and forty nights’. However, the accounts are unclear on whether Jesus gave up food and water entirely, with some scholars suggesting he ate scraps in the wilderness.
People can survive without food for extended periods, but typically die after around three days without drinking fluids. A person is unlikely to survive three months without food, even if they are well-nourished.
Barajah’s brother has questioned the official medical diagnosis, saying his brother had been suffering from low blood pressure before he began the fast. Barajah is not the first person to have died attempting to emulate Jesus Christ’s 40-day fast in the desert. In 2006, a woman died in London when she was halfway through a similar fast, although an inquest found she had an underlying blood condition that caused her death.
After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he fasted for 40 days
Gospel of Luke
The Gospel of Luke says, “After his baptism, Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where he fasted for 40 days.” The BBC reported that Barajah’s attempt to emulate this biblical feat is not the first time that someone has tried it. In Zimbabwe, a man died after fasting for 30 days, while in 2006, a woman in London died during a similar attempt.
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Barajah’s death is a sad reminder of the dangers of attempting to emulate religious practices without proper guidance or medical supervision. While fasting is a common practice among many religions, it should always be done with caution and under the supervision of medical professionals.
