Circumcision today
Is circumcision for infant boys biblicaly necessary or optional? Do medical effects have any impact on this choice? Is it purely tradition to circumcise, or why is the U.S. mainly the only country that circumcises and mostly for non-medical traditions? What does the WELS teach parents in this decision making process? Should infant boys be circumcised and why or why not? Thank you for taking the time to answer this question.
While circumcision was a requirement for God’s Old Testament people of Israel, it is no longer obligatory for followers of God in the New Testament age. The New Testament makes that clear. “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing. Keeping God’s commands is what counts” (1 Corinthians 7:19). “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love” (Galatians 5:6). “Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation” (Galatians 6:15). Circumcision was part of God’s Old Testament ceremonial laws.
Circumcision for health and hygienic reasons today is a parental decision.