–– Paul Schlehlein
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Male circumcision schools are as common throughout sub-Saharan Africa as they are dangerous. Recently in Zambia, for example, forty-eight boys were rescued from a circumcision school after parents complained that their children had been abducted. In Malawi among the Yawo people, this rite of passage is called jando, marking a new era of sexual freedom.
Among the Tsongas in South Africa, it is called madlala. I have watched nearly two decades worth of coming home ceremonies, including the days I lived at the chief’s kraal when the boys were met with cheers from the community and dances from hordes of topless women. The father of a strong young Christian in our church tricked his son by capturing him in a vehicle and forcing him to attend the school.
While differences in this practice vary widely between tribes and countries, I’d like to give a broad biblical perspective on male circumcision schools.
What are Male Circumcision Schools?
The event usually takes place with males between 8 and 25 years old. It happens in three stages: (1) the surgical operation, (2) seclusion and teaching, and (3) a celebration ceremony in the community. According to many African cultures, a boy can only become a man when he participates in this school. Without exception, every attendee I’ve interviewed says they’ve learned debased lessons about sexuality and women.
Some tribes expect the initiates to eat a sacrificial beast. Other boys have their heads shaved. Some are barred from fresh food, meat, and water during the first eight days of the ceremony. Many tribes believe the young men have entered a new relationship with their ancestors.
Is Circumcision Biblical?
According to the Bible, circumcision is not a moral issue in the New Testament. The procedure carries health benefits, but Scripture does not demand it. Thus, in countries like Cuba, Chile and Portugal, few boys are circumcised. But in many countries of the world, like Morocco, Nigeria and the Philippines, almost all boys are circumcised. Scripture gives liberty.
In the early church, a controversy arose about circumcision. Did uncircumcised Gentile believers need to be circumcised in order to become Christians? When Peter (a Jew) fellowshipped with Cornelius (a Gentile) in Acts 10, he demonstrated to the Church that only faith in Christ was necessary for salvation, not circumcision (vv. 7-11).
In Acts 15, the apostles firmly rejected the claim that circumcision was necessary for salvation (vv. 1-11). In Acts 16:3, Paul circumcised Timothy to better reach the Jews, though elsewhere he did not circumcise his disciples, like Titus in Galatians 2:3. First Corinthians 7:19 is clear: circumcision is unnecessary. “Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God is what matters.”
The Bible’s Perspective
There are two primary problems with male circumcision schools: safety and sanctification. Circumcision schools are notorious for their danger and lack of sanitation, traumatizing the boys with operational procedures such as forcing their legs apart, blindfolds, lack of anesthetics, and the use of dull blades by village elders with no medical skills. Even death may occur.
But the most significant issue with circumcision schools is that they remove the responsibility from the parents to teach their children about adulthood, especially sexual matters.
Ephesians 6:4 says: “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” Because prayer is important for wisdom on this matter, the acronym ‘PRAY’ may help us remember four crucial points, each one taken from this verse. Parents are Responsible to Admonish their Youth.
Parents
Paul does not command the pastor, the government, the village elders or the grandmother to teach the children. This role belongs to parents, specifically the father (Dt. 6:7).
Responsibility
Nothing provokes a child to anger more than when a parent demands obedience where they themselves are not willing to follow. Fathers irritate their sons by refusing to teach them carefully about sexuality, manhood, and responsibility. They hand off these duties to the circumcision school or Life Orientation Class at school. Then the father acts surprised or angry when the son gets his girlfriend pregnant. The guilt lies at Dad’s feet.
Admonition
The verse says parent are to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” This gives the process, propositions, and perspective by which parents must guide their children. The process is teaching, nurturing and rearing. The proposition is discipline and instruction, through tools like books, preaching and a good example. The perspective is “from the Lord”, meaning all good teaching must come from a Christian worldview.
Youth
A Tsonga proverb says that people work with clay when it is wet, meaning children are best formed in their youth. God tells parents to teach their “children”, their kids, their little ones, not their adults.
Conclusion
God commands parents to teach their children how to live well, especially in the realm of sexuality. Male circumcision schools may bring physical dangers but even more threatening are the spiritual perils that come if parents neglect their role in raising their children in a godly manner.