2 Now I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who receives circumcision that he is bound to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.
According to Paul, being circumcised or not was of no consequence, in the sense that it did not help one to achieve salvation. At worst, it was an impediment to salvation and, in general, subordinate to something else (see further Gal. 3.28 and 6.15; cf. also 1 Cor.
Christianity and circumcision
Circumcision is not laid down as a requirement in the New Testament. Instead, Christians are urged to be "circumcised of the heart" by trusting in Jesus and his sacrifice on the cross. As a Jew, Jesus was himself circumcised (Luke 2:21; Colossians 2:11-12).
For the Galatians in this context, to receive circumcision – the ritual that testified that a Gentile was coming under the law – meant that he no longer trusted in Jesus as His righteousness, but trusted in himself instead. So Paul could say “Christ will profit you nothing.”
The commandment to circumcise was a covenant made with Abraham and is recorded in Genesis 17:10–14, reading: 'And God spoke to Abraham saying: … This is my covenant which you shall keep between me and you and thy seed after you — every male child among you shall be circumcised.
Despite the fact that Christianity does not require circumcision of its followers, some Oriental Christian denominations retained the practice of male circumcision, and males are generally required to be circumcised shortly after birth as part of a rite of passage.
According to the Torah and Halakha (Jewish religious law), ritual circumcision of all male Jews and their slaves (Genesis 17:10–13) is a Commandment from God that Jews are obligated to perform on the eighth day of birth, and is only postponed or abrogated in the case of threat to the life or health of the child.
There are 75 references to circumcision in the Greek New Testament. The English translations do not show all of these - they leave some out for stylistic reasons, and they reword others to make the meaning clear.
Paul's point is that either salvation is through faith in Christ alone, or it is through circumcision and the law. It cannot be both. Any addition of works, of any kind, is not the same as a gospel of salvation by grace through faith (Romans 11:6). To choose one is to reject the other.
It is absolutely clear that God has called you to a free life. Just make sure that you don't use this freedom as an excuse to do whatever you want to do and destroy your freedom. Rather, use your freedom to serve one another in love; that's how freedom grows.
Circumcision was different in the time of David and is actually correctly noted in the statue with just the tip of the foreskin removed. It wouldn't become a more common practice to completely remove the skin until roman times. Michelangelo, by all accounts, is accurate to David's time.
Anthropologists agree that amongst the Polynesians, Aborigines and South American tribes, circumcision probably started as a test of bravery and endurance, a ritual mutilation, a sacrificial spilling of blood, rather than the initiation rite it has become in recent centuries.
Circumcision Benefits
A reduced risk of some sexually transmitted diseases in men. Protection against penile cancer and a lower risk of cervical cancer in female sex partners. Prevention of balanitis (inflammation of the glans) and balanoposthitis (inflammation of the glans and foreskin)
Warning Against Circumcision
5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is of any avail, but faith working through love. 7 You were running well; who hindered you from obeying the truth?
The possible medical benefits of circumcision include: A lower risk of HIV. A slightly lower risk of other sexually transmitted diseases. A slightly lower risk of urinary tract infections and penile cancer.
According to some ḥadīth reports, Muhammad was born without a foreskin (a birth defect and medical condition known as aposthia), while others maintain that his grandfather, ʿAbd al-Muṭṭalib, circumcised him when he was seven days old.
Paul wrote to the Saints in Galatia because he was deeply concerned that they were straying from the Lord by following the teachings of some who sought to “pervert the gospel” (see Galatians 1:6–7).
Paul described these different paths in vivid detail in Romans 1. Then he boldly declared which path he had chosen to follow: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth” (Romans 1:16).
Galatians 3:1-5
Paul is extremely upset that the Galatians have so easily fallen away from the gospel message that he recently preached to them. In two rhetorical questions, Paul demonstrates how foolish it is for them to think that they can gain a right standing with God through obeying the law rather than by faith.
Results. Jesus Christ was circumcised as a Jew on the 8th day after his birth. Until 1960 the Catholic church celebrated the day as Circumcision Day. In medieval times the holy foreskin was worshipped in many European churches.
In the Torah, God commands Abraham to undergo circumcision at age 99, as part of a covenant between Him and generations of Jews to come. "This is My covenant which you shall keep, between Me and you and thy descendants after thee, every male among you shall be circumcised.
Jesus Christ was born as a Jew and, thus, was circumcised on the 8th day after his birth. “And when the eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb” (Luke, chapter 2, verse 21).
Foreskin (עָרלָה, orlah', a native term for this special rite; Greek ἀκροβυστία ;' both used in their literal and metaphorical meaning), the prepuce or projecting fold of skin in the distinctive member of the male sex, which was removed in circumcision, so as to leave the glans penis artificially uncovered.
Male circumcision is the removal of the prepuce [1]. It is one of the most common procedures performed in the world and makes up over 10% of pediatric urology cases [2]. An estimated 58.3% of male newborns and 80.5% of males aged 14-59 years in the United States are circumcised [3,4].
[10] This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.