In our youth group’s valiant journey through the book of Acts, we arrived at chapter 15 last night. This is where the early gang gets together in Jerusalem to decide if those crazy Gentiles need to be circumcised in order to get Jesus. Since I have an unhealthy fear of middle schoolers and am regrettably still part middle schooler myself, I was big time wary about the hand that was sure to go up with the question, “Shane, what is circumcision?”
As my wife wisely predicted, it didn’t happen. But the traumatic anticipation has me thinking today about the practice, particularly why Christians would or wouldn’t circumcise their baby boys and why Muslims tend to do so. [To be clear: We’re discussing male circumcision, not female. I find no reason to not consider FGM wrong in all its forms.]
While Jews still circumcise their boys, they do so for ostensibly religious reasons. Christians, at least in the U.S., snip at a fairly high percentage, even though the Bible in general, and Acts 15 specifically, indicates it’s not a command from God. Interestingly, circumcision is not mentioned in the Quran, but Muslims (after Jews) practice it at the highest rate.
So what’s your guess why we do this?
I can hear some of you saying emphatically, “We don’t!” Fair enough. But many Christians and Muslims do, and do so outside of any religious conviction.
My hunch: We don’t want our sons to be different from most in a fairly sensitive, even taboo, part of their bodies. Under the cover of sketchy medical reasoning and pretty heavy family and cultural pressure, we go with the flow.
Muslims additionally see circumcision as indicative of membership in the global ummah or community of Islam.
While I’m sure I don’t understand the full meaning of Paul’s challenge to “circumcision of the heart” in Romans 2.29, that internal, spiritual surgery is certainly a more significant snip and one from which we could all benefit.