And don't tell me about "health reasons" since this, I'm sure, would have been a cover-up for real religious/political motivations behind popularizing this procedure. Think about it... if a doctor told you today that by cutting off your child's thumb could possibly prevent some minor healthy problems later, how quickly would you be convinced to do it? So who pushed so hard to get this thing going on a regular basis where religious concerns aren't involved?
Please understand that I am not knocking any religious belief that adheres to this practice. I'm just wondering why someone would do it if it isn't a religious issue for the parent.
2007-10-30 18:25:57 · 11 answers · asked by mznocent 2 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
I still don't get it. I know why Jews and some other religions might opt for it. But in the part of the USA where I live people are primarily fundamental Christians who claim no religious need for the practice. So who started them doing it?
Dr. Poop and Toadaly, do you think it was not such a matter of getting non-Jews to start the practice as problems getting them to stop even though it is not a religious issue for them?
2007-10-30 19:30:52 · update #1
It was medicalised in the 1800s to stop masturbation. (Didn't work.) Masturbation was considered a sin because of religion. Since then they tried to find other reasons to promote it by saying it cured acne, bedwetting, epilepsy but none of those were proven. Now they are saying it prevents HIV infection. It was also promoted by the Jews after WWII because it used to be a means of identification of Jews in Europe. Then it got caught into culture in the USA and people promoted it and did it because they were all cut and honestly believed it was right/didn't know any better/didn't want to be left out/didn't want to admit they were missing a good bit for no reason. Rates are dropping now. The USA is the last country that routinely does it to babies for non-religious reasons (now rates are about half-half) except I think one or two Asian countries.
2007-10-31 00:34:35 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 0⤋
Circumcision predates recorded human history, with pictures in stone-age cave drawings and Ancient Egyptian tombs, though some pictures may be open to interpretation. Theories include that circumcision is a form of ritual sacrifice or offering, a health precaution, a sign of submission to a deity, a rite of passage to adulthood, a mark of defeat or slavery, or an attempt to alter aesthetics or sexuality.
Male circumcision is a religious commandment in Judaism as well as in Islam, and customary in some Oriental Orthodox and other Christian churches in Africa. Circumcision is most common in the Middle East, the USA and parts of Africa and Asia.
2007-10-31 01:30:53 · answer #2 · answered by Dr. Poop 1 · 3⤊ 1⤋
I believe that we as Christians need to emphasize the spiritual circumcision of the hardened flesh of our hearts over the physical unnecessary circumcisions of our sons.
2007-10-31 01:45:54 · answer #3 · answered by Millie C 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
heres a real answer.... im not jewish but my aunt and uncle are and they were able to help me with this question so here goes....
Times change. Styles change. But some things never change: Bris Milah is one of them. It is a bond between God and the Jewish nation for all time. It is a bond that can never be broken.
When our forefather Abraham reached the ripe old age of 99 years (Genesis 17) the Almighty promised him that his descendants would have a special relationship with their Creator. This would forever be symbolized by the Bris Milah (Covenant of Circumcision). "This will be a sign of the covenant between Me and you".
Abraham circumcised himself as well as all the men of his household. When his son Isaac was born, he too, underwent Bris Milah on the eighth day, as Divinely specified.
2007-10-31 01:37:27 · answer #4 · answered by tinkerbell 2 · 1⤊ 3⤋
paul had a missionary helper, timothy, circumcised so that his being uncircumcised would not be a hindrance to them as they sought to reach out to the unsaved jews on their missionary journeys. thus, although the bible gives gentile [non-jewish] believers the liberty of not being circumcised, it was a liberty that timothy was willing to give up for the sake of reaching out to unsaved jews. however, as the passages in galatians bring out, paul refused to compromise the issue with those who said that one must be circumcised in order to be either saved or sanctified in Christ.
2007-10-31 01:33:37 · answer #5 · answered by Silver 5 · 2⤊ 1⤋
It's a tradition that can't be stopped. The fact that Paul went out of his way to say it was not necessary, demonstrates that even the gentiles he was preaching to were practicing it.
2007-10-31 01:33:16 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 3⤊ 2⤋
"God" was really hung up on circumcision. It is mentioned (I am not making this up) a staggering 157 times in the bible. I mean this was REAL important to "god." I would like to know who circumcised Adam. Maybe the talking snake?
2007-10-31 01:30:45 · answer #7 · answered by Bisley 2 · 0⤊ 4⤋
It's grotesque
2007-10-31 03:17:40 · answer #8 · answered by brainstorm 7 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Better sex! It exposes more of the main vein under the penis for more intense stimulation.
2007-10-31 01:31:05 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 4⤋
To keep them free from germs and disease
2007-10-31 01:37:20 · answer #10 · answered by Gifted 7 · 2⤊ 4⤋