How can anyone in their right mind follow the faith of Jehovah's Witness No (GOD/FAITH ??) could condone this

Question

Jehovah's Witnesses said on Monday they are concerned for the family of a young mother who died after giving birth to twins because her faith prevented her from accepting a blood transfusion

Answer 1

To all the JWs on here. You say that it was the mothers choice. Well, what about the children who have died because of this doctrine. DID THEY HAVE A CHOICE.

Answer 2

It is not her faith that prevents taking blood, it is the Bible.

Acts 15:28, 29 says: "For the 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."

Any Christian who takes a blood transfusion must ignore the above verses. The taking of blood is so serious that it is mentioned along with fornication.

There are alternatives to blood and the medical community is well aware of them. I have no doubt that these would have been considered as treatments. It may be the case that a blood transfusion or any other treatment would not have had much effect. Since the hospital has not commented on the matter, we cannot say for definate at this time.

This case highlights that Jehovah's Witnesses do their very best to follow Bible commands and principles, even when it is not always convenient for them to do so.

There are many Jehovah's Witnesses who have come out of an operating theatre without having a blood transfusion but, of course, that isn't news-worthy is it?

Answer 3

Satan has blinded the minds of the unbelievers...this is so evident with the Witnesses...they are Lost and need to be Saved.
Many have been killed due to this flawed theology.

The sad thing about it is, is that the Organization is slowly changing the rules about blood transfusions. It use to be that you could get disfellowshipped for having an organ transplant.

Can you imagine the grief and the outrage, if you faithfully allowed a child to die due to a belief that organ transplant is a sin, only to have your church tell you that they were in error over their thought on such a procedure.

The ORG> is slowly changing their stance on Blood transfusions...It is already a matter of conscience in countries like Bulgaria, and It will soon be a matter of conscience in Canada.......God must favor the Bulgarians and the Canadians!

Thinking people see how ridiculous this is..It is my hope, that soon the Witnesses will see this too...until then, all we can do is pray.

Answer 4

i don't understand the religion in any respect. The greater I quite have found out approximately it the greater it form of feels love that's a cult! you're no longer even allowed to affiliate your self with a kin member that has desperate that being a Jehovah's Witness isn't for them! How do you no longer permit somebody be a factor of your loved ones simply by fact they have diverse religious ideals yet yet those that are Jehovah's Witnesses declare they are not a cult? Is it truly mandatory to bypass to peoples residences and push your ideals on them? fantastically whilst i understand of a few Jehovah's Witness that are drug purchasers and whores yet yet have lied to all human beings and manipulated them Into thinking they're solid human beings? What approximately no longer being approximately to marry somebody outdoors of your "faith". people who're no longer Jehovah's Witness will quite corrupt you that lots? we are all god's infants. So why could desire to you disassociate yourselves with all human beings? Then assume human beings to no longer think of that's a cult?

Answer 5

The Land Letter was a letter sent to President George W. Bush by five evangelical Christian leaders on October 3, 2002 which outlined their theological support for a just war pre-emptive invasion of Iraq. The letter was written by Richard D. Land, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. It was co-signed by Chuck Colson, founder of Prison Fellowship Ministries, Bill Bright, chairman of Campus Crusade for Christ, James Kennedy, president of Coral Ridge Ministries, and Carl D. Herbster, president of the American Association of Christian Schools.

this group are "christians" and began a war, how many blood was spread in this?

JWS never had participated in a war , for people is Ok to go to a war and kill and be killed for a patriotic ideal but when we obey a command given in Acts 15:28 critizirced and don´t have the sound mind to realize that even doctors are recgonizing that the bible counsel about blood transfunsion is a good advice, recently a medical article describe how dangerous are blood transfusion, have you read that article? are that Doctors ignorant?

Answer 6

i am totally for people choosing what to do with their lives but when a young woman dies at the most important time in (what was her very short ) life then surely something is wrong
i was listening to the news earlier when a spokesman said that their religion states there are many alternative to blood transfusions they would be just as good
so where were these alternatives when this women needed them and if they are just as good why is she now dead?
its a very sad state of affairs when religion something that is said to bring so much joy causes so much grief but then whats new it seems that every major war or any fighting in this world is religion related wheres the sense

Answer 7

They do not allow blood transfusions...this is what they say :-
"Realistically viewed, resorting to blood transfusions even under the most extreme circumstances is not truly lifesaving. It may result in the immediate and very temporary prolongation of life, but that at the cost of eternal life for the dedicated Christian. Then again it may bring sudden death and that forever."
In other words they teach that if a Witness has a blood transfusion they will lose all hope of salvation, which shows that they have no concept of forgiveness.

They say that people have died after getting a transfusion ,true, but a FAR greater number have been saved.

Answer 8

...

If you had of read the whole news article it said that a blood transfusion would not have saved her life anyway.

This means that the whole issue is mute.

Of course that wont stop the ones sensationalizing the whole thing and trying to hang the blame on the Jehovah Witnesses.

The fact is (and ALL people that have an operation must face) that sometimes things go wrong , and when they go wrong , there is often nothing that can be done.

Additionally it must also be recognized that Jehovah's Witnesses have fought hard for the medical rights and freedom that YOU yourself enjoy today.

Answer 9

It is a mistake to insist that Almighty God "condones" any human action or inaction. If the injuries had come from an auto accident or crazed attacker, could it be said that God "condoned" that?


This tragedy occurred nearly two weeks ago, on October 25, 2007. Despite what pro-blood activists and anti-Witness critics might pretend, her doctors informed the family that Mrs. Gough would have died even if she had received blood transfusions.

That's little consolation, but it is unsurprising.

During a hemorrhagic event, artificial expanders almost always work better than blood itself at keeping veins and arteries from collapsing. In addition, targeted treatment of specific blood fractions is considered preferable to old-fashioned "throw everything at it and see what sticks" thinking of whole blood transfusions. Of course, Jehovah's Witnesses generally accept artificial products and fractions derived from plasma, platelets, and red/white cells.

Since Jehovah's Witnesses only refuse whole blood and its four major components, doctors still have many many proven products and techniques. In fact, many or most doctors have come to prefer these products and techniques for ALL their patients.


It is not Jehovah's Witnesses who decide that blood is sacred. It is Almighty God who declares it so, as the Divine Author of the Holy Bible!

As God's spokesman and as Head of the Christian congregation, Jesus Christ made certain that the early congregation reiterated, recorded, and communicated renewed Christian restrictions against the misuse of blood.

Jehovah's Witnesses are not anti-medicine or anti-technology, and they do not have superstitious ideas about some immortal "soul" literally encapsulated in blood. Instead, as Christians, the Witnesses seek to obey the very plain language of the bible regarding blood.

As Christians, they are bound by the bible's words in "the Apostolic Decree". Ironically, 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). God and Christ apparently felt (and feel) that respect for blood is quite important.

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 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.

A better question would ask: How can other self-described Christian religions justify the fact that they don't even care if their adherents drink blood and eat blood products?


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 believe these Scriptures apply to blood and the four primary components which approximate "blood". An individual Jehovah's Witness is likely to accept a targeted treatment for a targeted need, including a treatment which includes a minor fraction derived from plasma, platelets, and/or red/white blood cells.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/e/hb/index.htm?article=article_07.htm
http://watchtower.org/e/vcnb/article_01.htm

Answer 10

Many women die in childbirth, its nothing to do with blood transfusions. What about all the people who do die by taking blood - do those times get published or do the hospitals keep quiet about that. I lost a good friend from having a blood transfusion.

Answer 11

This type of thing is really quite common knowledge and has been part of the JW belief for years.

To be honest I do not think it deserves 3 pages of newspaper. It is a tragedy I feel for the family, especially the children.

I feel almost as upset about the way it has been thrown in the fathers face.