HILLEL, on 13 Sept. 1998 you posted in "Culture" Forum,

We define a Jew or Judaism not by birth anymore,

Hillel, we define a Jew as a man or woman born of a Jewish mother, the latter being either born Jewish or having undergone conversion to Judaism. A Jew is also a person who, not having been born Jewish, has undergone conversion to Judaism.

...since most babies are circumcised this days...

Hillel, most babies (I suppose you refer to non-Jewish ones) are NOT circumcised these days. Because it is now accepted that there is nothing to gain, and something to lose by such procedure. The famous Dr. Spock was all for the procedure, on the basis of outdated information on the presumed benefits accrued. He then was against it, on the basis of new, reliable data. There are now Jews that oppose the performance of the ritual in their sons. I'll explain how all this stupid situation results from not employing the right language in order to have clear understanding. Be patient, for now... I am speaking of D-SP!
{There are organizations against circumcision. Simple methods are used to regrow the foreskin, based on pulling it. Obviously, if it has been completely removed, a NEW foreskin has to be grown out of the skin!}

...the difference is we have a ceremony and ritual by a mohel, called "BRIT MILA," which is as sacred as the Bar Mitzvah.

Hillel, the Bar Mitzvah was invented in the 14th century, in order to create a Rite of Passage that had been sorely needed. The Christians had many colorful rites, the Confirmation being a beautiful example. It was Jews that created Christianity, and they had been aware that Judaism was a dreary religion, bereft of color, sound and image. The Bar Mitzvah was a Jewish delayed reaction...
Hillel, the B-M is not sacred at all! Now, I am giving you the following facts, some absolutely canonical (from the Torah), others product of my mental activity, the creator of the D-SP. Yet, you'll realize that everything I write here is absolutely logical and most probably true.

1. - The MILA is a fundamental tenet and rite. Abraham promised to have it performed on every Hebrew male. He performed it on itself. On His part, God promised Canaan, which became the Promised Land. Therefore, MILA and the Promised Land are inter-linked. The Promised Land, as the MILA, is part and parcel of the Covenant between God and the Hebrews: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, as the Patriarchs of the Hebrew People. .

2. - The MILA was not a CIRCUMCISION. The latter refers to a TOTAL removal of the prepuce. The MILA was a very partial procedure. And here is where LANGUAGE, as basic for unambiguous communication, enters dancing to the tune of D-SP: There is RITE, and there is RITUAL. The MILA is a RITE; how it is performed, is a RITUAL. Originally, a partial, painless procedure was the RITUAL. It was a MARK, a SIGN of the GOD-HEBREWS Covenant. .

{NOW I ADD: Even when the removal of the foreskin is partial, it is still a 'circumcision.' The Mila was not necessarily a 'very' partial procedure. Yet, it should be obvious that it left a sizable portion of prepuce in site! Why? Use logic, Hillel! How else could 'cosmetic surgeons' make 'arelim' of the Jewish nimolim (circumcised)? Persistent pulling of the remaining foreskin did the 'feat'! I am using my brains, not E.B. This is an exercise in intellect, not a religious diatribe.

3. - Enter Alexander the Great, with his Macedonian troops and the subjugated Greeks, whose culture and numbers absorb the Macedonians, creating a Hellenistic reality. Hellenism pervades the region. There are new, colorful, very attractive novelties. There are beautiful Syrian prostitutes and fascinating philosophical ideas from Antioch. There are naked sport games, there is drunken swearing by Zeus. The Judean youth lie down with the alien prostitutes, and, being non-smokers, read philosophy afterwards. They run in the nude, they swear by Zeus and by YHWH, the way it was then pronounced...

4. Enter the Hasmoneans. Sure, the Temple will need to be cleansed in the future, once the Maccabeans defeat Antiochus IV, but Hellenistic pagan cancer has to be eradicated NOW. The now ruling religious caste proclaims the following edicts: a) The Mila has to become, not just a symbolic MARK, but a TOTAL circumcision, so that no plastic surgeon will conceal the Jewishness of would-be naked runners, or of Jewish boys fearing the snickering of the Syrian courtesans at the sight of their bare glandes. b) No swearing by Zeus, and definitely not by YHWH. The Tetragrammaton becomes ineffable, its right pronunciation is forgotten. It was not Jehovah or Yahweh, but...

{NOW I ADD: By 'symbolic' I was stressing the basicality of the RITE, as above the way of performing it, i.e., the RITUAL, of secondary significance. I was also over-stressing the 'totality' of the procedure.

4. - Enter GHITIS, with the fanfare of D-SP cymbals: he finds how YHWH was pronounced. It is so easy, just look at God talking to Moses and telling him His TWO NAMES. Then, use Eben Shoshan' dictionary, and presto! It is easier than finding the explanation of the 10 plagues. Well, the last one demands an extra 30 minutes for deciphering. But, that's a small price to pay for discovering also the meaning of HASTARAT PANEEM! (God hiding His face from His People.)

5. - So, you see, Hillel, how easy it is to solve the problem of how to perform the RITUAL of the Mila? I'll use unambiguous LANGUAGE, and declare:

If I had now a son, I would have him undergo Abraham's RITE of the Covenant. Therefore, I would call a mohel, asking him to avoid extensive circumcision, limiting himself to a RITUAL of preputial nicking.