I stumbled across this recently while going down a different rabbit hole and it stunned me. I missed this previously. It leaves me wondering why I am circumcised. I am a bit bitter still and always about having the tip of my penis chopped off in the name of tradition, Now I see this and wonder what justification my parents could have had in reality? Was it all just peer pressure? They were southern baptists, supposedly believing in NT over OT in any conflict. This is deep in the NT:
Galatians 5:2-6
2 Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you. 3 Once again I testify to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obliged to obey the entire law. 4 You who want to be justified by the law have cut yourselves off from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything; the only thing that counts is faith working through love.
I am an Atheist, Ex-Christian, Ex-Southern Baptist Apostate in my 40s. I talked to my mother about it, when I had a son. She said she just didn’t want me to stand out and circumcising was just what everyone else was doing. It drove home the point that my mother has never really thought for herself on any of that and much of it had impact on me. I’m thankful that my kids won’t have to go through all of that.
I’m venting because it dug up an old wound for me. As always, I’d love to hear some feedback.
Probably Kelloggs
Every time a circumcision thread comes out the anti ppl come out of the woodwork and are forced to admit that in many cases a circumcision is the best route for your child’s penis health.
Phimosis is a thing. Cleaning is a huge issue in any 3rd world country and even when water is available it’s still a problem for many.
It’s basically a useless skin tag that can cause serious issues if not removed.
how many nerve endings are in it?
admit that in many cases a circumcision is the best route for your child’s penis healt
That’s just wrong. You realize people outside the US are mainly uncircumcised, right?
And phimosis isn’t that common though. In many cases, it can be resolved without circumcision. We don’t need to circumcise every male at birth because they have a small chance of phimosis needing circumcision later on.
Arguing that it should be removed at infancy because of phimosis is like arguing we should remove toenails because they can become ingrown.
I don’t think that’s a Christian thing. I live in Germany, a mostly Christian country, my parents are Christians, yet the only circumcised people I know are Jews and one guy that needed to get a circumcision for medical reasons.
I have heard its common in the US tho, to prevent masturbation or something like that.
What the fuck is Paul even talking about there?
First he says that circumcised men are not covered by Christ’s sacrifice, which goes against the single most central point of Christian belief.
Then he says circumcision doesn’t matter, only Christ does, just a few sentences later.
Seems like an early church numbers game to me. Paul realizes, I think, that if they’re going to convert a substantial number of non Jews, they’re going to need to drop the “now cut your penis” requirement for entry.
The thesis that Paul is trying to convey is that salvation doesn’t come from performing a ceremony, like circumcision. It comes from faith in Christ. He’s writing to a church who were mostly Jewish converts who were still insisting on new Christians being circumcised.
