Tuesday, September 01, 2009

Christianity & Circumcision Resources


One of the most monumental decisions you will make FOR your son is whether he will remain intact and whole as he was created, or be circumcised after birth. There is much more in the New Testament on circumcision (and the lack of it by early followers of Jesus) than Christians often believe there to be. When making the decision for our son, my husband and I investigated this topic heavily - as both our faith and our new role as a protective mother and father are very important to us. The more we learned, the more we found out just how much is not taught on Sunday mornings upon the topic of Christian faith and circumcision. Below are resources that may be especially helpful for Christian parents when making this dramatic, impacting, and lifelong decision for their little one.


This is the statement and story of a (circumcised) Christian father with 6 sons who
turned to the Bible and medical literature when questioning whether or not to repeat the cutting upon the bodies of his own boys. He found there to be no medical, social, or Christian reason to cut, and they all remain intact. It may be a good story for other Christian parents.

Dr. Fleiss and Dr. Hodges: Circumcision and Christianity (from their book, What Your Doctor May Not Tell You About Circumcision)

Biblical Circumcision Information

Circumcision and the Christian Parent

Circumcision and Christianity: A Call to Christian Action

Circumcision Within Christianity (one parent's story)

Circumcision in Antiquity

What the Bible Really Says About Circumcision

Christians: Baptism, Not Circumcision

CIRP: Answers from the Bible

Join with other Christians with a heart for this subject at the Whole Christian Network [Facebook Community Page]

Verses on the subject:

"Behold, I, Paul, tell you that if you be circumcised, Christ will be of no advantage to you." – Gal 5:2

"And even those who advocate circumcision don’t really keep the whole law. They only want you to be circumcised so they can brag about it and claim you as their disciples." – Gal 6:13

"For there are many who rebel against right teaching; they engage in useless talk and deceive people. This is especially true of those who insist on circumcision for salvation. They must be silenced. By their wrong teaching, they have already turned whole families away from the truth. Such teachers only want your money" – Titus 1:10-11

"Watch out for those wicked men – dangerous dogs, I call them – who say you must be circumcised. Beware of the evil doers. Beware of the mutilation. For it isn’t the cutting of our bodies that makes us children of God; it is worshiping him with our spirits." – Phil 3:2-3

"And I testify again to every male who receives circumcision, that he is in debt to keep the whole Law. You who do so have been severed from Christ...you have fallen from grace." - Gal 5:3

"As God has called each man, in this manner let him walk. And thus I command in all the churches. Was any man called in the circumcision [Old Covenant]? Let him not try to become uncircumcised. Has anyone been called in the uncircumcision [New Covenant in Christ]? Let him not be circumcised! Circumcision is nothing. And uncircumcision is nothing but the keeping of the commandments of God. Let each man remain in that condition in which he was called." - 1 Cor. 7:17

"And some men came and were teaching the brethren, 'Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.' But Paul and Barnabas together had great dissension and disputing with these men. . . Then Peter stood up and said to them '...Why do you put God to the test by placing upon the neck of the disciples a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear?" - Acts 15:1-2, 7, 10

"But if I still proclaim circumcision. . . then the stumbling block of the cross has been abolished." - Gal 5:11

"I wish that those who are pushing you to do so would mutilate themselves!" - Gal 5:12


The video CUT: Slicing Through the Myths of Circumcision is an excellent examination of circumcision (and the prepuce organ) by a Jewish man who was circumcised himself. Circumcision among Christians (or rather, the absence of circumcision among Christians throughout human history) is discussed in more detail. CUT Website
Abridged version of CUT viewable online

Video documenting various places in the Bible where circumcision is discussed.

Especially for Catholic Parents

Fish Eaters (Catholicism and circumcision)

History of Circumcision (CIRP)

Circumcision: Then and Now (CIRP)

Latter Day Saints: Book of Mormon on Circumcision 



Physicians share their experience and expertise with the subject at hand.




Resources (books, websites, and articles) on the prepuce organ (foreskin), intact care and circumcision are cataloged at: Are You Fully Informed? Request a full information pack of material here.



Our son, kept intact and whole as God created him,
gazes upon that same cross at 7 months old



Labels: , , , , , , , , Posted by JK

10 comments:

  1. So good--people need to be educated. I'm so glad I found out what the foreskin actually is/does before I made the decision for my son. I'm so glad I left him natural.

    Also, it seems to me like many Christians have a positive association with circumcision because it's in the Bible. They may realize it's no longer necessary, and yet they find it hard to think of it as negative. What they don't realize is that only the tip of the foreskin was removed in the OT. Not the whole foreskin! Thanks for helping to educate people.
    ReplyDelete
  2. I think Paul got it right in his letter to the Galatians:

    NLT: "I only wish that those troublemakers who want to mutilate you by circumcision would mutilate [or castrate] themselves."

    MSG: "Why don't these agitators, obsessive as they are about circumcision, go all the way and castrate themselves!"

    Galatians 5:12 See http://net.bible.org/verse.php?book=Gal&chapter=5&verse=12
    NLT: New Living Translation
    MSG: The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language
    ReplyDelete
  3. Thanks for linking to the Intactivism Pages. There is a page about Christianity and circumcision, and some pertinent statements from particular churches, notably the RC church.
    ReplyDelete
  4. Surely the only decision made by parents is to circumcise their sons. Uncircumcised is the default condition, and requires no "decision" at all.
    ReplyDelete
  5. From a Christian perspective, now that we are living in New Testament times, circumcision or uncircumcision does not have any relevance to one's faith. The choice is purely a matter of physical reasons.

    You make a lot of good points and have a lot of interesting things to think about. My husband and I never had to make a decision about circumcision, because so far we've only had daughters. I truly don't know what we would do. We were sort of relieved with each of our babies to learn that they were girls! :)

    If the day comes when we have a son, I don't know what we'll decide, but I do know that our decision won't be based on any religious reasons. As Galatians 5:6 says, "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love."

    Thanks for all of your thought-provoking research and links!

    ~ Emily
    ReplyDelete
  6. Actually, Emily, you are wrong.
    Circumcision was originally just a small slit in the tip of the foreskin done to shed a drop or two of blood. As I'm assuming you know, back in the Old Testament times, the payment or atonement for sin was bloodshed.
    When Jesus Christ came and died on the cross, He shed his blood for our sins, ultimately paying that price for all of us.
    To continue to circumcise your children as a Christian is a direct rejection of that sacrifice. It's basically telling God that His sacrifice wasn't good enough for you.
    ReplyDelete
  7. P.S. http://www.udonet.com/circumcision/christian.html is a great resource.
    ReplyDelete
  8. Alex you couldn't be more correct Paul actually states that if you circumcise you are a debter to the WHOLE (jewish) law. So He tells us that You might as well go be Jewish because we Christians don't do that. We Christians are "The Uncircumcision"
    ReplyDelete
  9. Circumcision or uncircumcision does not matter in so far as Christ accepts ALL of us and came to save ALL of us.

    But within the context of living out an authentic, Christian life, to then CHOOSE circumcision is to deliberately deny Christ.

    I often hear people say, "But, we aren't choosing circumcision for religious reasons."

    Circumcision not only denies the redemption and divinity of Christ, it also violates the New Testament theme of healing instead of harming, loving instead of hurting, peace instead of violence.

    Many parents have been led to believe the myths about circumcision being healthier/cleaner. Yet the fact remains that secular circumcision is a surgery on a HEALTHY newborn. The surgeon deliberately cuts into a HEALTHY baby and removes a HEALTHY body part. This is not ethical medicine and it is not in keeping with Christianity.
    ReplyDelete
  10. @Guggie:

    "But within the context of living out an authentic, Christian life, to then CHOOSE circumcision is to deliberately deny Christ."

    I have to disagree with you on that statement; it's a bit overblown to say circumcising your son as a Christian is "denying Christ". Come on now...

    If I could go back and do it all over again, I probably wouldn't have circumcised my son. I was a Christian and did realize that circumcision wasn't a requirement for being saved. However, I was lead to believe that a male being circumcised was better for his health, hygiene, and self-esteem. Now, I know better so I wouldn't make that choice again, but I wouldn't go so far as to say someone who makes that choice is "denying Christ". I know, love, and cherish my Savior and what He did for me. What He actually said is that it wasn't about circumcision OR uncircumcision.
    ReplyDelete

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails