Question
What is meant by a “circumcised” or “uncircumcised” heart?
Answer
When I think about this question the concept of belief comes into my mind. In America where I grew up “believing in Jesus” is mostly taken for granted to describe those who trust Jesus as their saviour and not so much as just a person from history.
For example:
Before becoming a believer when I was 23, I would have claimed I did not believe in Jesus. After accepting Him as my Lord and Saviour I have and continue to proclaim my belief in Him to all, which is how I got to Asia minor. After being deployed to church plant I started to use this same nomenclature while teaching and sharing over here. Years later another native pastor explain to me that the word for belief over here does not equate to the same assumed meaning in America.
Eye Opener
This was a total eye opener for me. Jesus is in the Quran and any Muslim or any one from a Muslim background must believe in Jesus. That is to say, all muslims must “believe in” Jesus. They must believe in him because in their book he is a prophet (an extremely important one at that). Therefor when I quoted
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”
John 3:16
and said you must believe in Jesus, they would not have a problem with that, because they do believe that Jesus was a prophet from God.
Belief and Believing Loyalty
When it comes to believing loyalty, this is way different and we describe this as trust in our adopted language. So when explaining John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life”, we substitute our perception of belief (tied to the word belief in our adopted language) with Trust, who ever trusts in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Whereas all loyal muslims must proclaim belief in Jesus (as a prophet) none could assert trust in Jesus and still remain faithful to their religion.
Relation to the Circumcision Metaphor
If we overlay circumcision to this same paradigm, the muslims uncircumcision heart even though they truly believe that Jesus was a prophet, when reassessed as trust (believing loyalty) puts them into a position where a change must take place.
In the end the circumcision metaphor in simplest form is used to describe a change in somethings nature.
Life Lesson
They do not circumcise at birth in my host country for in this culture it is still a right of passage at about the age of eight. Not wanting our sons to have to experience the “bliss” of this cultural appropriation, we decided to do it as early as is allowed, at 3 months.
My 3 month old just got circumcised 2 weeks ago and there was a noticeable change for sure! That permanent physical (literal if we will) image of that change being fresh in my mind really helps drive home the A.N.E. authors reference point for the metaphorical use.
Just as the authors surely were aquatinted with this process, my experience has helped me to appreciate the irrevocable aspect of metaphor.
This is not a reflection on “once saved always saved” or anything like that (I don’t adhere to that line of thought but that is outside the scope of this discussion), its just a reflection of the profound depth a well crafted metaphor can have when used properly.
Peace and Blessings!
Biblical Doctrine Derives From the Biblical Text
The Unseen Realm Course
This is a response I wrote to a question that was asked durning my semester of The Unseen Realm 101 Coarse. I highly recommend this online coarse for anyone who is interested in the topics that are covered here on Critical Thinking Aloud. To see a coarse overview and a schedule for when the classes start click here
Call for action: Help us out by learning more
Our Favorite Bible
U.S. Link: NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible- Hardcover Bible, Bonded Leather Bible, Bonded Leather: Thumb Index, Imitation Leather Women’s, Imitation Leather Men’s, Kindle Edition
Our Favorite Book
U.S. Supernatural: What the Bible Teaches about the Unseen World And Why It Matters- Paperback book, Kindle Edition, Audiobook
**** HEY EVERYONE, WE WANTED TO LET YOU GUYS KNOW THAT AS AN AMAZON ASSOCIATE WE EARN A SMALL COMMISSION FROM QUALIFYING PURCHASES YOU MAKE FROM OUR LINKS AT NO EXTRA COST TO YOU! HOWEVER, THIS DOES NOT AFFECT OUR SUGGESTIONS OF WHAT WE RECOMMEND FOR YOU TO USE. WE FEEL THIS IS A GREAT WAY FOR YOU TO BOTH ENJOY QUALITY RESOURCES WHICH WE USE IN HOPES IT WILL LIKEWISE ENRICH YOUR BIBLICAL STUDIES, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME SUPPORTING OUR MINISTRY TO CONTINUE TO EXPAND. IF YOU DO DECIDE TO MAKE A PURCHASE, OUR FAMILY HERE AT CRITICAL THINKING ALOUD WANTS YOU TO KNOW HOW MUCH WE VALUE YOUR SUPPORT.****