Quote:
Originally Posted by BoyNeedsGirl
You know, you can essentially "uncircumsize" yourself by stretching the skin.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreskin_restoration
Personally, I don't get the whole circumcision thing. Especially with the religious people. If God made you that way, why would you alter that? |
I have no interest in weighing in on the question of whether I wish I was uncircumcised. It seems to me that the decision made for me on the eighth day of my life is one of the less-important among the many decisions my parents made for me, and has far fewer negative consequences than many of those other decisions.
I can, though, explain "the whole circumcision thing" with respect to "religious people."
For Jews, circumcision is a commandment that comes right from the Torah (the Old Testament). Hence, with respect to your question -- "If God made you that way, why would you alter that?" -- the answer is quite easy. Note that I don't believe in god, but a Jew who does would answer: "Because he says so."
The Covenant of Circumcision is probably the most universally observed in all of Judaism. Even secular Jews have their baby sons circumcized, as a general rule. And like so many of the commandments in the Torah, there is a direct correlation between health and the religious observance. For instance, all the laws of keeping Kosher were as much to protect people from the ravages of intestinal poisoning as they were a set of moral guidelines.
The covenant can be found in Genesis 17:10-14 (first made with Abraham) and repeated in Leviticus 12:3.
While hygienic, the Covenant's reason is stated quite clearly in the text: it is meant to be an outward physical sign of the eternal covenant between God and the Jewish people, as well as a sign that the Jewish people will be perpetuated through the circumcised Jewish man. The commandment is binding on the father of the child, and if he fails to have his son circumcised the son himself is obligated to have it done as soon as he reaches adulthood.
As for the health benefits, there is considerable research that circumcised males have a lower risk of certain cancers, and that both female and male sexual partners of circumcised males also have a lower risk of certain cancers. Of course, circumcision has become more conventional in the more economically developed countries of the world in the post-World War II period, and so the overall higher life expectancy and lower disease mortality and morbidity rates in these countries (the result of their better overall healthcare) may partially explain these data.
By the way, if you're wondering why Jews are circumcised on the eighth day, it turns out that modern medical research has determined that the human blood-clotting mechanism stabilizes on the eighth day after birth. No one knew this when the Torah was written (except maybe God, although -- again -- I don't believe in him, even if facts like this make one wonder).
Circumcision is performed on the eighth day of the child's life, during the dThe Bible does not specify a reason for the choice of the eighth day; however, modern medicine has revealed that an infant's blood clotting mechanism stabilizes on the eighth day after birth. As with almost any commandment, circumcision can be postponed for health reasons. Jewish law provides that where the child's health is at issue, circumcision must wait until seven days after a doctor declares the child healthy enough to undergo the procedure.
As for the unhealthy aspects of circumcision, I really know of only one. In 1939, a Nazi could pull down your pants and determine that you were a Jew, even though you had been hiding out and trying to blend in as a Gentile. You would be shipped to a concentration camp. If you consider being murdered unhealthy, having been circumcised would probably have meant your father made an unhealthy choice on your behalf.