Monday, June 2, 2008
Genesis 17:23-27 (NIV)
23 On that very day Abraham took his son Ishmael and all those born in his household or bought with his money, every male in his household, and circumcised them, as God told him. 24 Abraham was ninety-nine years old when he was circumcised, 25 and his son Ishmael was thirteen; 26 Abraham and his son Ishmael were both circumcised on that same day. 27 And every male in Abraham's household, including those born in his household or bought from a foreigner, was circumcised with him.
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3 comments:
Again, we have to consider circumcision as a sign of covenant between God and man. In reality, the circumcision of the foreskin amounts to nothing at all without the circumcision of the heart or purification from our daily sins as Paul stated in the NT. Fortunately, circumcision stopped once Christ came and gave us a new covenant int he NT.
According to church history, Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant churches never adopted circumcision. Circumcision was condemned in The Ecumenical Council of Florence on 4 February 1442. One exception was the Coptic Church in Egypt, and the Council condemned this practice amongst them. Routine infant circumcision never took off in Europe but circumcision enthusiasts promoted it in English-speaking countries from the late Victorian era. As a result, some Christians have been misled into believing that Christianity recommends circumcision. This is simply not true.
my understanding is that alot of old testament-based jewish rites also happen to be sound public health practices. i wonder if there were any rites that conflicted with any public health standards of that era -- or even by today's standards.
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