The Peculiar Issue Of
Male Circumcision
By
James Donahue
Male
circumcision is the cruel and painful act of cutting away the foreskin of the penis and totally exposing the glans, or the
sensitive bulbous end of the penis. Performing
this peculiar operation was originally directed by God to Abraham and his descendants, or the Jewish and Muslim people,
according to Genesis 17:9-12:
“And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their
generations. This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every male child among
you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt
me and you.”
While
known to be a Jewish trait, it is strange to note that most males in North America are circumcised. There was a story that doctors automatically performed this procedure on newborn boys for sanitary reasons.
But research on this has shown that there is little evidence to support this. In fact, babies that are circumcised are more
prone to infections when wearing diapers over the unhealed scaring from this procedure.
Some say that circumcision reduces the pleasure men
experience when performing the sexual act. In our research for this story we found no documentation to prove or disprove this,
however.
So why are we still circumcising
our baby boys? We suspect it may be the Christian influence since many Bible believers appear to believe that if God commanded
circumcision as a covenant with the Jewish people, it probably applies to Christian children as well. Also, doctors no doubt
receive an extra fee for performing this surgery, sometimes without even asking parental consent.
There are a few things seriously wrong with
the alleged commandment by God that followers of the Jewish faith be circumcised.
It is a historical fact that the Book of Genesis
was not put into text by church scribes for over a thousand years after Abraham lived. The five books of the Old Testament,
or the Jewish law known as the Torah, were allegedly written by Moses. Scholars who study the text of these books believe
the books were a collection of ancient writings that came from several different authors. They contain a list of harsh laws
for living the way the Hebrew God wanted them to live. Who can say that the commandment for circumcision was truly handed
down by a voice from the sky or a burning bush?
The passages in the Torah, including Genesis 17, were believed to have been added
to the Torah in the Sixth Century BC, literally thousands of years after Abraham lived.
Then there was the New Testament letter to
the Corinthians by Paul who wrote in I Cor. 7:17: “Was any man called in the circumcision? Let him not try to become
uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in the uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised! Circumcision is nothing. And uncircumcision
is nothing but the keeping of the commandment of God. Let each man remain in that condition in which he was called.”
Then in Gal. 5:2 Paul wrote: “Behold,
I Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing!”
Circumcision is a barbaric custom. Why are
we still doing it?
