The Dangers of Circumcision
I'm doing a yearly reading of the Bible and let me tell you that sometimes I am even surprised with the excitement you find in the most random places. In Genesis 34 the story of Dinah is told and basically she's taken, raped, and then the bad guys try to get permission from her father, Jacob, to marry and make things right. Well, it didn't go too well and Jacob (Israel) got everyone to agree to circumcision and when the pain was at it's peak, no pun intended, his sons ran into the village and killed all the men.
I haven't read past this point, but I know Jacob was upset his sons did this, and it doesn't really say how God felt about it, but the story just goes to show us that sometimes getting circumcised can be dangerous, especially if you're trying to cover up the rape of a man's daughter by marrying. That's not a good way to impress a woman's father and will probably get you slaughtered by avenging brothers.
Life lessons can sometimes be so painful.
I encourage you to read the entire passage, it's very interesting, and also there is the lego version entitled Rape, Treachery, and Slaughter.
I haven't read past this point, but I know Jacob was upset his sons did this, and it doesn't really say how God felt about it, but the story just goes to show us that sometimes getting circumcised can be dangerous, especially if you're trying to cover up the rape of a man's daughter by marrying. That's not a good way to impress a woman's father and will probably get you slaughtered by avenging brothers.
Life lessons can sometimes be so painful.
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| From The Brick Testament |
eek! That's crazy! I like your blog, I'll be following.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Zoe! It is crazy...I have really wanted to write about some of this craziness lately. I will try to put the best of it up here.
ReplyDeleteIt is crazy indeed. But people do whatever they like.
ReplyDeleteCircumcision is a natural thing in the Philippines. All boys undergo this ritual before they reach adulthood. I haven't heard of someone who had gone berserk because of the pain of circumcision. Anyway, this passage somehow made fun of the process...
ReplyDeleteyour-insights, thank you for your post. Most Americans also get circumcised soon after birth, and it is very true of Christians and I can only assume that Israelites also continue with their practice on the eighth day after birth.
ReplyDeleteIt was written to be tongue-in-cheek, a bit silly, you know? I am 100% in agreement with circumcision and believe it to be a very wise thing to do, both Biblically and from a health perspective.
The people who went berserk were the brothers of Dinah, the girl who was raped and I don't believe that Jacob, their father, ever intended to kill them men. They were supposed to be circumcised so that their union would be Godly--it was God's law.
I used the Brick Testament website to get a more comical approach and get a picture. I don't think I could have found a less graphic picture anywhere else on the internet! :)
I completely agree with circumcision--I'm sorry that you misunderstood the way I wrote. I understand that the Philippines are very religious and primarily Catholic so I can imagine what you might have thought I was saying! Don't worry, I didn't mean anything bad.