Bible specifies best time for circumcision

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Claim

The Bible, remarkably for its time, notes that the eighth day after birth is the saftest time to perform circumcisions [Gen. 17:12, Lev. 12:2-3]. When a baby is born, they have no bacteria in their intestines for the first few days. By the seventh day, the bacteria multiply and produce vitamin K. Without vitamin K and prothrombin protein (which is produced by the liver using vitamin K), the blood will not clot properly and the possibility of severe bleeding as well as infection would make circumcision dangerous in a primitive medical situation.

Source

Responses

  1. Whether factually accurate or not, this doesn't have implications for a divine origin of the Bible. Pre-scientific societies often have useful procedural medical knowledge derived from long periods of trial and error. So this has no clear implications for divine origin of this part, let alone other parts of the Bible. Furthermore, Biblical divinity does not clearly preclude the occurrence of evolution.
  2. Arguably, circumcision itself constitutes an unhygienic practice for which there is no best time. Saying, "The Bible tells you the best time to perform a painful, unhealthy, unnecessary procedure" isn't much of an argument.
  3. Whether or not the Bible specifies the best time for circumcision or not has nothing to do with the validity of Biological evolution.
  4. add more responses

Fallacies contained in this claim

  • Composition (because the Bible is a good source on this matter, it is a good source on all matters)
  • Red Herring (Whether or not the Bible specifies the best time for circumcision or not has nothing to do with the validity of Biological evolution.)

References

  1. Boyd, 1998 (see below).
  2. Hirsch, Emil G. et al., n.d. Circumcision. JewishEncyclopedia.com [1]
  3. Puckett, R.M. and Offringa, M., 2000. Prophylactic vitamin K for vitamin K deficiency bleeding in neonates. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2000;(4):CD002776.
  4. Ruda, M.A., Q-D. Ling, A.G. Hohmann, Y.B. Peng, T. Tachibana, 2000. Altered nociceptive neuronal circuits after neonatal peripheral inflammation. Science 289: 628-630. See also: Helmuth, L., 2000. Early insult rewires pain circuits. Science 289: 521-522.

Further Reading

  • Boyd, Billy Ray, 1998. Circumcision Exposed: Rethinking a Medical and Cultural Tradition. Crossing Press, Inc.

Related claims

Acknowledgments

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