Circumcision with regards to the major 3 religions

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Religious Male Circumcision With Respect To Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Introduction
Male circumcision is practiced as a religious rite which generally occurs shortly after birth, during childhood and around puberty. Circumcision is prevalent in Judaism and Islam, but also practiced in predominantly Christian religion. Male circumcision is also widely practiced for medical reasons where religious circumcision is comparatively rare. The religious circumcision is practiced as a rite of passage found in the Hebrew bible as part of Abrahamic covenant, and as such it is practiced therefore by Jews, Muslims and Christians as they constitute the Abrahamic religions. This essay will examine how the three major religions perceive male circumcision and comparison of the different that disapproves circumcision.
Circumcision Historical Background
There is no certainty of the male circumcision origin, but there are suggestions that the procedure could have originated from Egypt and spread throughout the heliolithic cultures during prehistoric migration. This evidence is depicted in Egyptian mummies and carvings of circumcision dating more than 6000 years. This procedure was performed to improve the male hygiene before the biblical times. The circumcision of male infants came later as part of the Abrahamic covenant with God giving rise to religious circumcision that continues to date in the Jewish and Muslim faiths. The circumcision of male infant is currently advocated by the western culture as a preventive health measure.
Circumcision is usually performed for social, religious and health reasons. The procedure has been suggested that in was performed in the 19th century as a means of preventing masturbation and tuberculosis, but many lobbyists have advocated against the procedure. Currently, the male circumcision is performed as a routine procedure by the Jews and Muslims for religious reasons and a customary in some Oriental Orthodox and Christian churches in Africa. The prevalence of male circumcision in world is about 33% in the US Canada and Islamic people in Africa, but the prevalence is low in Europe about 1.5% due to high debate of its ethics, law and the different roles of the procedure (Totaro, Volpe and Racioppi). Male circumcision is practiced as a protective measure currently and the improvement of hygienically conditions.
Circumcision in Judaism
The ritual circumcision of the male children is a commandment from God according to the Jewish law which all Jews are obligated to follow. This ritual is only postponed in cases of threat to the life of the child. Jews do not believe that non-Jews are obligated to follow this commandment since only the Noahide laws that apply to non-Jews. Sabbath and circumcision offer a symbolic characteristic of the Jewish people to hold fast to the covenant with God.
Circumcision of the Jews is the removal of the inner epithelium in a procedure they call uncovering, which is also removed in the modern medical circumcision. The Jewish circumcision has been performed since the settlement of Israel land (Glick). Circumcision is a positive commandment that is obligatory to the Jewish born males and for non circumcised Jewish male converts. The ritual is usually performed at the eighth day of life with respect to the Jewish law unless in a case of life threatening situation. This rite is considered to be of importance such that uncircumcised Jewish has to be circumcised before being buried. Although this practice has been regarded as barbaric, it has remained as a central rite.
Three procedures are involved with respect to Jewish circumcision that include the cutting of the foreskin, the uncovering of the epithelium which was deemed essential for circumcision to comply with Gods covenant. The final step of the procedure is the squeezing of blood from the wound. Any one born without the foreskin is regarded as the privilege of the most sanity of people from Adam who was made in the image of God, and thus, circumcision is to render Abraham and his descendants perfect. The circumcision of Abraham on the Day of Atonement shed the blood of the covenant before God which serves as an anointing power. Moreover, the Hebrew slaves who had been prevented to perform the rite underwent the circumcision after Passover time and mingled the blood of paschal lamb with t hat of the Abrahamic covenant.
The ritual of circumcision among the Jews is entitled to initiate newborn male child to a covenant that was established between God and Abraham. Genesis chapter seventeen shows how god told Abraham that he will make him exceedingly fertile and deliver all his descendants to the land of Canaan provided that he get circumcised and promise that all his descendants will be circumcised at the eighth day of their life. The Jewish expects their boys to be circumcised so as to honor the covenant with God. Circumcision is a Devine command for Jews who are religious observant by fulfilling the explicit instruction of their Creator.
Circumcision in Christianity
Circumcision in Christianity is directly opposite to the belief of Jewish circumcision in that the Jewish treasure the practice as a proof that they are the lord chosen people. The Christians have cited circumcision as a proof that Jews are too fixed on the physical concerns to have the hope for salvation. Christian believes true circumcision is not to put confidence in the fresh, but to have faith in the Lord. The meaning of circumcision became central to the difference between Christianity and its parent religion of Judaism (Glick). The first Christians set out to convert fellow Jews to the new doctrine of faith in sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus, whom was recognized as the long awaited Jewish messiah. The sacrifice of the messiah rescued Jews from the law of ritual precepts that defined them as people apart from all others.
This opened for individual salvation and the prospect of eternal life in spirit. The Jews had to centre on temple rituals but on faith and spirituality, but were indifferent to the message since it made no sense that the messiah imagined had accepted his fate passively through dying an ignominious death. The people who responded to the message were the gentiles who had no experience on torah Judaism. The admission of the gentiles to the fellowship was due to understanding that they were entering in a Jewish community, the disciples of Jesus (Glick). The instances of converting to Judaism had to be abandoned because they posed the obstacle of the most daunting requirement and thus could not serve as the avenue to the new doctrine. Judaism was considered a religion of one people which was set apart by the adherence of the law that required separation by the physical practice on the matters of the flesh. Circumcision, dietary taboos and animal sacrifices were some of prohibition to convert to Judaism.
The new message was death and resurrection of Jesus that rendered the rituals practices in Judaism religion meaningless. Christianity does not put the matter in the flesh but on spiritual rebirth and renewal. The abandonment of circumcision made many gentiles to be converted to the new fellowship since circumcision was the single-most barrier had been forsaken. The physical and ethnic characteristics were of no important since all that mattered was belief in Jesus as the Messiah (Glass). Christianity asks nothing in the way of Judaism rituals but does not expect men to accept circumcision. Christianity saw nothing counting with respect to circumcision because it is only through faith ...