The Holy Foreskin
The Bible tells us that Jesus was circumcised eight days after his birth. But this became the source of a protracted debate among medieval scholars who couldn't figure out what became of the foreskin. Did it remain here on Earth? Was it reunited with Christ and ascended with him into Heaven? Or did it ascend into heaven separately, on its own?
The belief that the "holy prepuce" remained on Earth was probably the most popular position. In fact, no less than 21 medieval churches and abbeys claimed to be in possession of the holy foreskin.
St. Catherine of Siena reportedly wore the foreskin of Jesus as a ring on her finger.
However, the Austrian nun
Agnes Blannbekin (1244-1315) took a different view. She became obsessed by the holy foreskin, dwelling on the loss of blood and pain Christ must have suffered during his circumcision. Such thoughts led her to a revelation. While celebrating the Feast of the Circumcision (traditionally held on January 1), Agnes suddenly "felt the Lord's foreskin on her tongue, thin as the membrane of an egg, and swallowed it with great sweetness 'about a hundred times'. Christ then revealed to her that his foreskin had been resurrected with him on Easter." Because of this revelation, Blannbekin's writings were banned by the church.
However, my favorite theory about the fate of the holy foreskin is the one put forward by the 17th century theologian
Leo Allatius. In an essay,
De Praeputio Domini Nostri Jesu Christi Diatriba, he speculated "that the holy foreskin may have ascended into heaven at the same time as Jesus himself, and might have become the rings of Saturn."
Source of info: Mattelaer, JJ, et al. (2007). "The Circumcision of Jesus Christ".
The Journal of Urology. 178: 31-34.
Comments
Listed in chronological order. Newest comments at the end.
it honestly never occured to me to wonder about jesus' foreskin.
i'm amazed there has been a debate about it. i can't wait till maxx reads this one!
Posted by patty on 01/30 at 05:50 AM
Holy change purses!!
This is what happens when your religion is this old. You find the most stupid shit to argue over. None of it matters.
The whole ritual is pretty sick. The baby gets sucked after getting cut up.
http://www.come-and-hear.com/editor/br-smc/index.html
Posted by Madd Maxx on 01/30 at 06:04 AM
BTW - Shouldn't this have been stored at the Vatican next to the Holy Hand Grenade?
Posted by Madd Maxx on 01/30 at 06:12 AM
Either that or Jesus was hung like a horse, so they just cut it up into tiny pieces and shared it.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 01/30 at 06:32 AM
Some churches have even claimed to have breast milk from Mary. Now that would really make your cereal pop!
Posted by Madd Maxx on 01/30 at 06:42 AM
Vern - I meant that it's so old that they have discussed everything that needs to be discussed and now they're discussing Jesus penis. Yeah, that's important!
My solution = end all religion!!!
Posted by Madd Maxx on 01/30 at 06:54 AM
Maybe the man that performed the circumcision kept it. It is normal to give a "tip" for such services.
Posted by Matt in Florida on 01/30 at 07:08 AM
Thanks, Big Gary. I will look for it for sure.
Posted by Madd Maxx on 01/30 at 07:22 AM
Actually, my paternal grandmother had the foreskin passed down to her from generations past and it has finally come to me. As I'm the last of my line I'll be putting it on Ebay any day now.
Posted by Expat47 in Athens, Greece on 01/30 at 07:40 AM
wonder what happened to mine?
Posted by mrjazz on 01/30 at 07:57 AM
I have never wondered what happened to mine.
Posted by Matt in Florida on 01/30 at 08:01 AM
Where did my husbands go? Where did my nephews go?
I bet they went to the same place Jesus' did....in the trash.
Posted by AGFH on 01/30 at 08:06 AM
No comments about the totally not-sexually-repressed nun, Agnes Blannbekin? You know, if you start obsessing about eating foreskins, maybe Nun isn't the career path for you.
So, what's the count up to? 21 foreskins in churches, 100 swallowed by a crazy nun, one as a ring for a woman with questionable taste in jewelry, minus one that went with him when he ascended. Any others?
Posted by kingmonkey in Athens, Ontario on 01/30 at 11:16 AM
Anyone ever see Life of Brian?
Posted by BikerPuppy on 01/30 at 11:33 AM
I'm Brain...and so is my wife!
Posted by Madd Maxx on 01/30 at 11:36 AM
you know i've never had a forskin around my finger, but i have on occation had my fingers around a foreskin.
Posted by patty on 01/30 at 06:02 PM
i was dragging it in the gutter with my silly sense of humor df. that skin graft info was very interesting. i think it's great when they can use something that's to be dicarded to help people. i believe strongly in organ donation as well. when i go i want them to take and use whatever they can. if as a last act i can save someone else that's wonderful. how much closer can i get to god than when i help the blind to see or the dieing to live. besides, by then i sure ain't using it anymore!
Posted by patty on 01/31 at 09:07 PM
lady w having worked with the elderly, i have seen the damage done when a man is no longer capable of personal hygene and it's not done properly for him. there have been instances when surgery was required because the foreskin grew shut or adhered to the glans. this is why i had the procedure done to my son when he was born.
Posted by patty on 02/01 at 06:34 AM
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Category: Body, Genitals, Religion