From the "Moral Compass" Department

Religion makes people do some very weird shit.

For instance, hundreds of millions worship a doddering old man who speaks a language almost no one understands and wears a pointy hat. OK, you were familiar with some of the peculiarities of catholicism. But did you know that believers of another mainstream religion hire a guy to ritually suck their baby son's penis?

Forgive me for holding on to my pagan, agnostic ways.

Comments

[Poustman]

Er, how did you get 'ritually suck' from that article? I missed it.

[Rogier]

NYC Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden: "This particular practise, which involves contact between the mouth and the recently circumcised penis, does we believe, carry inherit risks."

If that's too delicate a description of how some mohels perform a bris, how about this, from Newsday: "Under Jewish law, a mohel -- someone who performs circumcisions -- draws blood from the circumcision wound. Most mohels do it by hand, but Fischer uses a rare practice where he uses his mouth." http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--circumcision-herp0202feb01,0,6703201.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork

Or this, from the Jewish Week, http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/newscontent.php3?artid=10499: "One of the last steps in a brit milah involves suctioning blood from where the foreskin has been removed. Historically, this was done orally, with the mohel directly putting his mouth on the newly circumcised penis and sucking in the blood, a procedure called metzizah b’peh. In recent decades, however, the practice has been continued only in some elements of the fervently Orthodox community."