Don’t be so quick to throw around that “our religion…” 
Law, not custom.
Well, to equate “female circumcision” (which is a misnomer) with male circumcision is like comparing a splinter with a cannonball wound.
Let’s hope not, thank you very much.
Incidentally, we recently covered this whole debate not to long ago. You can find it here.
Zev Steinhardt
I don’t want to unleash another circumcision debate, so let me just say that in the view of many (though certainly not all) pediatricians, physicians, and epidemiologists, infant male circumcision is clearly the wisest course. Only infant male circumcision reduces UTI risk and its consequent dangers and completely eliminates the possibility of penile cancer, for some examples. Circumcision later in life is far more painful and is significantly less effective in preventing disease.
A parent who wishes the best outcomes for their son will circumcise their son as an infant; to do otherwise is at least somewhat irresponsible. To advocate otherwise is roughly equivalent to arguing that parents should wait until the child is 18 to immunize him!
That’s it, now you’ve done it… 
:: hear the rumbling in the distance ::
:: running and hiding in fear of another circ debate ::
Zev Steinhardt
Oh, it’s delicious.* Too bad your beliefs don’t permit it.
This reminds me of the joke of the Rabbi and the Priest .
*Confession: I’m really not all that crazy about pork. If I had to go my entire life without it, it really wouldn’t be a sacrifice. ;j
Yep, this is way off course for this thread, isn’t it? And just when I felt like we were getting somewhere with the interesting stuff.
I appreciate your attempt to speak out on an issue you feel strongly about, but maybe it would be better to start a new thread on the medical issues surrounding infant circumcision so we can focus on the perfection/imperfection of humans and gods issue here.
(IANAMod, just someone who got whiplash with the hijack)
I thought it important to leave your entire post, to aid understanding.
If I hadn’t been corrupted, by my culture, learning and environment, I might be able to give you a better answer, but I’m still striving to reach my God-given perfection (it’s taking longer than I thought 
). But I’m not copping out.
I was born with a body that, in a minor way, would not live up to a human biologist’s definition of a ‘perfect human body.’ But, I think God made me perfect just the way I was. He/She (wish we had a gender neutral singular personal pronoun) made me in a way that would give me necessary challenges, motivate me in the right ways and give me all the tools I needed to… uh… become. become whatever it is that is my highest level of perfection. I don’t think I’ve made it yet, but I’ve seen some interesting signposts.
Sometimes things like miscarriages, abortions, birth defects may be more for the parents than the individual. This starts getting into “the mysterious ways of God” and I don’t want to get too deep into that, for how can we know God’s intention until we realize our perfection?
And yes, this is a matter of faith for me. Through a revelation some years ago (personal? divine? I don’t know except it was a sudden reversal of my earlier thinking) I came to the conclusion that ‘there are no mistakes in the Universe.’ I’m not sure that “mistakes” is quite the right word; it’s kinda hard to translate what I heard into English. Maybe it’s no errors, or nothing unplanned, or whatever. Anyway, the idea is that all is a part of a huge interaction, and nothing happens without some reason for it to happen. It was hard for me to swallow at first, but as time went on I saw that, in my case anyway, it held true. Things that seemed perplexing when they happened, made sense a few years down the road. It might just be 20-20 hindsight, but I’m choosing to think not, as a matter of faith in the source of the revelation.
Imagine that child you are babysitting. Perhaps the doctors think she/he is imperfect, but then look at what this child is doing to the parents, the doctors, and to you. Perhaps this child is fulfilling a greater purpose than just being a perfect Gerber™ Baby. I think this child is teaching you. Open your heart for the lesson.
Teeth yes, appendix, no. Other bodily parts (“parts is parts, Vern!”), yes, misc.
Foreskin, yes, and I don’t think that sullied me or anyone else.
Some of our teachings? Yes I think we have been sullied, but the details there rightly belong to another thread.
If a child has dreams these days and those dreams turn out to happen a few days later, many would come down on that child in order to try to repress that God-given ability. "Does not your scripture say, “Ye are gods?” “Whatsoever I do, so ye too, can do. And greater things than these can you do.”
vs.
“Johnny! Cut that out! You can’t do healing, only Jesus could do that.”
and
“All that religion is just old superstition.”
and
“UriGeller bending forks? Haw, haw, haw! People don’t have spiritual abilities!”
The OP asked if it was necessary to be circumcised to be perfect, not whether physical acts sullied a person’s perfection. I don’t think these kinds of things make one more perfect or less perfect.
S
SnakeSpirit, post #26 is particularly of interest to me. I hear what you are saying and share your thinking.
I’ve just begun reading Living Buddha, Living Christ by Thich Nhat Hanh, a Vietnamese monk with a respect for Christian teachings. What you said reminds me of some things he has written over the years about the inner-connectedness of things. In my own opinion, it is sort of an extention of the New Testament teaching of how all things work together for the good.
But I think that “all things” would have to include our imperfections – and that is something that Nhat writes about.
Anyway, I think you would find his books interesting and meaty.
Pax
Which religions recommend that their members all extract teeth or apendixes? The OP is talking about doing something because you’re told god finds favor in it, not for medical reasons.
I’ll bet you’re right. ON my reading list. Thanks.
Sssssss
Snakespirit,
Thanks for such a thorough and clear post. I agree 150%. I believe every single thing you stated, with the minor addition that I allow the use of the term “imperfection” where you use “challenge.” I’m not tied into the idea of perfection on the physical plane, so I’m OK saying we’re imperfect.
Yes, I absolutely believe that when seemingly bad things happen to good or “innocent” people, they are growth opportunities given to us by the Divine (or our Higher Selves, but that’s another thread).
Yay, I’m glad we have a thread where we were able to discuss out what we thought and believed, and I feel like in the end I came to the realization that we don’t, in fact, disagree. I like it when that happens!