In chapter 17:12 God told Abraham that circumcision should be done on the eight day. In a book, None of These Diseases, written by a doctor he tells that on the eighth day of a child’s life, the fibrinogen level in the blood is at its highest level it will ever be in the child’s life. Fibrinogen is the clotting agent in the blood. So when a child is circumcised on the eighth day, it heals the fastest because of the high level of fibrinogen. Now how could Abraham have known this? It is always interesting when ‘modern’ science catches up with the Bible!
Why the act of circumcision? It shows that we are unclean from birth. The organ of procreation must be cut and cleansed. This is speaking of the fact that we are born in sin and must be redeemed. It was to be a symbol of the need to be cleansed. In Deuteronomy 10:16 we read, “Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiff-necked.” In Deuteronomy 30:6 we also read, “Yahweh your God will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your seed, to love Yahweh your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, that you may live.” The New Testament equivalent to this would be water baptism.
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I've searched for medical evidence of this eighth day thing, but can't find anything anywhere. It seems to be a case of wishful thinking. There are several cases of babies who've died or been seriously injured following circumcision on the eighth day though.
ReplyDeleteFunny how Christians didn't circumcise for the best part of two millennia, and yet because of some seriously bad *medical* opinions in the late 19th century, some Christians are looking for reasons to do it today.
95% of Christians worldwide do *not* circumcise, and the Catholic church has been opposed for centuries:
The Holy Roman Church "...commands all who glory in the name of Christian, at whatever time, before or after baptism, to cease entirely from circumcision, since, whether or not one places hope in it, it cannot be observed at all without the loss of eternal salvation."
From Cantate Domino, re-affirmed by Pope Pius XII in 1952
"From a moral point of view, circumcision is permissible if, in accordance with therapeutic principles, it prevents a disease that cannot be countered in any other way." Pope Pius XII in 1952
The form of circumcision undergone by Christ was nothing like a modern day circumcision anyway. He would have looked more like an intact man than like someone who has had a typical American circumcision. The most common form of circumcision today was only introduced by rabbis (not Christians) over a century after the crucifixion.