Comments on: Why didn’t the Jews circumcise their women? http://www.thelandofunlikeness.com/2007/10/26/why-didnt-the-jews-circumcise-their-women/ Catholic Anglican Reflections on Theology and Culture Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:48:28 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.3 By: Janet Leslie Blumberg http://www.thelandofunlikeness.com/2007/10/26/why-didnt-the-jews-circumcise-their-women/#comment-406 Janet Leslie Blumberg Tue, 30 Oct 2007 19:29:43 +0000 http://www.thelandofunlikeness.com/2007/10/26/why-didnt-the-jews-circumcise-their-women/#comment-406 A.D.: Fascinating post. Don't forget that the body of Christ is gendered feminine in Ephesians 5, in the long passage about marriage being a mystical sign of the union of Christ with his Body the Church. Even in his earthly male body, Jesus of Nazareth gave up the exercise of male sexuality in favor of dying for the church. "Isaiah" on the suffering servant is so poignant. By his death we are healed and so forth. It also says that in that suffering "he rejoiced to see his seed." The children begotten of the travail of the suffering servant. The passion of Christ on the cross is a "travailing in birth," one of the most beautiful images in all of scripture, if I may say so as a woman. This set up for centuries the tradition of the humility of the true Christian as opposed to the pride of the culture of male virility in the Greco-Roman world. (This conflict between blood revenge and Christian values is going on in the background of "Hamlet," and Hamlet's indecision, I think.) The first martyr in Britain was killed by his co-legionaires because they worshipped the god Mithras, born of a virgin, who slew the world bull and shed its blood, but here Alban worshipped this effeminate sissy Christ who just let himself be sacrificed for others. (This choice in following Christ comes up powerfully in Shusako Endo's "Silence," btw, which as you know, we'll started discussing soon, in November.) Finally, isn't the powerful distinction between the rapists of Sodom and molesters of boys on the one hand, and on the other hand, faithful committed love between two men or two women, at the heart of the cultural work that we need to do in the coming decades? The film American Beauty was so good because it tackled the difference between taking advantage and not taking advantage.... These are really not well worked out in our society. And we sometimes glamorize as "romantic," behaviors that are destructive.... A.D.: Fascinating post. Don’t forget that the body of Christ is gendered feminine in Ephesians 5, in the long passage about marriage being a mystical sign of the union of Christ with his Body the Church. Even in his earthly male body, Jesus of Nazareth gave up the exercise of male sexuality in favor of dying for the church. “Isaiah” on the suffering servant is so poignant. By his death we are healed and so forth. It also says that in that suffering “he rejoiced to see his seed.” The children begotten of the travail of the suffering servant.

The passion of Christ on the cross is a “travailing in birth,” one of the most beautiful images in all of scripture, if I may say so as a woman. This set up for centuries the tradition of the humility of the true Christian as opposed to the pride of the culture of male virility in the Greco-Roman world. (This conflict between blood revenge and Christian values is going on in the background of “Hamlet,” and Hamlet’s indecision, I think.)

The first martyr in Britain was killed by his co-legionaires because they worshipped the god Mithras, born of a virgin, who slew the world bull and shed its blood, but here Alban worshipped this effeminate sissy Christ who just let himself be sacrificed for others. (This choice in following Christ comes up powerfully in Shusako Endo’s “Silence,” btw, which as you know, we’ll started discussing soon, in November.)

Finally, isn’t the powerful distinction between the rapists of Sodom and molesters of boys on the one hand, and on the other hand, faithful committed love between two men or two women, at the heart of the cultural work that we need to do in the coming decades? The film American Beauty was so good because it tackled the difference between taking advantage and not taking advantage…. These are really not well worked out in our society. And we sometimes glamorize as “romantic,” behaviors that are destructive….

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