Because I think God makes sense...

If there's one thing I can't stand, it's an illogical argument.

I don't think that God is something any of us can really "get," at least not in our current state of existence. That said, I think God makes sense. The only thing that I think surpasses God's great rational and logical-ness, is God's love. The only time God's answers don't make logical sense are when the answer is, "because of love." And who knows, maybe our logic is just too limited to properly incorporate love? And because God makes sense, the Universe makes sense, whether or not we understand all the "rules" that govern it. Since the physical world and the God that created it make sense, I think it would behoove us to make some sense ourselves.

Which leads me to something that is really pissing me off.

A friend of mine recently made an argument against circumcision that was, and remains, rational, logical, sensible. Modern medicine has shown that whatever "benefits" the procedure has are easily equalled or surpassed by better hygene in the modern world. My friend's whole argument was based on reason, logic and medical fact. I was convinced.

And wow, you should hear people scream! You'd have thought my friend suggested sacrificing kittens in a Satanic ritual on the steps of the National Cathedral!

Ok, I thought, stop screaming and tell me your argument in favor of it. I come at this from a relatively neutral point of view: circumcision is a cultural oddity, once considered to have medical benefits, and some people have stuck with it as a tradition. I'm always willing to hear someone's argument.

Except, there hasn't been one. Interestingly enough, people have responded to the whole question one of two ways. Less common are the people that say, "Yeah, can't believe we all thought that was necessary. Times move on, we know better now." More common, however, have been the people that rant and rave about "tradition." They talk about the power of the Bris as a Jewish ceremony (funny aside, none of these folks are actually Jews!), and how the power of God's spirit is clearly present in it. They also talk about the supposed medical benefits, which, really, is kind of silly. Yes, being circumcized was found to reduce the instance of HIV infection in straight men in high risk populations (particularly parts of Africa). Well, ok, why stop there. We could all avoid colds by cutting off our hands, since that's the top way all those germs get to your mouth and nose. Of course, frequent washing would keep all parts of one's self cleaner, and (ooh, here's a shocking idea!), condoms, fidelity, and other responsible sexual conduct would probably make a really huge impact on HIV rates! (I mean, come on, this is sex ed 101 stuff here.)

I don't know about you, but I'd rather wash my... er... hands... than cut them off to prevent illness.

I like a good rant, but I can't stand people that try and pass off illogical feelings as an argument for something. "I feel emotionally attatched to this," is honest. "This has to be respected because this is how it was always done," is stupid. And, frankly, kind of offensive. If we start maintaining institutions based solely on their longevity in our culture, or world culture, we're in a lot of trouble. (Ok, in all fairness, we do and we are, but damnit, we really shouldn't!)

One of the big bitches that Jesus had with the Jews of his own day was that they were putting the details, like tradition and ceremony, ahead of the big picture, like God's basic commandments. Jesus' work wasn't about following tradition, it was about how you treated people. Or, as the Bible puts it, it isn't what goes into your mouth that makes you unlclean, it's what comes out.

So in my best estimation, illogical arguments are a hell of a lot more unclean than anyone's uncircumsized penis is. Maybe we should start trimming some people's lips, before their illogical thoughts have us all cowering superstitiously in caves.

Ok, end of rant...