by pratt1 33 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I can understand that different societies place different connotations on different actions. To me, though, the thought of an adult unnecessarily placing the baby's penis in his mouth and sucking is quite questionable. Circumcison, necessary or not, is not abusive. I don't even remeber mine and have no ill effects from it.
And Dy's comments are laced with unnecessary anitSemitic ramblings. Not a good show.
Um, they make syringes for that, you know.
laters
kaykay_mp
If I remember correctly, our mohel swabbed some antibiotic and put ointment on it before wrapping it in gauze. No sucking. Like I said, if that had happened, he'd have gotten slugged because no one in our audience would have known about that and would have likely jumped to the same conclusion - that it was inappropriate.
As I see it, this sect is still living a lifestyle that is very much like that of their ancestors in Europe hundreds of years ago. Remember, their ancestors were in ghettos in Europe and lived by the rules of their own, very cloistered community. It is still very cloistered, much like the Amish in Pennsylvania.
Also remember there were no antibiotics until the last century. They also used to bleed people and use leeches as a cure, both absolutely abhorent in the modern world. Some of the ancient "cures" actually did more harm than good, others had their value, the leeches being one example, herbs are another.
It would seem that if this is an old world tradition still practiced, it likely has some value, though clearly it also has substantial risk given any viral or bacterial infection is known to be spread via bodily fluids. Even within a cloistered community, it would seem to me that he had to know he had an active infection, I mean, do you think he'd have done the same if he had the flu? Of course it is possible he had no idea the cold sores constituted a risk. I think this was unfortunately an act of ignorance, not condoned sexual misconduct.
Keep in mind, for those quick to leap in judgement, that Judaism is not just a religion but a culture too. We have a culture that greatly values tradition, ceremony and ritual. This is why someone can proudly identify themselves as Jewish and live a Jewish life (and there's enormous lattitude on what constitutes a Jewish life) even if their faith is weak.
While many traditions have been modernized for the masses, (an example would be allowing women to be Rabbis), there are fundamentalist groups who stick to the same traditions that have been passed down through their families for centuries.
I for one, am still proud to be Jewish and to pass my rich heritage down to my children even though I have made a conscious choice to no longer be a religiously observant person.
To put it in a frame that should be easy to understand as a Witness or Ex-Witness - I didn't have to leave my religion to live my life as I want and believe as I choose.
