Why is it people get mad at Jehovah's Witnesses for not taking blood...?

Question

If as most of you think we go to heaven when we die.. Then why not follow what the bible said about blood?
Acts 15:28,29:"he holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you,except these necessary things ,to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, You will prosper. Good health to you!"

Acts 15:29 says to "keep abstaining from ...blood." It does not say merely to abstain from animal blood.(compare Leviticus 17:10,which prohibited eating "any sort of blood.")


I have enough faith to do what God commands....
I understand that it is hard for some to grasp the idea with children. But why is it you dont seem to care about the risk of things like AIDS hepatitis and malaria? There are many bad things that can happen with taking blood..

to G V
Comparison about what you said..
Consider a man who is told by the doctor that he must abstain from alcohol. Would he be obedient if he quit drinking alcohol but had it put directly into his veins?

Answer 1

Perhaps more interesting is the question: How can other self-described Christian religions NOT care if their adherents drink blood and eat blood products?

As Christians, they are bound by the bible's words in "the Apostolic Decree". This decree was the first official decision communicated to the various congregations by the twelve faithful apostles (and a handful of other "older men" which the apostles had chosen to add to the first century Christian governing body in Jerusalem). The decree helps demonstrate that the first century Christian congregation was highly organized, and that the holy spirit actively assists those "taking the lead" to make correct decisions.

Here is what the "Apostolic Decree" said, which few self-described Christians obey or even respect:

(Acts 15:20) Write them [the various Christian congregations] to abstain from things polluted by idols and from fornication and from what is strangled and from blood.

(Acts 15:28-29) For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, 29 to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper.


Quite explicitly, the Apostolic Decree quite plainly forbids the misuse of blood by Christians (despite the fact that nearly every other provision of former Jewish Mosaic Law was recognized as unnecessary). It seems odd therefore, that literally one Christian religion continues to teach that humans must not use blood for any purpose other than honoring Almighty God.

Jehovah's Witnesses recognize the repeated bible teaching that blood is specially "owned" by God, and must not be used for any human purpose. Witnesses do not have any superstitious aversion to testing or respectfully handling blood, and Witnesses certainly do not believe that any blame belonging to knowing or unknowing sinners could be somehow transferred to unconscious or unwilling victims.

Answer 2

There are now over a dozen hospitals that are now bloodless. UCLA now performs bloodless transplants.

There is so much in the Bible that they could not have understood the science behind why something should or should not be done. In our modern times, we are learning just how the science fits.

There is no safe blood transfusion, even if there is no infectious agent present in it. Every transfusion lowers the body's immunal response and the exact same manner as AIDS does. There may or may not be any connection, but the fact if that it leaves you open very rare diseases, just like AIDS. It still requires coming into contact with the disease for it to become a problem.

That aside, there is the growing problems with contamination of the blood supply.

I'm a taxi cab driver in Kansas City. Ask most any cab driver or taxi passenger in the area who Papa Bear is and they will tell you.

Last Spring, there was a conference here of reps of Blood Services, from all over the world. They were here to learn a new labeling system. Up until this year, there was no uniform labeling system for blood, causing mismatches and other problems.

I had some passengers from London and I asked them about an article I read that England was importing thousands of pinks of blood a year from the U.S. because of contamination of their local supply by Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (Mad Cow). They said they were, but the practice has been discontinued, as the U.S. supply was no longer considered safe within the parameters they set, in other words, what is an allowable percentage of contamination.

They now get it from Australia. Apparently, Canadian is also not considered safe. She said we are fooling ourselves if we think our supply was anywhere near being safe. There are no tests for Mad Cow that can be done on blood. It can only be confirmed after death. There has also been an increasing rate of viral zoonotic (Rabies).

So, if people want to hide their heads and think their safe, go right ahead, but I'll stay with the 90% of non-JWs who are also refusing blood.

The sale of blood and blood products is big money, to where there is a growing problem with over bleeding of those who donate or sell their blood. When you over bleed, the immune system gets activated, causing a production of chemicals to create clots. That can be a problem for those receiving the blood, to suddenly get a blockage in a vein.

The fact is that what the Jws have done for over 50 years has made the care of patients safer. It is why you must give permission to have your child treated. There is also one benefit of their work for those who do take transfusions. It had driven down the cost of blood as corporations compete to get hospitals to buy from them.

Quality Alternatives to Transfusion
http://www.watchtower.org/e/hb/index.htm?article=article_03.htm

Answer 3

It's not as much that they get mad, they are just concerned and think it's sad. No one likes to hear about someone dying when there are easy ways to keep the person alive. I guess the controversy is more about the children since they have no choice but to follow their parents religious rules and if they die without a blood transfusion, they never had the chance to grow up and decide for themselves if it's the right religion for them. I don't mind what JWs do, it's their business and no one should force them to take blood if they don't want it. I'm not religious but I wouldn't want any medical procedure forced on me if I was against it. The Christian Scientists get harassed about that stuff too.

Answer 4

The point is you should obey what is in the Bible, regardless of what we as imperfect humans think. God knows what is best for us in the long run. Eternal life is more important than living for another few decades in this life.

Answer 5

How do you know it does not mean to maybe keep away from those that cause blood to be shed.As in senseless killing?
I get upset when it pertains to the live of children,they deserve to live and a loving God would not deny this, adults you choose for your selves. Man has his hand in the writing of the bible, how do you know he did not write it according to his personal interpretation? man makes many mistakes,as we are not perfect.
There will be many arguments and different interpretations of the Bible,we just need to live the best lives we can. God Bless!!
Mrs. Mom, you need to quit while U R ahead, hooking up to blood to save a life and hooking up to alcohol,Get Real, you wanted controversy u got it, now your going nuts, sit down and chill.( I didn't want to offend u by saying get a beer and chill)

Answer 6

I don't get angry. I studied with Witnesses for a year and the blood issue was something I had a hard time with. I respect their beliefs and their decision not to accept blood. It may not agree, but it is not up to me to judge others and to tell them how to live.

For those who don't know, there ARE other alternatives to accepting blood. I am not sure of all the details but my Witness friends researched this in great detail and knew they had other options. I knew of a Witness who had 3 major surgeries without receiving blood, and he is just fine.

Answer 7

I used to be an Emergency Room nurse. In one case, a JW family refused for their nine year old son to be given a blood transfusion after he was in a bad car accident. When told that he would die without one, the family still refused and started to tell us they would prefer he have a saline solution instead of a blood transfusion. When we told them that was not sufficient, they still refused a blood transfusion.

I can only speak for myself and tell you how I was feeling. I was angry because I felt some religious quack with no medical training was telling me how to do my job and suggesting something totally inappropriate that was told to them by some people in their church. I felt angry because I thought they were taking a big chance with their child's life, refusing solid medical advice for "trust in God's way".

Answer 8

I only get angry when jehovah's try to force this belief on their children. And why no blood transfusions?? You wear a seat belt to prevent death, get vaccinations, and practice other means to save your lives. So why no blood?? Although there are risks involved contracting blood borne diseases, that risk is very minimal. The blood is tested and the donors run through a battery of questions before they are even allowed to donate. Besides that, most blood comes from regular donors who lead very low risk lifestyles. You stand a better chance of contracting hepatitis, hiv, and stds having sex than you do receiving blood. And it's not like the jehovahas abstain from that!!! Give me a break!

Answer 9

ok, first off, I don't believe that everyone goes to heaven when they die. I can't pretend to know who will or who won't, just what the bible teaches when Jesus said "I am The Way, The Truth, and The life, no one comes to the Father except through me." I'm not going to make judgement statements on who gets into heaven... only that heaven is the place where God is for eternity, and hell is where ever he's not.

your question is referring to their refusal to what, take communion, I'm guessing? that only holds water if you believe that the bread and wine actually transform into flesh and blood. That is also one of my major problems with certain denominations... I don't think Jesus was being literal in saying "this is my body..." I think he was warning them of what was to come and giving them an opportunity to remember what would happen in years to come. I don't think that every communion we eat Jesus' blood and flesh. that seems strange.

Answer 10

Like all things in the Bible it is sooo easy to take things out of context. The taking of blood refers to the drinking of it. When you need a blood transfusion that is not drinking it, it is life saving. Don't you think that a loving, caring father would want you to do whatever needs to be done (with in reason) to preserve life? Especially when we speak of children. We all know his special love for their innocence. I totally agree with transfusions as long as the blood has been inspected first for all diseases. It has saved countless lives already and will continue to do so.