medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
Dear Elena,
I presume the rabbi means "abandon circumcision as a
religious rite or requirement." Circumcision by
Christians is far from abandoned. It used to be done
routinely in the US. Now doctors ask mothers-to-be in
advance if they wish a male child to be circumcised.
Most do, if only to see to it that "Johnny" looks like
all the other little boys. There is a movement to
abandon the practice as unnecessarily painful, though
some doubt the newborn "experiences" the pain. And it
has been medically proven (I think) to be of great
hygienic benefit both to men and to their sexual
partners.
MG
--- Elena Lemeneva <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Dear list-members,
>
> a friend of mine, a practicing rabbi, is to give a
> speech on TV in a couple of days on circumcision.
> The question he asked me was when and why Christians
> had abandoned the rite of circumcision. I started
> mumbling something about Paul the Apostle but
> decided to double-check my guesses with the learned
> ones. Any hint to a precise text would be highly
> appreciated.
>
> Sincerely,
> Elena Lemeneva
> PhD student, Medieval Studies, CEU (Budapest)
>
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