God is in Charge when it comes to Sons and Circumcision

Ok. I admit. I've heard about circumcision many times. To begin, many holocaust survivors that were not circumcised were saved because of this. I've also heard of female circumcision in Africa and indigenous tribes. But I had never heard of it in the Bible. It surprises me that the Bible, being the holiest text for the Christians contains this information that only the those who practice Judaism follow. So, to have a better idea of what circumcision really was I succumbed to my best friend on the internet: wikipedia. Although it contained very graphic explanations of what the procedure is, I was surprised to know that a circumcised man has actually less probability of getting HIV than a man who isn't. Anyways, returning to the point, I always thought circumcision was actually a bigger deal than it actually is. Then again, I'm not Jewish so it doesn't have anything to do with my relationship with God, and I have not been circumcised so I have absolutely no idea of what that is like (not that I ever want to know).

Straying away from circumcision, there were some points in these chapters that I found very interesting. First, God's messengers or angels. The angels play a huge role in the Bible since they are a very direct connection between God and the people. Today though, we have a very vague idea of what angels are like and so it is hard for me to picture anything different from the renaissance-like babies popping in on Abraham and letting him know the news. During this time, when angels begin to appear almost spontaneously and they were not included in God's creation it makes me wonder what angels really are. I know their purpose and I know they have good intentions, but are angels the souls of the dead? Or are they perhaps souls that (like Virgin Mary) never died and just rose up to heaven? I've never asked anyone these things but then again, it's not something that has been very explicit throughout my life as a "Catholic".

Second, the naming. When God renames Abraham and Sarah, "Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee." (Genesis 17:5) "And God said unto Abraham, As for Sarai thy wife, thou shalt not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall her name be." (Genesis 17:15) I thought it was as if from now on, God saw them differently and probably in a more appreciative way. Something else that relates to this part is when God tells them that the name of their child will be Isaac. This reminded me of Archangel Gabriel telling virgin Mary about Jesus. I suppose that just like history, the Bible repeats itself. I also think that Abraham was very important not just for the people but also for God. I definitely believe that God couldn't have chosen anyone better for the job. God needed someone like Abraham who, one was worthy of his name, and second could get the job done.

Finally, what probably got my attention the most was the episode in which Abraham almost kills Isaac. To begin, how can God test Abraham with something like this? If God loved Abraham (and this is an assumption) just like Abraham loved him, how could he ask such a thing specially knowing that Abraham was capable? This leads me to the next point. How can a father who loves his son so dearly and has struggled for so long to have him, even think of being able of killing his son, just to please his God? It just doesn't make any sense. I do however, think that Abraham could not have lived with the regret but would have continued to follow God's orders. This might sound a bit contradictory, but why would God, especially God want anyone that follows his orders without question? Basically, what I'm saying is, if God wanted someone to just do as he commands, God's job would be awfully boring. Instead, God wants the people to misbehave and fight and contradict each other because that's just how we were created. The point is, there would come a time in which if Abraham had killed Isaac, nothing else would matter to him and from that point on, he would just do as God said. In the end, what is going to end up happening is that Abraham loves God more than himself to the point where he even kills his own son (with no apparent reason) but why would he love God more than himself? (I'd call that crazy). How can you love something more tah yourself? This may sound ego-centric or whatever you want to call it but it's actually very accurate. When you love yourself you have enough love to share with others, but when your love is directed towards something bigger(like God) it becomes an unhealthy relationship in which you give yourself to that and forget that anything ever went on i your life because you are so caught up in that. Again, the point here is, God stopped it right on time but I think its a very stupid way of getting attention, God could have easily caused a landslide in Abraham's life with the murder of his son.

Anyways, to finish this I do not agree with God in the way he wants Abraham to sacrifice his son. This sacrifice (which is also the first human sacrifice) remind a bit of Jesus again, and if I'm not wrong, I think that these are the only approaches to a human sacrifice in the Bible so I suppose it is sort of important.