2015 “Becoming New” CBE International Conference
As recorded in the Old Testament, the practice of male circumcision was established as a sign of covenant – sealed in male flesh – between God and Abraham. Yet, the Council of Jerusalem did not require the ancient rite as a mark of faith for male, Gentile converts to Christianity. This recording examines the covenant of circumcision, its cultural implications in the first century, and the New Testament’s radical departure from the practice. The significance of the church’s abandonment of the ritual and the implications of this fact for both male and female followers of Christ will also be explored.
