So far all I hear is that Jehovas can't have blood transfusions, but why not??? If God's greatest gift to humanity is the gift of life. What are you afraid of, maybe some disease or what? please somebody enlighten me on this beacause I think Jehovas are just being selfish to humanity. One more thing, I think you have surpassed yourselves with your limit onto His Kingdom (144,000) where do you come up with these numbers? I Would really like to have somebody tell me Perferably a Johova.......
2006-10-19 08:05:22 · 5 answers · asked by LuNis 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
in the old testament of the bible it talks about man being given the right to eat the flesh of animals. the only restriction was that their blood was to be poured out, and not used. using that part of the bible as a reference they feel that it also applies to mans blood. as for the 144,000 they teach that their are going to be that number who will rule in the heavens with Christ after Armageddon. and that the rest of mankind .
Christian and non-Christian will be resurrected here on earth to be put threw a final test to see if they will obtain everlasting life. other religions of the Christian faith teach that all are going to heaven. i belong to know christian religion but am a Christian who feels strongly about god teachings. the Bible its self does not lie its man interpertation of the bible that does. are the witness correct i dont know, but the bilble says that the earth willl stand forever. and his orginal plan for the earth was to have humans lving on it forever
2006-10-19 08:20:54 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
The prohibition on blood that Jehova's Witnesses follow can be found in Acts 15:29...
"You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell."
As for the number of faithful who will arise to Heaven, that is contained in Revelation 7:2-4...
"Then I saw another angel coming up from the east, having the seal of the living God. He called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea: "Do not harm the land or the sea or the trees until we put a seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." Then I heard the number of those who were sealed: 144,000 from all the tribes of Israel."
If you wish to follow the Bible literally, as Jehovah's Witnesses do, then you have little choice. The first verse says explicitly to abstain from blood. The second verse says explicity that the servants of God are only 144,000. Jehovah's Witnesses don't exactly want to die or be exclusive, either, you know. They just do what they feel is right.
2006-10-19 15:14:38 · answer #2 · answered by Doctor Why 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
For the official answer please go to:
http://www.watchtower.org/library/rq/article_12.htm
Basically it involves the commands at Acts chapter 15.
Life is very special, but is it better to save a life by disobeying God?
Jesus said of what value would it be if we gained the whole world but lost favor with God?
As to selfishness, Do you know that many doctors are testifying to the fact that because Jehovah's Witnesses have made them find safer procedures that now everybody benefits from no blood surgery.
The number 144000 is in the bible Rev 14.
http://www.watchtower.org/cgi-bin/lib/ProcessForm.pl
2006-10-19 15:17:44 · answer #3 · answered by TeeM 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Worldwide safety standards are highly variable, and treatments with blood are riskier than many assume. Physicians differ widely in their use of blood because of education, skills, and viewpoints. Yet, many are increasingly cautious about transfusing blood. A significant and growing number of doctors are showing a preference for medical treatments that avoid the use of blood. If the medical use of blood is increasingly questionable, is these another purpose that blood fulfulls?
OUR CREATOR AND BLOOD
Back in the days of Noah, an ancestor of all mankind, God laid down a remarkable law. While granting humans the right to eat the flesh of ansimals, he forbade them to consume the blood. (Gen. 9:4) He also gave them his reason, equating blood with the soul, or life, of the creature. He later said: “The soue (or life) is in the blood.” In the eyes of the Creator, blood is sacred. It represents the precious gift of life that each living soul possesses. God restated this principle again and again. Lev 3:17; 17:10, 11,14; Deut. 12:16,23.
Shortly after Christianity was founded some 2000 years ago, believers were give the divine commandment to “ABSTAIN from....blood.” The prohibition was based, not on health concersn, but on the sacredness of blood. (Acts 15:19, 20,29) Some argue that this God -given restriction applies only to the eating of blood, but the word “ABSTAIN” speaks for itself. If a doctor told us to abstain from alcolol, we would hardly feel at liverty to inject it into our veins.
The Bible further explains why blood is so sacred. The shed blood of Jesus Christ, representing the human life that he gave in behalf of mankind, is key to the Christian hope. It means forgiveness of sins and hope of eternal life. When a Christian abstains from blood, he is in effect expressing his faith that only the shed blood of Jesus Christ can truly redeem him and save his life. (Eph.1:7)
Jehovah's Witnesses are well known for taking these Bible commands to heart. They reject all transfusions involving whole blood or the four primary blood components -- redcells, plasma, white cells, and platelets.
In recent years more than a few doctors have recognized that Witnesses have benefited medically from adhering to the Bible's standard. A spine surgeon recently spoke out in favor of choosing alternatives to blood transfusions. He said: “It's absolutely the safest thing to do, not just for Jehovah's Witnesses, but for everyone.”
A “Circular of Information” prepared by three U.S. blood agencies states on its first page: “WARNING: Because whole blood and blood components are made from human blood, they may carry a risk of transmitting infectious agents, eg, viruses. Careful donor selection and available laboratory tests do not eliminate the hazard.”
No wonder Brian McClelland, director Edinburgh and Scotland Blood Transfusion Service, asks doctors to “remember that a transfusion is a transpland and therefore not a trivial decision.” He suggests that doctors ponder the question,”IF THIS WAS MYSELF OR MY CHILD, WOULD I AGREE TO THE TRANSFUSION?”
Is the number 144,000 merely symbolic?
The answer is indicated by the fact that, after mention of the definite number 144,000, Revelation 7:9 refers to “a great crowd, which no man was able to number.” If the number 144,000 were not literal it would lack meaning as a contrast to the “great crowd.” Viewing the number as literal agrees with Jesus’ statement at Matthew 22:14 regarding the Kingdom of the heavens: “There are many invited, but few chosen.”
What will those who go to heaven do there?
Rev. 20:6: “They will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years.”
144,000 will rule as "kings & priests" with Jesus, if you rule, there must be subjects in order for one to be a ruler. Billions of people will be resurrected to live on the Earth, they will be the people under this rulership.
This was King David's hope: "Psalms 37:29 The righteous shall inherit the land, and dwell therein for ever." From the Lord's or Father's Prayer: Matthew 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
2006-10-19 16:46:55 · answer #4 · answered by BJ 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that the scriptures demonstrate a clear pattern indicating the sacredness with which Jehovah God (and thus god-fearing humankind) views all creature blood.
Predates Mosaic Law.
For example, over a thousand years before the birth of Moses, the pre-Israel, pre-Jewish, pre-Hebrew man Noah received what the scriptures record as only the second restrictive command on humans (after Garden of Eden's tree):
"Every moving thing that lives shall be food for you; and as I gave you the green plants, I give you everything. Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. For your lifeblood I will surely require a reckoning; of every beast I will require it [that is, lifeblood] and of man" (Genesis 9:3-5)
Jewish Law.
Later, God's feeling regarding blood was codified into the Mosaic Law. This part of the Law dealing with blood was unique in that it applied, not just to Israel, but also to non-Jewish foreigners among them. It's also interesting that besides forbidding the consumption of blood, the Law also mandated that it be 'poured out on the ground', not used for any purpose.
"No person among you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger who sojourns among you eat blood. Any man also of the people of Israel, or of the strangers that sojourn among them, who takes in hunting any beast or bird that may be eaten shall pour out its blood and cover it with dust." (Lev 17:12,13)
By comparison, it's significant that the Law also forbid the consumption of ceremonial animal fat, but that didn't apply to non-Jewish foreigners and it DID allow the fat to be used for other purposes.
"The LORD said to Moses, "Say to the people of Israel, You shall eat no fat, of ox, or sheep, or goat. The fat of an animal that dies of itself, and the fat of one that is torn by beasts, may be put to any other use" (Lev 7:22-24)
Early Christian era.
The Christian era ended the validity of the Mosaic Law, but remember that the restriction on eating blood preceded the Mosaic Law by over a thousand years. Still, does the New Testament indicate that Jehovah God changed his view of blood's sacredness?
"[God] freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses" (Eph 1:6,7)
"[God's] beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins... and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood" (Colossians 1:13-20)
"we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the pollutions of idols and from unchastity and from what is strangled and from blood." (Acts 15:19,20)
"For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from blood and from what is strangled and from unchastity." Acts 15:28,29
Modern times
Some will claim that the bible's command to "abstain" from blood only applies to eating it, and does not apply to the use of blood for other purpose. If that form of respect for blood were common among Christendom, one might wonder then why so many (who ostensibly follow the book of Acts) so happily eat their blood sausage and blood pudding if they truly respect blood according to some limited understanding of Acts 15:20,29. In fact, respect for blood and for Acts and for the Scriptures themselves is too rare among even supposedly god-fearing persons.
An honest review of the Scriptural pattern over the millenia from Noah to the Apostle Paul teaches humans that blood is to be used for a single purpose: acknowledging the Almighty. Otherwise, for centuries the instruction was to simply dispose of it; 'poor it upon the ground'. When Jehovah's Witnesses pursue non-blood medical management, they are working to honor and obey their Creator.
Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/library/hb/index.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/vcnb/article_01.htm
The vast majority of Jehovah's Witnesses hope to live ON EARTH forever, rather than in heaven.
http://watchtower.org/e/20031115/article_01.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/20041001/article_01.htm
2006-10-20 03:44:15 · answer #5 · answered by achtung_heiss 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋