Jehovah's Witnesses...have you ever questioned the blood transfusion doctrine?

Question

Clearly getting a transfusion is not eatting blood, the transfused blood is going into the CIRCULATORY system, not digestive system. Also consider that Jesus healed on the sabbath (Luke 13), showing he was more concerned with healing her then the strict letter of the law.

Answer 1

Disfellowshipped JW
1982 Corning, CA Congregation
For cause, but not the ones some ex-JWs who want to put themselves on a pedestal, want you to believe, and know you will without question.

I've been in two severe semi truck accidents, 1982 and 1988. In 1999, I got a flesh eating bacteria that chewed away at my left gludious maximus. I'm now officially classified as half assed. I had to have reconstructive surgary and


Lie, cheat and steal? Boy, are we getting some vicious people here today. Don't tell Jane Fonda and the other movie stars who will only employ JWs as servants that they lie, cheat, and steal. They think they are the only religion where the people are so honest that they can't be bought when bottom feeders from the media want to create a story.

Today, less then 10% of those refusing blood transfusions are JWs. So many that there are now 15 bloodless hospitals and UCLA is now doing bloodless transplants. Surely, if it was only JWs refusing blood, that would not warrant the lost of the extremely high profits for blood transfusions.

Last Spring, in the news there was a story that Britain was no longer allowing the transfusion of locally donated blood in children under age 18, due to contamination of Mad Cow Disease, which still cannot be tested for, prior to death. There was a conference here in Kansas City of representatives of blood banks from all over the world. They were here to learn a new labeling system that had been developed. Reps from England, that rode in my taxi, said that America is fooling itself if they think would blood supply is anywhere near being safe. It is very difficult to learn about all the cases of adverse reactions to blood transfusions. It simply is not economically beneficial to release those figures to the general public.

You can say all you want about JWs and blood, but the fact is that medical treatments, even emergency treatments, are much safer as a result of their work. It is also why you get to sign a release for when your children are treated, such as getting the new HPV Vaccine.

What have we seen from the growth of blood transfusions? More blood born diseases. Consider that when you get a transfusion, one of the side affects that 100% of people get is a reduction of the immune system. Now, you can consider what this can mean to a person who have an undiagnosed cancer just waiting to flare up. But, consider also that those who get the transfusion, if they catch something and get sick, it is not something like the common cold. Instead, it is very rare illnesses. The exact same illnesses that persons with active cases of AIDS get. Are the two related, I don’t know, do you? Would the medical world release that info easily if it would affect the profits from transfusions? I think you know what the answer to that is from how many drugs we have that doctors get paid to promote, that are later learned by the public were never really safe.

Answer 2

Hello Dear, you have more then 1 Q here sooo.... 1st; "Praise Jah You People!" for the healthy baby! 1) U aren't baptized, there's no guilt here. Although YOU feel it, it's on ur conscience...apparently. We're here answering ur Q.This is a good thing. 2) Were u wrong for giving in and accepting the blood?, u ask. That is between YOU & Jehovah, not us humans to decide. 3) Should u tell her?; that's up 2 u. You don't have to disclose this to her. If it would help u to feel better-- then by all means go ahead, and pray on the matter w/ her. Praying & Asking for understanding IS WHAT JEHOVAH WANTS, Jesus too! ;~) All u have to do is tell her something happened, that's bothering ur conscience, and that u'd like her to pray w/ you over the matter, "emotions aside". She will do her duty, as 1 of Jehovah's special possessions, His special property. Lovingly and Gladly. 4) It won't kill her. In fact, you coming to her will more than likely fill her heart with Joy! 5) Why? Why, would / should you, keep it 2 urself? Find out God's thoughts and principles, Love, Mercy and Graciousness.

Answer 3

You bring up a valid point, it totally makes sense. Even though I no longer consider myself to be a Jehovah's Witness, due to my medical training I still would not accept a blood transfusion. I have told my husband if he ever let me have a blood transfusion when I couldn't make my own decisions I would go so far as to divorce him. With all the other options available today to replace blood, many times it's not needed anyway. My feelings on the matter have nothing to do with the religious aspect of it, because like I said your point makes complete sense. It is a good question because it puts a seed of doubt (hopefully) into current Jehovah's witnesses minds. I guess if it came down to my children's lives and it was the only way they would survive, I would probably consent to the transfusion.

Answer 4

My nephew will be sorry to hear that the 5 weeks of being fed by transfusions they aren't keeping him alive.

Since he can not eat, because of rips / tears in his stomach. He has been fed the nutrients by going directly to his veins.

Since when is obeying God, being blackmailed?

The apostles included fornication, (Acts 15)

Would you commit fornication if that was your option to keep living?

There are accounts from Africa of our sisters being threatened with death if they don't have sexual relations with their captors.

Where do you start drawing the line,

It's okay to disobey these laws, but not those others?

Answer 5

What might you think the purpose of your digestive system is? It breaks down food so your circulatory system can deliver it to where it is needed. A blood transfusion just cuts out the middle man. Acts 15:29 simply says to abstain from blood, it does not specify whether that is eating, drinking, or anything else.

If an alcoholic is told to abstain from alcohol, should he just refrain from drinking it, but injecting it into his veins would be okay? Alcohol goes to the digestive system, enters the bloodstream where it begins to affect the senses as it gets delivered to different organs.

Answer 6

Jehovah's Witnesses base their position on blood transfusions on the Bible in its entirety. Thus, while it is true that the Bible commands us not to eat blood, such scriptures as Leviticus 17:13 assist us in understanding God's viewpoint on the sanctity of blood. There, he himself explains that he has put it on the altar in order to make atonement for sins.

We find the parallel of this in the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus Christ - to once and for all make atonement. But we find in the scriptures absolutely nothing else, implicit or explicit, which would allow us to sustain or preserve our lives by the use of blood - and that would include blood transfusions. This, then, is the key: attempting to sustain or preserve life with blood.

Moreover, Acts 15:20 commands true Christians to abstain from blood. Is it reasonable to suggest that we can abstain from blood by not eating it, and yet take it intravenously? That is unreasonable.

It is true that Christ healed on the sabbath and was confronted by the religious leaders. But there was NEVER anything in the Mosaic law covenant which prohibited such a thing anyway. It was the religious leaders who insisted that Christ was breaking the sabbath. In his defense, Christ made it clear that there was nothing wrong with healing on the sabbath. There is no "letter of the law" - strict or otherwise - which precluded healing on the sabbath. Thus, this Scripture cannot be used to justify using blood in connection with transfusions.

Hannah J Paul

Answer 7

if a persons life can be saved via blood transfusion and the blood has been determined to be 100% disease free...AND that person dies

how would you feel?

Answer 8

Witnesses do not question. If they did they would not have women ministers, Joshua, the women would not wear jewelry, 2ND Timothy. They pick and choose what they want to believe in this day.
The more you learn about Witnesses the more you too can come to laugh at them. 100% of the ones I have know are total liars. 100% of them will pick and choose what they want to enforce. 100% of them will twist and turn things around and get loud with you to make a point. These are the ones I have know and I have known many and even worked for a couple the lying hypocrites.

Answer 9

Notice the blackmail hinted at in some answers: one wife has threatened to divorce her husband if he permits b.t. for her - yet this wife would probably accept b.t. for their children, if push comes to shove! How is she showing godly respect for the head of the household? I wonder if her husband's not a JW and that, she imagines, gives her freedom to negate her marriage vows on a point of belief. Charming.

What JWs are reluctant to admit to publicly are the intimidation tactics subtly employed by their leaders. For legal reasons, they have had to tone down the overt disfellowshipping that used to be almost automatic if a baptised JW took any of the 'forbidden' blood products (that was from 1961 till the late 1990s). For legal reasons, their leaders have moved the b.t. goalposts so far apart now, you could be forgiven for thinking they are champions of improved medical services instead of being those who have contributed to the needless deaths of thousands.

Notice, too, how some JWs honestly admit their reasons are based purely on interpretation of certain Bible passages, whilst others major on medical reasons. The bottom line is that if there was not a single good medical reason for refusing b.ts, they would still die rather than have one because they believe they will die at Armageddon if they commit this spiritual 'crime'. That is subtle intimidation because nowhere in the Bible does God say that anyone breaking ANY of his laws will die at Armageddon. It is those rejecting Christ, or those who - claiming to believe in Christ - still trust in their own 'works' to gain merit with God, who are at grave spiritual risk. JWs believe that refusing b.ts and dying as a result, virtually guarantees them a resurrection on a paradise earth. That is a tragedy of epic proportions. Pray for them, please.

Answer 10

The interesting and contradictory part of all this is the JW's had "new light" and you can receive individual blood fractions (packed cells, platelets and plasma), but not whole blood.