Kinda insane when you think about it: one of the strongest powers in the world in terms of military and economic power regularly practices religiously motivated infant genital mutilation.
But on the other hand very much in character for the USA...
Christians explicitly don't, as the requirement to circumcise was rejected at the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15. It's actually a heresy to claim that it's required for salvation.
Americans don't really read the Bible though. And that wouldn't be the biggest heresy on the list by far. Even omitting Mormons, and JWs, 3/4 of American evangelicals believe in the Arian heresy the first heresy to be addressed by an ecumenical council in the Council of Nicaea of 325. The Nicene Creed one
A bunch of Christian wackos wanted to prevent people from jacking off. Didn’t work, but it just became normal. Kellogg also made cornflakes for the same reason, IIRC
I have no direct insight into the mind of these lunatics and I suspect that the "it's just what everyone does" motivation one commentor mentioned is probably the most common direct motivation these days.
Nevertheless, the original reason to implement the practice was (afaik) to prevent masturbation which was religiously motivated (Christians saying "masturbation is sin").
Sure, when that idiocy became untenable in the increasingly secular society due to the enlightenment, people needed a new reason to continue (because accepting being wrong was naturally unacceptable 🙄), and so they reframed it as a medical thing by inventing more bullshit claims.
So overall, I stand by calling it "religiously motivated" even if it is not a strict requirement by the base religion itself as it is in e.g. Judaism.
It originated as a religious thing, but has since become more cultural. The inventor of Kellogg's breakfast cereal thought it prevented masturbation (obviously not; take one look at the number of American porn sites), and so he promoted the hell out of it.
I mean mentioning it wise. Outside of reddit I can't think of the last time anyone talked about circumcision yet here meme after meme and comment after comment.
So you're honestly trying to tell me that in day to day conversation the mutilation of male genitals in a country half a world away is something that is frequently brought up? Straight bull shit. No sane person talks about cocks as much as "you people" on reddit.
"Making fun of the insane shitshow that is America" is actually something that occasionally comes up as a small talk topic. Besides gun violence and the political, education, and healthcare systems, the crazy religious things you people get up to are another common topic to poke fun at. The circumcision situation does come up in that context.
Yeah alright that makes sense. In all fairness the apparent "abundance" of circumcision talk on this site could just be me being lucky(?) and just happening to always see them.
I am asking because I’ve never known any other perspective than that of the reddit echo chamber, and want to know the perspective of someone who opposes it.
When you say you “didn’t like making the decision”, does that mean you didn’t like making the choice, or does it mean that you didn’t like the choice you made?
What do you consider the pros and cons of either option?
It seems like you being cut played into your decision, but how exactly did it do that?
If you weren’t cut, do you think your opinion would be different, and how different would it be?
I think if I weren’t cut I wouldn’t have had him cut.
From having both types of friends I understand the positives and negatives of both aspects.
I didn’t like making the choice because I knew the arguments of both sides. My wife was all for circumcising but I was torn. Ultimately I made the choice based on the fact that I am.
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u/BankaiRasenshuriken Wants to die 29d ago
Bro forgot to wear his foreskin