When did circumcision start in us?

Answer 1

During the Victorian era circumcision was introduced to all the country's that had roots in Britain, IE the English speaking country's. The British medical fraternity had somehow worked out that masturbation was the cause of more then 100 different diseases ranging from syphilis to insanity. Country's with close association with the British in culture and education jumped on board and fell for it hook line and sinker Australia , Canada, New Zea land and the USA started busying themselves mutilating their infants in the name of better health. within a few years a huge market was created in circumcision and related medical procedures. the reasoning behind circumcision continuing in the USA while it is by now rapidly disappearing in the other ex colony's is another interesting story.

Answer 2

It was done to discourage masturbation, by removing the foreskin the head of the penis becomes calloused, and turns masturbation into something less pleasurable and pain associated.

Today it is done for hygiene purposes. But if you do your research, you will find out that there is no reason for circumcision whatsoever. Sex doesn't feel as good, and there is no sensitivity in times when you might expect it to be there (grinding with a girl) - circumcised guys feel nothing by age 20, intact feel intense sexual pleasure.

Answer 3

It started during the time of Abraham. The tradition to circumcise on the 8th day started when Abraham circumcised Isaac when he was 8 days old.

No the Jews did not start circumcision the first recorded incidence of circumcision was noted by the ancient Egyptian where it was done to upper class Egyptian adults.

Answer 4

The earliest documented example of circumcision relates to the ancient Egyptians where it is thought the procedure was initiated among the upper class to differentiate themselves from the rest of the population.

Answer 5

The origin of Jewish circumcision is in the Torah, which is the foundation of Judaism. God told Abraham "every male among you shall be circumcised" (Gen. 17) as part of the covenant between God and the Jewish people. Abraham lived 3800 years ago.

Since that time, virtually all Jews have observed the command of circumcision (Genesis ch.17) for close to four millennia, even in times of religious persecution under the Greeks, Romans, Spaniards, Soviets and others. Circumcision is the indelible sign of God's covenant with Abraham and is just as important as Yom Kippur in terms of the stringency which the Torah places upon it. And similar to Yom Kippur, it is one of the observances which are common to Orthodox, Conservative and Reform Jews alike.

While we do not keep God's commands because of physical benefits, it is still interesting to note that circumcision has been known to offer virtually complete protection from penile cancer. According to a recent review article in the New England Journal of Medicine, none of the over 1,600 persons studied with this cancer had been circumcised in infancy. In the words of researchers Cochen and McCurdy, the incidence of penile cancer in the U.S. is "essentially zero" among circumcised men.
Also, research at Johns Hopkins University Medical School in Baltimore have shown that circumcised men are six to eight times less likely to become infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Researchers believe that protection is due to the removal of the foreskin, which contains cells that have HIV receptors which scientists suspect are the primary entry point for the HIV virus (Reuters, March 25, 2004).Several studies reported that circumcised boys were between 10 to 39 times less likely to develop urinary tract infections during infancy than uncircumcised boys. In addition, circumcision protects against bacterial, fungal, and parasitic infections and a variety of other conditions related to hygiene. The extremely low rate of Cervical cancer in Jewish women (9 to 22 times less than among non-Jewish women) is thought to be related to the practice of circumcision. As a result of studies like these, a number of prestigious medical organizations such as the California Medical Association have recognized the benefits of circumcision.As an operation, circumcision has an extremely small complication rate. A study in the New England Journal of Medicine (1990) reported a complication rate of 0.19 percent when circumcision is performed by a physician. When performed by a trained mohel, the rate falls to 0.13 percent or about 1 in 800. When a complication occurs, it is usually due to the bleeding, which is easily correctable. No other surgical procedure can boast such figures for complication-free operations.
One reason why there are so few complications involving bleeding may be that the major clotting agents, prothrombin and vitamin K, do not reach peak levels in the blood until the eighth day of life. Prothrombin levels are normal at birth, drop to very low levels in the next few days, and return to normal at the end of the first week. One study showed that by the eighth day, prothrombin levels reach 110 percent of normal. In the words of Dr. Armand J. Quick, author of several works on the control of bleeding, "It hardly seems accidental that the rite of circumcision was postponed until the eighth day by the Mosaic law."See also:

http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/144122/jewish/Brit-Milah-Circumcision.htm

http://www.milah.net/

http://judaism.about.com/od/lifeevents/a/britmilah.htm

Answer 6

Circumcision has been in practice since ancient times by both the Jewish and Muslim peoples, so it is not known exactly when or where it started.