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I've often wondered why circumcision of children started in the first place. Today a plausible reasoning of why its first adopters might have done it occurred to me. See what you guys think.
The circumciser takes on the role of God, and he gives a message to the child:
"This scar on your body will always remind you that I am all powerful and you are powerless. It will remind you that your body is not yours. It belongs to me, and what I give I can take away."
If this is what they meant, I must admit, it is a forceful, elegant way to exert power, and to command fear and obedience. Do you think something like this might have been running through their minds?
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I don't think I've ever heard that interpretation before. If we don't take the common religious interpretation of it really being a covenant with God and a clever way of providing health benefits to male children (personally I reject both assertions, I'm just trying to be objective) then I'd expect it was simply a way of marking out one's own 'tribe' that sorta caught on for various reasons, like tattoos and neck stretching.
Obviously though, I don't think anyone these days views it like that though either way. I don't think you were suggesting anyone did, I just wanted to be clear in my post.
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United States15275 Posts
Plausible as an interpretation of the significance of the act, questionable as the origin of the act.
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Man, I unleashed a tidal wave of religious blogs.
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Your interpretation assumes that circumcision started out in a judeo-christian context, which it didn't. The ancient egyptians used circumcision, probably as a rite of passage. Herodotus says they did it for the sake of cleanliness, but we all know Herodotus' credibility... Or well, maybe you were wondering about the origin of circumcision in the judeo-christian context. In that case, the answer is simple: They do it because it's written thus in the bible, and the bible says it's done for the sake of establishing a covenant with god (you know, the whole jewish thing). Christians don't do that anymore, I guess.
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I think it's a way to propagate violence. Notice that the circumcised cultures in our world (American, Jewish, and Islamic) are the violent ones.
I believe it does several fundamental things. As described in the OP, it establishes a relationship of powerfulness/powerlessness. Try to think beyond God for a minute and just think about the impression itself. Infants are not aware of ideas such as God, but rather they simply have raw impressions. Entering the world and getting cut like that will give a certain impression of the world. I have a friend who has a memory of when he was 4 days old, so I definitely believe such impressions linger.
Furthermore, I also believes it changes the relationship between men and women. I believe it makes sexual relations rougher and less sensitive.
It may seem hard to believe why something like this would be considered good, but it's all depends on your point of view. From a sociopathic perspective, hurting one's loved ones can actually be a good thing. It teaches them the hard lessons that you yourself have learned, and prepares them for the world. In other words, it's just a different way of doing things. Cultures can have different ways of doing things too, which might seem wrong but which, in the context of the culture, are viewed as good and a way of life. There are many other types of psychological traits which are passed down through cultures and families.
So I agree that it makes sense as the propagation of a certain cultural perspective, but the question that we need to ask is if we agree with it or not.
I'm circumcised and view certain personal tendencies as potentially related to what I'm talking about. People don't normally question a lot of the things they do, and why they are the way they are, but it's an important thing to do.
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Ritualistic mutilation that carries significance that varies from culture to culture. Jews didn't come up with it, nor is it the only form of ritualistic mutilation out there. Your suggestion is pretty much inapplicable in all cases though.
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In times when sanitation/hygiene were poor, boys with long foreskins got more/worse infections, so they learned to cut them off. Seems more plausible to me and just because Herodotus embellishes some things doesn't mean we should discard everything he wrote.
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On February 19 2013 09:10 Scarecrow wrote: In times when sanitation/hygiene were poor, boys with long foreskins got more/worse infections, so they learned to cut them off. Seems more plausible to me.
You think nobody got an infection after having the snip back in the day? I mean, all operations carry risk of infection. Plus, this theory goes right in the face of evolution and survival of the fittest, not that this means much to most people in favour of the act.
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On February 19 2013 08:43 fight_or_flight wrote: I think it's a way to propagate violence. Notice that the circumcised cultures in our world (American, Jewish, and Islamic) are the violent ones.
I believe it does several fundamental things. As described in the OP, it establishes a relationship of powerfulness/powerlessness. Try to think beyond God for a minute and just think about the impression itself. Infants are not aware of ideas such as God, but rather they simply have raw impressions. Entering the world and getting cut like that will give a certain impression of the world. I have a friend who has a memory of when he was 4 days old, so I definitely believe such impressions linger.
Furthermore, I also believes it changes the relationship between men and women. I believe it makes sexual relations rougher and less sensitive.
It may seem hard to believe why something like this would be considered good, but it's all depends on your point of view. From a sociopathic perspective, hurting one's loved ones can actually be a good thing. It teaches them the hard lessons that you yourself have learned, and prepares them for the world. In other words, it's just a different way of doing things. Cultures can have different ways of doing things too, which might seem wrong but which, in the context of the culture, are viewed as good and a way of life. There are many other types of psychological traits which are passed down through cultures and families.
So I agree that it makes sense as the propagation of a certain cultural perspective, but the question that we need to ask is if we agree with it or not.
I'm circumcised and view certain personal tendencies as potentially related to what I'm talking about. People don't normally question a lot of the things they do, and why they are the way they are, but it's an important thing to do.
If your post refers to the modern-day and not the invention of circumcision, then I think you may be in the wrong here. Having been circumcised, I never gave a flying fuck about whether my dick has some kind of a skin hood thingamajigger or not. I mean, you usually get circumcised when you're too young to remember anything, so until I ran into these forums and associated with people who were not circumcised and disapproved of the practice, I cannot confidently say that circumcision meant anything significant to me. Never thought about it, never cared about it, never asked about it, nothing. Not one single, tiny fuck given at any point. Can't really say it's the significant event in my life you seem to think it is. Also, I sincerely doubt that, for generation after generation after generation, parents have been indulging in some kind of child-hating sociopathic urge. I mean, just think about how fathers always hold their newborn children. You think there's some undercurrent of hate going on there? I'm just not seeing it. I'd have to say that you seem to be overthinking the issue. It is entirely plausible that circumcision has existed throughout the ages simply because we thought it was a good thing to do for all this time. I mean, few people actually remember any trauma from the operation, and even today a lot of people think there are practical benefits to having it done. Add that to the fact that for much of our history "because Jesus said so" was enough of a reason, and I think you've got a simple, logical explanation for why circumcision has existed for so long and why it still continues today.
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I wrote a paper about this in freshman humanities! the frickin covenant, man, what a drag
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I was actually told a long time ago, that circumcision allowed things to be kept clean easier. Not bathing regularly would make things more difficult to keep clean in order to prevent problems. This made sense to me, but I have no idea if it's true or not.
Edit: oops this guy said the same as me: http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/postmessage.php?quote=8&topic_id=399266
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On February 19 2013 09:16 deathly rat wrote:Show nested quote +On February 19 2013 09:10 Scarecrow wrote: In times when sanitation/hygiene were poor, boys with long foreskins got more/worse infections, so they learned to cut them off. Seems more plausible to me. Plus, this theory goes right in the face of evolution and survival of the fittest, not that this means much to most people in favour of the act. Yes, because any medical procedure is about survival of the fittest -.-
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I like to put my wife's finger/thumb on my flaccid penis and wrap my foreskin all the way up! She however, does not like this.
But to be denied this simple pleasure by god is a traveshamokery!
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On February 19 2013 09:22 Scarecrow wrote:Show nested quote +On February 19 2013 09:16 deathly rat wrote:On February 19 2013 09:10 Scarecrow wrote: In times when sanitation/hygiene were poor, boys with long foreskins got more/worse infections, so they learned to cut them off. Seems more plausible to me. Plus, this theory goes right in the face of evolution and survival of the fittest, not that this means much to most people in favour of the act. Yes, because any medical procedure is about survival of the fittest -.-
If people with foreskins got more / worse infections, they would be less likely to survive to pass their genes onto the next generation.
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I was brought up pretty religiously (Russian Orthodox), the few memories I remember include my baptism and being told about who God is, and my grandma took all that stuff seriously and tried to get me and my brother in on it as well. Yet my foreskin seems to be attached to my penis proper.
I don't know if it's just the branch of Christianity or something to account for the difference. Any other Greeks, Russians, maybe Coptic Egyptians who can comment and add their input?
TL;DR I disagree.
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On February 19 2013 07:48 ImAbstracT wrote: Man, I unleashed a tidal wave of religious blogs.
I was just thinking the same thing. lol
Very interesting take on the subject though, I never thought about it very much but I'd accept this if somebody gave it to me as a reason in a conversation as being plausible. Anybody going near my crotch with knives at any point in my life for any reason would put the "fear of God" in me hahaha
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edit: nvm I think i misread
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On February 19 2013 09:35 [UoN]Sentinel wrote: I was brought up pretty religiously (Russian Orthodox), the few memories I remember include my baptism and being told about who God is, and my grandma took all that stuff seriously and tried to get me and my brother in on it as well. Yet my foreskin seems to be attached to my penis proper.
I don't know if it's just the branch of Christianity or something to account for the difference. Any other Greeks, Russians, maybe Coptic Egyptians who can comment and add their input?
TL;DR I disagree.
Circumcision isn't a Christian thing, it's among others a Jewish one, but it's been incorporated into the general US population
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