/lit/ - Literature

>>22923692
Sometimes I have the good pleasure of being reminded of how much of an asshole I am.

I was having dinner with my parents and my mum told my dad to turn up the television because she can't hear it. I immediately know that it's because she wants to hear the TV but because she just wants something to drown out his loud chewing. I blurt out "stop lying, you don't want to hear the TV, you don't want to hear dad." My dad agrees with me and just moves to another part of the house and eats there and says "you're pretty switched on anon." In the moment I think I'm calling her out on BS but I immediately realise that I'm actually being a progenitor of conflict and harshness by throwing my mum under the bus like that. She at least had the tact to try and avoid conflict but I decide to ruin that and potentially provoke and argument (thank God that didn't happen). I apologised soon after but she said this isn't the first time I've done something similar and she's not wrong.

I desire the praise of others and to show off how smart I am. I was already annoyed at her for a host of other reasons so me being an asshole here came from that rather than a genuine desire for the truth to be made known. Maybe I'm being overly dramatic but in the moments where you get reminded of your true nature you just want to shrivel up and disappear. I'm harsh in my rebuke of others but constantly coddle myself. Even now I fear that I retell this story to garner sympathy or praise from others. But anyway, this is what troubles me at the moment.

>>21543467
I do not know whether foreskin restoration is a sin or not.

Being circumcised is brought a great deal of psychological distress and a deep sense of violation and betrayal for a while. The modern version of the procedure is outright mutilation with the complete excision of a highly complex and innervated structure that not only protects the penis from desensitisation and the elements but also facilitates intercourse between husband and wife so that it is not abrasive to the woman. There are a number of studies which highlight how the bare contact of keratinised glans causes irritation and discomfort to the woman and scrapes out all the lubrication that also facilitates the act. The same studies also have women themselves confirm this and the degree of discomfort it brings. Obviously marriage isn’t merely about sex but it is a key part of bringing a man and woman together in a loving relationship and to facilitate fruitfulness. Plus a poor sex will often translate into poor relations in other aspects of the marriage.

I say modern version because circumcision in the Biblical context was only the cutting of the very end of the foreskin so as to leave the overall structure and function together as God designed it (brit milah). In effect, it was a ritual minor cut with spiritual significance and the prefigurement of baptism and the circumcision of the heart as St Paul puts it. It was only when the Pharisees seethed at Jews pulling down their foreskin to enter into Greek gymnasiums that they decided to just cut off the whole prepuce off to make the process of restoration far more difficult (brit periah). Jews themselves admit that the modern iteration is an innovation in their own texts. Theologically, I cannot see the process other than one that destroys God’s design of the human what intentions He had for its function. I view it as a mockery of God.

What also messes me up is the fact that I was strapped down when I was born and had a healthy part of my body excised for no reason and subject to extreme pain. I cannot see it as anything other than a profound violation and mutilation. That thought really messes me up too.

However, I can also see the perspective that foreskin restoration should be avoided due to potentially lustful desires that may arise, that it would take time away from God and that I may be placing stock in things of this world and creating an idol. But then again we don’t condemn a woman who has had a mastectomy to have reconstructive surgery to restore a part of her body. Also my whole intention about engaging in restoration is for me to offer my body to the woman I marry - I have no desire to engage in sexually licentious activity.

I’ve tried to speak to a contact a priest about this via email given that I can’t take to one in person given certain circumstances at the moment but none have responded so I guess I’m just venting here so mock away.