I would like to know why the custom of circumcision ?

Question

spread from the Jews to the rest of the world, especially the West.

Answer 1

Health concerns.

Answer 2

I remember in 6th grade s*x education they said it was for health reasons.

Answer 3

The fact that circumcision is so popular in the US has little to do with religion. Circumcision did start off as a Jewish tradition and is still a religious rite of passage among Jews worldwide (honoring God's covenant with Abraham).

However, modern circumcision was actually popularized in the west by non-jews as a means of preventing masturbation. In the 1800's masturbation was viewed as a mental illness which led to all kinds of "diseases" (insanity, homosexuality, etc). Dr. Harvey Kellogg among other notibles in the profession promoted circumcision among the general male population claiming that lack of f******n would prevent a boy from masturbating and therefore cure the disorder. People bought it for years. Then it became routine to have it done at birth and hospitals just assumed that parents would want it anyway so it wasn't questioned.

The circumcised p***s became standard in the US, so much so that even medical books no longer included pictures of the intact p***s or the f******n. Doctors were trained to view the f******n as superfluous and it became the common belief that lack of f******n made it easier to keep the p***s clean making circumcision medically preferable. Doctors also didn't believe that babies felt pain the way that adults do and told parents that circumcision was a simple, painless "quick little snip". Since most men were circumcised in the US, a circumcised p***s was considered asthetically preferable and the f******n was viewed as odd. Parents wanted their sons to look like daddy, thus the trend continued despite advancing knowledge that neonatal circumcision has no medical benefits.

Routine circumcision was eventually abandoned in the UK and Canada and Australia have recently followed suit. The US is still kind of behind the times when it comes to keeping babies intact. Doctors who profit from circumcision continue to find new ways of justifying the procedure to parents (even though it's a declining practice in the US). Elsewhere in the developed world, circumcision is viewed as cosmetic at best (the reason healthcare will not cover it). People know know that circumcision is physically traumatic for babies and that the American Society of Pediactrics no longer recommends the procedure. The medical establishment as well as the general public in the US has been conditioned to believe that circumcision is normal, healthy, harmless and more asthetic than a natural p***s. American's have also been blinded to everything that is potentially lost due to circumcision (15 sq inches of skin and 20,000 nerves), as well as the risks involved with the procedure and the physical discomfort infant boys must endure when going through it. The common attitude is that they won't remember it later so it's okay.

Answer 4

Well, the Jews were able to prove to the world that the circumcised p***s just didn't look as gruesome and made the p***s look larger.

Answer 5

I think this video does a REALLY good job of showing how circumcision changed from a minority religious practice, to a societal norm. Its really quite eye opening. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4unKTMpB...

The very earliest causes behind this were victorian attitudes towards masturbation actually. It was reasoned that if you remove the skin, there is a lot less there to play with. (you have to understand, these people were so terrified of masturbation that they devised p***s cages with spikes to prevent accidental erections). Early physicians (and one Mr Kellogg, of Kellogg's cereal fame) even advocated circumcision as a punishment for boys caught masturbating- best done with no anesthetic and after a stern talking to. Naturally from this comes te idea that if stopping masturbation is good, prevention is even better, so they started circumcising babies "for their own good" before they had a chance to develop such an evil vice.

Through the years masturbation became accepted, but circumcision stayed. (yes, we all know that circumcised guys can m********e- but not quite as easily as intact guys)

Seriously, watch the slide show - very eye opening. -Neb

Answer 6

It was a good idea health-wise.

Answer 7

The word holy means set apart or different from the rest God wanted it done so his people could be holy.

Answer 8

It was started by Abraham who was appointed leader of nations by God Almighty. Its is a means of purification. While Jews and Muslims still circumcize, the Christians have abononed it under the influence of St. Paul.

When wars occur, it proves ultimate sign of recognition of our brother from our foe. It also lessens the chances of cancer considerably.

                          Muhammad Javed Iqbal

Answer 9

Here's a nice science article on it..

http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14...

Answer 10

Yes it did spread via Christianity but it is not obligatory upon them or anyone else.  It was a part of the Mosaic Law where circumcism was given as a sign that the Jewish nation were God's chosen ones during the time God's covenant with them was in effect.  

It was certainly beneficial healthwise since they were in the desert for 40 years when God gave them this law.  Circumcism was performed on newborn boys, the 8th day after birth the only time when the bloodclotting factor was the highest.

Many Christians today still have male circumcism.  In some lands in Europe it is less common than in the US.

Edit:  God first made circumcism mandatory for Abraham a year before Isaac's birth.  Every male in his household of both his descendants and dependents were included.

Answer 11

It's not really popular in the West any longer.

It's not done for non-religious reasons in Europe including the UK, it's currently rare in Canada, Australia and New Zealand, the USA is the last Western country doing it but only 50% of babies are circumcised now.

It was promoted by religious people, also promoted to curb masturbation in the early 1900s when that was thought to be a sin. Since then people (mostly circumcised men not wanting to admit they are missing something good for no reason) have tried to find medical reasons for it, but none of those have been proven!

It is not a requirement of Christianity and most Christians worldwide are not circumcised.

Harriet

Answer 12

Christianity

Answer 13

It became popular during the Victorian era as a method to prevent masturbation and later spread to the US for such bogus and disgusting reason among others. The rate was near 90% a few decade ago but now it is around 55% since people are becoming less ignorant and realize that it is mutilation and a human rights violation.

Doctors can make a few hundred dollars for less than an hour of work to perform a circumcision. A large portion of the medical community has no problem with doing something that is completely unethical as long as they make money off of it. This is because the US has a profit based health-care system and dishonesty is punished much less often than not.

Answer 14

Jews are ordained to be circumcised as a symbol of the covenant with Abraham, that this should be the mark of the nation of g_d.

Answer 15

Because cutting the skin off the p***s of newborns is actually pretty funny.  Torturing newborns is fun for EVERYONE...