Why was circumcision such a controversial point in the early church? And why should believers even care about it today?

Outside of a few recent high profile court cases involving divorced couples fighting over whether their son should or should not be circumcised, circumcision is certainly a non-issue for most people in the western world. The situation was certainly different, however at the time of the early church. The question of circumcision in the New Testament was a hot issue. Certain Jewish believers argued that Gentiles had to be circumcised if they want to be saved, while Paul and others ...