Is America Evil?

by Orthodox1 51 Replies latest jw friends

  • scotoma
    scotoma

    King Solomon,

    Yes I believe everyone is entitled to their own opinions. We all have opinions. We swim in an ocean of opinions. That's the way our brains work. Fortunately we aren't bound by facts but can use our imaginations to open new doors. Facts become important when it's time to reach a decision on some specific action or community project. Some areas of life require diagnostic thinking which is a hodge podge of intuitions, hypothesis, best practices, urgency, emergency etc. For example: to circumcise your baby boy or not.

    Being an atheist I tend to look at circumcision as ritual mutilation of sexual organs. For years I have argued against it. Kids just need to practice good hygene and there won't be any problem. Apparently that was just a matter of my opinion. Now doctors are saying that the benefits of circumcision for public health greatly exceed any risk, pain or inconvenience. This is hard for me to accept because I have ridiculed it for so long based on its association with Biblical covenants.

    Pure opinion? What about contaminated facts?

    There is no need for an arrogant lecture about fact and fiction. Just think of my comment on Babylon the Great as a working hypothesis.

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    Scotoma, I'd recalled the opposite medical opinion regarding circumcision, so I looked it up. It turns out you were right to begin with.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_analysis_of_circumcision

  • scotoma
    scotoma

    jgnat:

    HEALTH: Circumcision pluses outweigh risks, pediatricians say

    CIRCUMCISION PLUSES OUTWEIGH RISKS: PEDIATRICIANS

    http://www.nctimes.com/lifestyles/health-med-fit/health-circumcision-pluses-outweigh-risks-pediatricians-say/article_f44cfab7-6625-5676-b824-a757794cfa09.html

    This position by American Pediatrians is referred to in the end of the Wiki article.

    By two boys were circumcised because I was a firm believer in the "divine" wisdom of the Bible. If I had to do it over I wouldn't have them circumcised for no other reason than as a protest against "Jehovah's" interest in foreskins.

    So how do you get from "the US is evil" to "circumcision is evil" . Circum-venting?

  • james_woods
    james_woods

    I would have said that Circumcision seems to be way off topic on a thread about American Evil that really turns out to be a screed for the Roman Catholic Church.

    But, then - this thread seems to be one in which there really is no topic.

  • J. Hofer
    J. Hofer

    that's true for sub saharan africa, circumcision supposedly lowers the risk of an HIV infection when no condoms are used and other risks of infection are lowered when you live in a slum. as for the western world, circumcision has no benefit at all.

  • King Solomon
    King Solomon

    J Hofer said:

    that's true for sub saharan africa, circumcision supposedly lowers the risk of an HIV infection when no condoms are used and other risks of infection are lowered when you live in a slum. as for the western world, circumcision has no benefit at all.

    Irony noted of touting benefits of circumcision in lowering risk of HIV in Africa, in a thread started by a Catholic, who's Church prohibits condom use (which could more significantly lower HIV infection than circumcision).

  • james_woods
    james_woods
    that's true for sub saharan africa, circumcision supposedly lowers the risk of an HIV infection when no condoms are used and other risks of infection are lowered when you live in a slum. as for the western world, circumcision has no benefit at all.

    Well, even if does have the (highly doubtful) result of reducing HIV infections, it is certainly not preventing HIV. Only education and condom use can really reduce HIV in 3rd world Africa. I think this whole HIV argument is a straw-man for people who have an agenda for circumcision. EDIT: Yes, everything on this thread is completely off topic, but who cares anymore? The topic police have given up on this one.

  • rather be in hades
    rather be in hades

    the interesting case of david reimer and his circumcision...rip

    i prefer sharp objects stay away from my pride and joy

  • rather be in hades
    rather be in hades

    and considering christians are supposedly not under the mosaic law anymore....what's the purpose again???

  • J. Hofer
    J. Hofer

    I read recently that a boy was born without eyelids. The doctors had to continually moisten his eyes, because he could not blink. Since they were going to circumcise him anyway, they grafted a bit of foreskin to fashion little eyelids for him. They didn't know whether it would "take."

    Happily, it worked. Of course he was always a little cockeyed after that. :-)

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