Men Who Fear the Knife

"Saint Paul Writing His Epistles"
Valentin de Boulogne (1591-1632)
(From: Wikipedia)

"Were Christians still bound by the Law of Moses? Paul's universalism had considerable bearing on this question. As so often, the general question became heated because of a very particular issue. Circumcision was required by Jewish law, so some Christians insisted that Greeks should be circumcised if they wanted to become Christians. Others rejected this idea, considering the ritual unnecessary and cruel, especially for adults. Paul resolved that particular issue by declaring that circumcision was not required for Christians (no doubt evoking a sigh of relief from many male converts)." (120) --Robert C. Solomon and Kathleen M. Higgins, A Short History of Philosophy