Questions about the Bible

[silvercJD4]

* I did several searches, and I didn't find anything like this. Although, it seems like there should be a thread already like this, so perhaps I've just overlooked it. If that's the case then I'm sorry and do close this thread. Thanks...

This is just a thread for questions that you may have relating to the Holy Bible. I've been reading it lately and I've come to the bit that's talking about circumcision, Genesis 17:9-14. I was questioning whether this meant that all Christians had to be circumcised and I just happened to flip to another section of the Bible that I <i>think</i> says they do, Acts 15:1-5. Does this mean that all Christians need to be circumcised or am I missing something? Thanks!

[Dedalus Diggle]

Actually the opposite is true. There are MANY places in the Epistles where the notion of seeking salvation through circumcision is rejected and is said to be a rejection of God's Grace given through Jesus Christ. The notion is primarily that we can never and could never achieve salvation through adherence to the laws of the Torah, but can through the perfect example and sacrifice of Jesus. His circumcision was the last necessary 'blood sacrifice' under the Abrahamic covenant and in fulfilling that covenant in his perfect life and death, a New Covenant in His Blood was formed, based on Grace, not Law.

The Church (both before and since there were any sort of divisions, and after the various splits, the different divisions have all confirmed that circumcision is anti-Christian) has repeatedly issued theological statements explaining why a Christian must not seek circumcision. In addition to the above reason, there is the notion of the body as the temple of the soul, and to harm it without regard to treating physical problems is to defile that temple.

It is very revealing that circumcision was introduced to Christian society in modern times for the specific purpose of crippling boys sexually (to prevent boys from touching themselves, which was said to be the cause and the result of bad 'moral hygiene'). Actually the same thing was done to girls using strong acid to burn away the sensitive parts in the 19th century.

There are other places, but I know there are discussions of circumcision in Ephesians and Galatians. Also in Acts, there are the initial attempts of the apostles to insist that the gentile converts to Christianity accept all of the rules of Judaic Law, including circumcision, but a major meeting was held in which it was decided that the only Judaic Laws that the gentiles must adhere to are not to drink sacrificial blood, not to eat sacrificial meat, and not to fornicate. Rather than adhere to strictures, Christians are to practice love for all humanity.

[Pegasus]

The Church (both before and since there were any sort of divisions, and after the various splits, the different divisions have all confirmed that circumcision is anti-Christian) has repeatedly issued theological statements explaining why a Christian must not seek circumcision.
In my church, we believe that it's no longer a religious issue for the reasons explained above, but something the parents may or may not elect to do for personal/health reasons.