Circumcision: what is the issue?

When God established his covenant to Abraham, he instructs him and all the males within his household to circumcise themselves. The circumcision from that point, in Genesis, became a sign of God’s covenant. Among many regulations inscribed in Torah, Circumcision, Keeping of the Sabbath, and Dietary laws were considered boundary marks that distinguished the people of God from pagan nations. During second temple period, in general a gentile could relate to the Jewish faith in different levels, they could be Sympathizers, Ethical Monotheistic or Proselytes (converts).^[1] In this process of conversion, becoming a proselyte required circumcision because circumcision to the Jew had great significance for their identity;^[2] it was the sign of their covenantal status. Rabbinic literature also informs that circumcision as able to deal with worldly passions.^[3] The general thought was that the only way for gentiles to become part of the people of God was becoming a Jew.^[4]

Paul had this same thought before his encounter with Jesus, but after his calling, he understood that Gentiles become part of God’s people through faith in Messiah Jesus; there was no need to become a proselyte. Paul understood that the church of Christ was diverse and inclusive, and circumcision would “undermine the radical inclusivity of the Gospel”.^[5] He was against gentiles to circumcise because “Judaization” wasn’t directed to them.^[6] Even in Jerusalem council there was an agreement that Gentiles didn’t need to undergo circumcision, because God was pouring out his spirit over uncircumcised in the same manner he did over the Jews.

Paul’s opponents were acting like “Judaizers”, which pertained to a group of activists defending Jewish traditions.  Despite some scholars’ opinion that the opponents were Jews, there is another possibility that the opponents could have been Gentiles proselytes.^[7] It could be “pagan sinners who mistakenly think that the law is a mechanism for being justified”.^[8] And according to Paul, they were requiring circumcision only for fear of persecution.

^[1] Matthew Thiessen, “Jewish Solution to the Gentile Problem,” essay, in Paul and the Gentile Problem (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2016), 19.

^[2] Thiessen, “Jewish”, 25.

^[3] Thiessen, “Jewish”, 30.

^[4] Matthew Thiessen, “Do you not hear the law?” essay, in Paul and the Gentile Problem (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2016), 78.

^[5] Thiessen, “Jewish”, 42.

^[6] Thiessen, “Jewish”, 42.

^[7] Thiessen, “Jewish”, 26.

^[8] M. W. Elliott et al., “Paul’s former occupation in Ioudaismos” essay, in Galatians and Christian Theology: Justification, the Gospel, and Ethics in Paul’s Letter (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2014), 37.