Today we read about circumcision and its importance; in John 7 and one of the four chapters in Genesis selected for today. But that is just one part of the story.
John 7:1-24. Jesus pointed out that according to Jewish law, circumcision is more important than keeping Sabbath, so, if the eighth day is on a Sabbath, it must be performed on that day, but healing on a Sabbath is not permitted.
In Genesis15 God promised Abram a son. Abram believed God and it was counted to him as righteousness.
But in Genesis 16 Abram badly wanted an heir, so Sarai, being too old, gave her handmaiden Hagar to be the mother of Abram’s son, Ishmael. Sarai regretted what she had done, and Hagar was sent away with Ishmael into the wilderness.
Thirteen years later, in Genesis 17, Ishmael was back with Abram, God promised Abram his seed of promise, changed Abram’s name to Abraham and Sarai’s name became Sarah, established with an eternal covenant, the covenant of Circumcision, and it was performed on Abraham, Ishmael and all Abraham’s male servants.
Which brings us to Genesis 18 with Abraham still waiting for his promised offspring. He was visited by three angels that promised him he will have a son within a year. Sarah heard it and found it laughable, but God confirmed this promise, and was also proclaiming the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Abraham tried to bargain with God at no avail.
The question to ponder: Why is circumcision important for Jews and Muslims, but not for Christians? Hint: read the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 15.
here is a map of the prevalence of male circumcision:
As we can see, circumcision is almost universal in Muslim countries, but very low in Europe and South America. In the U.S the circumcision rate is around 70%. Why is that? U.S. is a mostly Christian nation and we are told in Acts 15 that we should not be circumcised. There is an interesting aspect to circumcision and prostate cancer. The Mayo Clinic conducted a study a long time ago about the correlation between prostate cancer and circumcision, and they found a strong link, circumcised males had much lower risk of prostate cancer. There was one fatal fault with the study; it was done in Minnesota with a lot of people of Swedish descent, and the Swedes do not circumcise, and they have a much higher genetic propensity for developing prostate cancer than other population groups.
When our first son was born in 1969 the nurse nonchalantly handed me a clipboard and said: Sign here, it is standard procedure but it requires your signature. When I read through it I found out it was about circumcision, so I refused. She snarled and left and I overheard her saying to another nurse: Those Scandinavians; they are so backwards – she even wants to breast feed – how primitive!
Len Bilén's blog, a blog about faith, politics and the environment. 