Religion is nuts

[c.d.]

Once at a law firm I worked on a case involving a botched circumcision on an infant. I had to do research on the average settlement in these types of cases. The research showed they occur with more frequency than you would think.

I also had a front row seat for a circumcision. Jewish friends of mine who had a Rabbi perform the procedure in their home in front of invited guests. They invited some neighbors who had a young son about 11 or 12. They were not Jewish and the boy apparently had never heard of circumcision. Finally his curiosity got the better of him and he said in an astonished voice "they're doing WHAT to that baby?"

c.d.

[Errata]

It may not be a big deal when a boy is very young, but according to the guy who operated on me it becomes more of a problem the older the male is....

I had to be "done" for medical reasons aged 25.... it was a right old performance...

Do you wish that it had been done when you were an infant?

[Errata]

Once at a law firm I worked on a case involving a botched circumcision on an infant. I had to do research on the average settlement in these types of cases. The research showed they occur with more frequency than you would think.


c.d.

Yeah I hear about botched circumcisions, although I have actually never heard of one happening at a Bris... only at hospitals.

From what I understand, the tool mostly used at a Bris (which is kind of a u shaped instrument with the inner edges sharpened) seriously limits the amount of damage that can be done. Hospitals (and some Mohels) use a scalpel, so there's really no end of bad things that could happen.

I suppose it's also possible than an audience would make a Mohel extra careful.

[cappuccina]

Johns - I completely agree with you that the procedure is much more difficult for older boys and men...I was referring to circumcising infants...

[c.d.]

Here is one of my favorite jokes:

A man is walking down the street with an infant in his arms stopping to ask people where he can find a Mohel. He is directed to a store at the end of the street. There is a sign out front reading Mohel and in the window is a large clock. The man enters and asks the proprietor if he is a Mohel. When he answers yes, the man says “if you are a Mohel, how come you have a clock in the window? The Mohel says “so what would you put in the window?”

c.d.

[c.d.]

The book of Medical Malpractice cases that I looked at had some interesting stuff. A lot of cases where sponges were left in people after surgery and cases where the surgeon operated on the wrong limb. When I had knee surgery not too long ago, before I was taken into surgery, the surgeon wrote on the correct knee with a magic marker.

c.d.

[The Good Michael]

Here is one of my favorite jokes:

A man is walking down the street with an infant in his arms stopping to ask people where he can find a Mohel. He is directed to a store at the end of the street. There is a sign out front reading Mohel and in the window is a large clock. The man enters and asks the proprietor if he is a Mohel. When he answers yes, the man says “if you are a Mohel, how come you have a clock in the window? The Mohel says “so what would you put in the window?”

c.d.

Maybe a big pick, or a long bong?

[Robert]

Thanks to the practice, we have that great line : "When they circumcised you, they threw the wrong bit away."

[Errata]

The book of Medical Malpractice cases that I looked at had some interesting stuff. A lot of cases where sponges were left in people after surgery and cases where the surgeon operated on the wrong limb. When I had knee surgery not too long ago, before I was taken into surgery, the surgeon wrote on the correct knee with a magic marker.

c.d.

Same thing happened to me when I blew out my left knee. The doctor writes "Right Knee" on my leg, and I start freaking out, but then he wrote "Wrong Knee" on my right leg.

[Stephen Thomas]

Bring back, bring back........

My oneskin lies over my twoskin

My twoskin lies over my three

My threeskin lies over my fourskin

So hack off my fourskin for me

[Natalie Severn]

.Natalie/Norma - You are absolutely spot on!! I was to Whitechapel in 1989, and I absolutely loved it. My husband and I poked around a good bit of the East End. He took some FANTASTIC B&W pics that I would love to post someday, including the abandoned ragged school before it was made into condos, and all kinds of things we found...It's so incredibly rich with history, and you can still feel the presence of the thousands of people who used to live there...along with the vibrancy of the current inhabitants...

I want to go back...

Yes,yes Caps! Its something else -it really is.
Would love to see your B&W pics!
nx

[caz]

And yet is that not what we are often told by doctors and scientists - re the MMR jab - don't have it and "X" will follow...

...And I ask this - if you thought a neighbour or a family member was doing something that seriously put her family, herself, her child, you, at risk, would you not DO something?

Hi Phil,

If I thought a parent known to me was denying their children the MMR jab, seriously putting them at risk along with any babies in the neighbourhood not yet old enough to get protected, I would certainly try to make them see sense.

I’m not sure that’s quite the answer you were looking for, but then it was probably unwise to compare sound medical advice with faith-based threats of hell and damnation. It’s not even apples and oranges; more like apples and orang-utans.

Love,

Caz
X

[Steven Russell]

It seems this thread has been derailed by circumcision issues. The original title was "Religion is Nuts".

Many posters have said something along the lines of: I believe ABC but if others believe XYZ, that's fine.

This all seems very civilized. We may have certain beliefs but still RESPECT others who do not share them.

But wait a minute. Do we have the same level of respect for those who believe in ghosts, alien abductions, or bigfoot? There is at least as much evidence for all of these things (perhaps more) as there is for the existence of God.

We have seen on other threads that religion can be a force for good as well as evil. But that is not the point. There is absolutely no credible evidence that God exists. This being the case, we need to try our best to make the world a better place without worrying about whether or not He would approve.

Best,
Steve.

[Errata]

But wait a minute. Do we have the same level of respect for those who believe in ghosts, alien abductions, or bigfoot? There is at least as much evidence for all of these things (perhaps more) as there is for the existence of God.

Best,
Steve.

I respect people who believe in ghosts and bigfoot. Not so much alien abductions, but mostly because I believe SOMETHING happened to those people and they are avoiding addressing the real problem by focusing on alien abduction as the explanation. So in that case I think it's unhealthy, not that they are idiots, or crazy or something.

As for the other, our Rabbi taught us that the only way to do G-d's will was to act as though he doesn't exist. If we ever think "oh I don't have to do something to help this man, G-d will watch over him" then we have seriously failed in our obligation to other humans. There are all kinds of parables in Judaism illustrating this point. So despite the fact I believe a god exists, I don't think you're wrong.

I will not condemn homosexuals just because most people think the bible tells me to. It's the wrong thing to do. And maybe that's not actually what the bible is saying, or maybe it is and the bible is wrong. But I won't do it, and if any god wants to punish me for that, so be it. I will take that punishment rather than hurt anther person like that. In my head, G-d's a big boy, if he wants something done, he is perfectly capable of doing it himself. He certainly doesn't need me to do it for him. I mean, if a guy holds a gun to my head and tells me to kill my sister I'm not doing that either. I am the keeper of my moral code. And I don't care who is giving orders, I'm not changing on someone elses say so. Divine or not.

[brummie]

Let me say from the off I don't subscribe to any religion or believe in any supreme deity, thats my choice, and if others choose to believe in yheir own form of God thats their choice.

Where I have a problem is not that religion is nuts but that it can turn people into nuts.Too many people see their idea of religion as the only correct way and try to impose those beliefs on others whether by constant vilification of those who dont agree with their beliefs or in extreme cases by direct actions.

History has shown that extreme beliefs lead to extreme actions whether the Inquisition,the witch trials or the fundamentalist terrorism of today. Even today I believe groups of obnoxious low lifes attempt to disrupt funerals of US servicemen killed in action out of some twisted quasi religious ideology.
So my problem is not with religion,or even the vast majority of believers but the strange hold religion can have over some individuals.