i know nothing about JW
- Thread starter CrystalBrooke
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Chaucer said:
The original implication.
Chaucer said:
My response;
Did I say that? Where did I say anything like that? My friend also had an advanced degree in Religion and apparently loved the Lord but all the degree represented to him was a piece of paper he needed to pursue his calling. He stated that in his 3 years studying Theology, under professors who had taught longer than I had been alive and my friend was younger than I, he learned nothing. Acquiring a diploma does not necessarily mean that one acquired knowledge. Many people play the system. Infer what you will.
You imply that in this statement I compare Trinity to a recidivist criminal.He spent three years regurgitating back the answers his professors wanted to hear. Convicts do that all the time in treatment programs, they work the system, get their releases and go back out on the streets and do the same crimes all over again.
Once again I ask where did I compare Trinity to a recidivist criminal? I have explained my meaning twice, it is unfortunate that you cannot understand what I am saying or deliberately choose to misrepresent what I said. Do you understand the term, “work/play the system?"
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Hi,
It would seem to me that the best place to find out what a Jehovah Witness believes is from one of them
Just Human
It would seem to me that the best place to find out what a Jehovah Witness believes is from one of them
Just Human
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Der Alter said:
Well, I haven't checked out either site yet, but from the titles alone I would think:
a) religious tolerance would provide a more well-rounded, more relaxed and unbiased approached to the subject while
b) CULTwatch automatically sends a red flag that this site has an agenda placing the subject matter in a negative light.
Personally, I would rather talk to a German resident about Germany, a college graduate about college, and a Baptist about the Baptist Church.
Trin.
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Der Alter Do you understand the term said:
So, essentially, you are saying "I worked the system" in getting my degree? Well, I have to admit....
Yeah - I did
Actually, I was thinking of doing some writing and thought no one would take me seriously unless I had some letters after my name. Now, 4 years later (I took my time) and was truly interested in the subject matter, but found few of my beliefs challenged even after writing papers proving things that I don't agree with. My degree has essentially taught me that Christianity is like statistics - you can use it to prove anything.
But, I offer my 'advanced learning' to support that maybe I do know something from which I speak. And I did learn the tools to research answers.
Trin
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If I lived in the 1st century and wanted to know more about this new kid on the block called Christianity.......should I ask questions directly to Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, or Paul?.........Or should I learn the truth about these Christians from the Scribes and the Pharisees?
How did the scribes and pharisees view this 'new' religion called Christianity?
How did the scribes and pharisees view this 'new' religion called Christianity?
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Der Alter said:
Right here in this thread yesterday at 12:07am
"A few decades ago when a friend of mine graduated with his Master's degree from a major Theological seminary he said, as nearly as I can recall, "I wasted three years here, I didn't learn a thing. All I wanted was this piece of paper which I have to have to be a pastor." He spent three years regurgitating back the answers his professors wanted to hear. Convicts do that all the time in treatment programs, they work the system, get their releases and go back out on the streets and do the same crimes all over again.
I leave it to the reader to decide whether in denigrating Trinity's advance degree in religion you compare him to a convict.
I can understand you wanting to distance yourself from your previous comments but the easiest way would be to say, "whoops, I sorry - bad analogy," instead of claiming that I misintepreted your comments. It's not like we can't read what you said, you know.
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lared said:
Lared the OP did ask the question directly from the likes of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Unfortunately the likes of the Scribes and the Pharisees seem to have ambushed him. I have combed through the thread hoping to see his request answered and been pretty much frustrated. Well maybe he can always PM you guys and get the answers he wants.
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trinity2359 said:
Sounds like so many other exclusive Christian "religions". I can't hardly tell the difference between them anymore.
I don't really have a problem with the differences in doctrine, I just have a problem with the people in charge of all these differnt sects. They start sounding like a lot of politicians trying to stay in office.
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Yep you are right. This is a problem that goes way back. There was a problem during the time of the Apostles as well. Factions would always remain. Consider Paul's words at 1 Corinthians 3:5-8McCravey said:
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1. Jesus from Jehovah's witness is Michael the Archangel.
2. Watchtower prophecies : Armageddon in 1975 , but just pass away.
3. Prophecies in 1975 makes Watchtower lost their followers until 75%.
4. They believe in paradise on earth
etc.
so many.
2. Watchtower prophecies : Armageddon in 1975 , but just pass away.
3. Prophecies in 1975 makes Watchtower lost their followers until 75%.
4. They believe in paradise on earth
etc.
so many.
Upvote
0
they not receive Blood
*** Awake! 1994 May 22 p.2 ***
Youths Who Put God First
In former times thousands of youths died for putting God first. They are still doing it, only today the drama is played out in hospitals and courtrooms, with blood transfusions the issue.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Reference Bible Leviticus 3:17 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
They know that if they violate God's law on blood and the child dies in the process, they have endangered that child's opportunity for everlasting life in God's new world.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Blood, Medecine, and the Law of God p.55) ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
It may result in the immediate and very temporary prolongation of life, but that at the cost of eternal life for a dedicated Christian.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Watchtower 1961 September 15 pp.563-564 ***
PERSONALITY INFLUENCED
15 Those who are more inclined to rest their confidence in the learning of men than in the wisdom of God may feel that the care exercised in the selection of blood donors makes it possible to avoid all these dangers. But consider the facts. It will probably shock you to learn that the blood of dead people is being transfused into the bodies of hospital patients, but reports from Russia and Spain show that it is exactly what is done there; and even in the United States of America experiments have been conducted with transfusion of cadaver blood! Of course, that probably is not the practice in your community. But the magazine Time as of May 26, 1961, reports the case of a 49-year-old woman in the Pontiac General Hospital who was given two pints of blood from the cadaver of a 12-year-old boy who had drowned in a nearby lake and who had been dead from two and a half to three hours. Also, that as long ago as 1935 a doctor in a Chicago suburb had used a technique like that of the Russians, and that this American doctor accounted for about thirty-five cadaver-blood transfusions in two years. Perhaps the donor is one's own living relative, a reputable, clean-living individual. Does that assure safety? No; it will not remove the danger of a reaction due to incompatibility; nor does it guarantee that the individual may not be the carrier of some disease, perhaps even unknown to himself. In most cases, however, one who receives blood has no idea who the donor is. Some of it may come from healthy persons; some from alcoholics and degenerates. Criminals in jail are given the opportunity to donate their blood. For example, the New York Times of April 6, 1961, reported: "Inmates of Sing Sing Prison at Ossining will give blood to the Red Cross today." A commendable act? Perhaps not as beneficial to their fellow men as the community is led to believe.
16 When the Israelites were preparing to enter the Promised Land, Jehovah moved Moses to repeat to them his law forbidding the consumption of blood. As recorded at Deuteronomy 12:25, he said: "You must not eat it, in order that it may go well with you and your sons after you, because you will do what is right in Jehovah's eyes." An edition of the Pentateuch edited by J. H. Hertz has a footnote on that expression "that it may go well with you," which says: "Ibn Ezra suggests that the use of blood would have a demoralising effect upon the moral and physical nature, and pass on a hereditary taint to future generations." The point is an interesting one, and that it may apply in the matter of blood transfusions is testified to by medical doctors. For example, in his book Who Is Your Doctor and Why? Doctor Alonzo Jay Shadman says: "The blood in any person is in reality the person himself. It contains all the peculiarities of the individual from whence it comes. This includes hereditary taints, disease susceptibilities, poisons due to personal living, eating and drinking habits. . . . The poisons that produce the impulse to commit suicide, murder, or steal are in the blood." And Dr. Américo Valério, Brazilian doctor and surgeon for over forty years, agrees. "Moral insanity, sexual perversions, repression, inferiority complexes, petty crimesthese often follow in the wake of blood transfusion," he says. Yet it is acknowledged in the public press that organizations whose blood supply is considered reliable obtain blood for transfusion from criminals who are known to have such characteristics. Certainly no one who is trying to depart from the works of the flesh and use his life in the way that God directs through his Word is going to lay himself open to such a ruinous future.Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:22-24.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Awake! 1994 May 22 p.2 ***
Youths Who Put God First
In former times thousands of youths died for putting God first. They are still doing it, only today the drama is played out in hospitals and courtrooms, with blood transfusions the issue.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Reference Bible Leviticus 3:17 ***
17 "'It is a statute to time indefinite for YOUR generations, in all YOUR dwelling places: YOU must not eat any fat or any blood at all.'"
[Emphasis Added]
*** Consolation December 25th 1940 p.19 ***[Emphasis Added]
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The Mending of a heart
In New York city a house wife in moving a boarder's things accidentally shot herself through the heart with his revolver. She was rushed to a hospital, her left breast was cut around, four ribs were cut away, the heart was lifted out, three stitches were taken, one of the attending physicians in the great emergency gave a quart of his blood for transfusion, and today the woman lives and smiles gaily over what happened to her in the busiest 23 minutes of her life.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Watchtower 1945 July 1st pp.198-201***The Mending of a heart
In New York city a house wife in moving a boarder's things accidentally shot herself through the heart with his revolver. She was rushed to a hospital, her left breast was cut around, four ribs were cut away, the heart was lifted out, three stitches were taken, one of the attending physicians in the great emergency gave a quart of his blood for transfusion, and today the woman lives and smiles gaily over what happened to her in the busiest 23 minutes of her life.
[Emphasis Added]
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
[This is a paraphrase, not a quote]
[Blood transfusions and blood products are officially banned as pagan and God-dishonoring]
*** Blood, Medecine, and the Law of God p.54 ***[This is a paraphrase, not a quote]
[Blood transfusions and blood products are officially banned as pagan and God-dishonoring]
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
They know that if they violate God's law on blood and the child dies in the process, they have endangered that child's opportunity for everlasting life in God's new world.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Blood, Medecine, and the Law of God p.55) ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
It may result in the immediate and very temporary prolongation of life, but that at the cost of eternal life for a dedicated Christian.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Watchtower 1961 September 15 pp.563-564 ***
PERSONALITY INFLUENCED
15 Those who are more inclined to rest their confidence in the learning of men than in the wisdom of God may feel that the care exercised in the selection of blood donors makes it possible to avoid all these dangers. But consider the facts. It will probably shock you to learn that the blood of dead people is being transfused into the bodies of hospital patients, but reports from Russia and Spain show that it is exactly what is done there; and even in the United States of America experiments have been conducted with transfusion of cadaver blood! Of course, that probably is not the practice in your community. But the magazine Time as of May 26, 1961, reports the case of a 49-year-old woman in the Pontiac General Hospital who was given two pints of blood from the cadaver of a 12-year-old boy who had drowned in a nearby lake and who had been dead from two and a half to three hours. Also, that as long ago as 1935 a doctor in a Chicago suburb had used a technique like that of the Russians, and that this American doctor accounted for about thirty-five cadaver-blood transfusions in two years. Perhaps the donor is one's own living relative, a reputable, clean-living individual. Does that assure safety? No; it will not remove the danger of a reaction due to incompatibility; nor does it guarantee that the individual may not be the carrier of some disease, perhaps even unknown to himself. In most cases, however, one who receives blood has no idea who the donor is. Some of it may come from healthy persons; some from alcoholics and degenerates. Criminals in jail are given the opportunity to donate their blood. For example, the New York Times of April 6, 1961, reported: "Inmates of Sing Sing Prison at Ossining will give blood to the Red Cross today." A commendable act? Perhaps not as beneficial to their fellow men as the community is led to believe.
16 When the Israelites were preparing to enter the Promised Land, Jehovah moved Moses to repeat to them his law forbidding the consumption of blood. As recorded at Deuteronomy 12:25, he said: "You must not eat it, in order that it may go well with you and your sons after you, because you will do what is right in Jehovah's eyes." An edition of the Pentateuch edited by J. H. Hertz has a footnote on that expression "that it may go well with you," which says: "Ibn Ezra suggests that the use of blood would have a demoralising effect upon the moral and physical nature, and pass on a hereditary taint to future generations." The point is an interesting one, and that it may apply in the matter of blood transfusions is testified to by medical doctors. For example, in his book Who Is Your Doctor and Why? Doctor Alonzo Jay Shadman says: "The blood in any person is in reality the person himself. It contains all the peculiarities of the individual from whence it comes. This includes hereditary taints, disease susceptibilities, poisons due to personal living, eating and drinking habits. . . . The poisons that produce the impulse to commit suicide, murder, or steal are in the blood." And Dr. Américo Valério, Brazilian doctor and surgeon for over forty years, agrees. "Moral insanity, sexual perversions, repression, inferiority complexes, petty crimesthese often follow in the wake of blood transfusion," he says. Yet it is acknowledged in the public press that organizations whose blood supply is considered reliable obtain blood for transfusion from criminals who are known to have such characteristics. Certainly no one who is trying to depart from the works of the flesh and use his life in the way that God directs through his Word is going to lay himself open to such a ruinous future.Rom. 12:2; Eph. 4:22-24.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Watchtower 1964 November 15 pp.680-3 Employment and Your Conscience ***
The Society does not endorse any of the modern medical uses of blood, such as the uses of blood in connection with inoculations. Inoculation is, however, a virtually unavoidable circumstance in some segments of society, and so we leave it up to the conscience of the individual to determine whether to submit to inoculation with a serum containing blood fractions for the purpose of building up antibodies to fight against disease. If a person did this, he may derive comfort under the circumstances from the fact that he is not directly eating blood, which is expressly forbidden in God's Word. It is not used for food or to replace lost blood. Here the Christian must make his own decision based on conscience. Therefore, whether a Christian will submit to inoculation with a serum, or whether doctors or nurses who are Christians will administer such, is for personal decision. Christians in the medical profession are individually responsible for employment decisions. They must bear the consequences of decisions made, in keeping with the principle at Galatians 6:5. Some doctors who are Jehovah's witnesses have administered blood transfusions to persons of the world upon request. However, they do not do so in the case of one of Jehovah's dedicated witnesses. In harmony with Deuteronomy 14:21, the administering of blood upon request to worldly persons is left to the Christian doctor's own conscience. This is similar to the situation facing a Christian butcher or grocer who must decide whether he can conscientiously sell blood sausage to a worldly person.
[Emphasis Added]
The Society does not endorse any of the modern medical uses of blood, such as the uses of blood in connection with inoculations. Inoculation is, however, a virtually unavoidable circumstance in some segments of society, and so we leave it up to the conscience of the individual to determine whether to submit to inoculation with a serum containing blood fractions for the purpose of building up antibodies to fight against disease. If a person did this, he may derive comfort under the circumstances from the fact that he is not directly eating blood, which is expressly forbidden in God's Word. It is not used for food or to replace lost blood. Here the Christian must make his own decision based on conscience. Therefore, whether a Christian will submit to inoculation with a serum, or whether doctors or nurses who are Christians will administer such, is for personal decision. Christians in the medical profession are individually responsible for employment decisions. They must bear the consequences of decisions made, in keeping with the principle at Galatians 6:5. Some doctors who are Jehovah's witnesses have administered blood transfusions to persons of the world upon request. However, they do not do so in the case of one of Jehovah's dedicated witnesses. In harmony with Deuteronomy 14:21, the administering of blood upon request to worldly persons is left to the Christian doctor's own conscience. This is similar to the situation facing a Christian butcher or grocer who must decide whether he can conscientiously sell blood sausage to a worldly person.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Watchtower 1964 February 15 pp.127-8 Questions from Readers ***
Questions from Readers
Would it be a violation of the Scriptures for a Christian to permit a veterinarian to give blood transfusions to a pet? And what of animal food? May it be used if there is reason to believe there is blood in it? Also, is it permissible to use fertilizer that has blood in it?
[ ]
Would it be a violation of the Scriptures for a Christian to permit a veterinarian to give blood transfusions to a pet? By all means, to do so would be a violation of the Scriptures. To use blood for transfusion purposes, even in the case of an animal, would be improper.
[ ]
What, then, of animal food? May it be used if there is reason to believe there is blood in it? As far as a Christian is concerned, the answer is No, on the basis of principles already mentioned. Therefore, if a Christian discovers that blood components are listed on the label of a container of dog food or some other animal food, he could not conscientiously feed that product to any animal over which he has jurisdiction. He could not conclude that doing so would be excusable, for this would not be a case of an animal killing another animal and helping itself to the blood of that creature. No, this would be a direct act on the part of the Christian, making him responsible for feeding blood to a pet or other animal belonging to him
But now, what about fertilizer that has blood in it? One who is going to show respect for God's law on blood would not use it. True, according to the Mosaic law, blood when taken from a body was to be poured out upon the ground and covered over with dust. (Lev. 17:13, 14) The objective was, however, that the blood should serve no useful purpose when thus disposed of. It was not placed on the ground with the thought in mind that it would serve as fertilizer. Hence, no Christian farmer today could properly spread blood on his fields to fertilize the soil, nor would he use commercial fertilizer containing blood. Such blood use would be a commercializing on something that God has reserved for himself. It would be a violation of God's Word.
[Emphasis Added]
Questions from Readers
Would it be a violation of the Scriptures for a Christian to permit a veterinarian to give blood transfusions to a pet? And what of animal food? May it be used if there is reason to believe there is blood in it? Also, is it permissible to use fertilizer that has blood in it?
[ ]
Would it be a violation of the Scriptures for a Christian to permit a veterinarian to give blood transfusions to a pet? By all means, to do so would be a violation of the Scriptures. To use blood for transfusion purposes, even in the case of an animal, would be improper.
[ ]
What, then, of animal food? May it be used if there is reason to believe there is blood in it? As far as a Christian is concerned, the answer is No, on the basis of principles already mentioned. Therefore, if a Christian discovers that blood components are listed on the label of a container of dog food or some other animal food, he could not conscientiously feed that product to any animal over which he has jurisdiction. He could not conclude that doing so would be excusable, for this would not be a case of an animal killing another animal and helping itself to the blood of that creature. No, this would be a direct act on the part of the Christian, making him responsible for feeding blood to a pet or other animal belonging to him
But now, what about fertilizer that has blood in it? One who is going to show respect for God's law on blood would not use it. True, according to the Mosaic law, blood when taken from a body was to be poured out upon the ground and covered over with dust. (Lev. 17:13, 14) The objective was, however, that the blood should serve no useful purpose when thus disposed of. It was not placed on the ground with the thought in mind that it would serve as fertilizer. Hence, no Christian farmer today could properly spread blood on his fields to fertilize the soil, nor would he use commercial fertilizer containing blood. Such blood use would be a commercializing on something that God has reserved for himself. It would be a violation of God's Word.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Jehovah's Witnesses and the Question of Blood (1977) pp.18-19 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The issue of blood for Jehovah's Witnesses, therefore, involves the most fundamental principles... Their relationship with their Creator and God is at stake.
[Emphasis Added]
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The issue of blood for Jehovah's Witnesses, therefore, involves the most fundamental principles... Their relationship with their Creator and God is at stake.
[Emphasis Added]
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But THEY RECEIVE BLOOD FRACTIONS
*** Watchtower 2000 June 15 p.31 Questions from Readers ***
Questions from Readers
Do Jehovah's Witnesses accept any medical products derived from blood?
The fundamental answer is that Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept blood. We firmly believe that God's law on blood is not open to reform to fit shifting opinions. Still, new issues arise because blood can now be processed into four primary components. In deciding whether to accept such, a Christian should look beyond possible medical benefits and risks. His concern should be what the Bible says and the potential effect on his relationship with Almighty God.
The key issues are quite simple. As an aid to seeing why that is some consider some Biblical, historical, and medical background.
Jehovah God told our common ancestor Noah that blood must be treated as something special. (Genesis 9:3,4) Later, God's laws to Israel reflected the sacredness of blood: As for any man of the house of Israel or some alien resident who says any sort of blood, I shall certainly set my face against the soul that is eating the blood. By rejecting God's law, an Israelite could contaminate other; thus, God added: I shall indeed cut him off from among his people. (Leviticus 17:10) Later, at a meeting in Jerusalem, the apostles and older men decreed that we must 'abstain from blood.' Doing so is as vital as abstaining from sexual immorality and idolatry. Acts 15:28,29.
What would abstaining have meant back then? Christians did not consume blood, whether fresh or coagulated: nor did they eat meat from an unbled animal. Also ruled out would be foods to which blood was added, such as blood sausage. Taking in blood in any of those ways would violate God's law. 1 Samuel 14:32, 33.
Most people in ancient times would not have been troubled over the consuming of blood, as we can see from the writings of Tertullian (second and third centuries C.E.). Responding to false charges that Christians consumed blood, Tertullian mentioned tribes that sealed treaties by tasting blood. He also noted that when a show is given in the arena, [some] with greedy thirst have caught the fresh blood of the guilty as a cure for their epilepsy.
Those practices (even if some Romans did them for health reasons) were wrong for Christians: We do not include even animals' blood in our natural diet, wrote Tertullian. The Romans used food containing blood as a test of the integrity of real Christians. Tertullian added: Now, I ask you, what sort of a thing is it, that when you are confident [that Christians] will turn with horror from animals' blood, you should suppose them greedy for human blood?
Today, few people would think that the laws of Almighty God are at issue if a physician suggested their taking blood. While Jehovah's Witnesses certainly want to keep living, we are committed to obey Jehovah's law on blood. What does this mean in the light of current medical practice?
As transfusions of whole blood became common after World War II, Jehovah's Witnesses saw that this was contrary to God's law and we still believe that. Yet, medicine has changed over time. Today, most transfusions are not of whole blood but of one of its primary components: (1) red cells; (2) white cells; (3) platelets; (4) plasma (serum), the fluid part. Depending on the condition of the patient, physicians might prescribe red cells, white cells, platelets, or plasma. Transfusing these major components allows a single unit of blood to be divided among more patients. Jehovah's Witnesses hold that accepting whole blood or any of those four primary components violates God's law. Significantly, keeping to this Bible-based position has protected them from many risks, including such diseases as hepatitis and AIDS that can be contracted from blood.
However, since blood can be processed beyond those primary components, questions arise about fractions derived from the primary blood components. How are such fractions used, and what should a Christian consider when deciding on them?
Blood is complex. Even the plasma which is 90 percent water - carries scores of hormones, inorganic salts, enzymes, and nutrients, including minerals and sugar. Plasma also carries such proteins as albumin, clotting factors, and antibodies to fight diseases. Technicians isolate and use many plasma proteins. For example, clotting factor VIII has been given to hemophiliacs, who bleed easily. Or if someone is exposed to certain diseases, doctors might prescribe injections of gamma globulin, extracted from the blood plasma of people who already had immunity. Other plasma proteins are used medically, but the above mentioned illustrate how a primary blood component (plasma) may be processed to obtain fractions. *
*Footnote: See Questions From Readers in The Watchtower of June 15, 1978, and October 1, 1994. Pharmaceutical firms have developed recombinant products that are not taken from blood and that may prescribed in place of some blood fractions used in the past.
Just as blood plasma can be a source of various fractions, the other primary components (red cells, white cells, platelets) can be processed to isolate smaller parts. For example, white blood cells may be a source of interferons and interleukins, used to treat some viral infections and cancers. Platelets can be processed to extract a wound healing factor. And other medicines are coming along that involved (at least initially) extracts from blood components. Such therapies are not transfusions of those primary components; they usually involve parts or fractions thereof. Should Christians accept these fractions in medical treatment? We cannot say. The Bible does not give details, so a Christian must make his own conscientious decision before God.
Some would refuse anything derived from blood (even fractions intended to provide temporary passive immunity). That is how they understand God's command to 'abstain from blood.' They reason that his law to Israel required that blood removed from a creature be 'poured out on the ground.' (Deuteronomy 12: 22-24) Why is that relevant? Well, to prepare gamma globulin, blood-based clotting factors, and so on, requires that blood be collected and processed. Hence, some Christians reject such products, just as they reject transfusions of whole blood or of its four primary components. Their sincere, conscientious stand should be respected.
Other Christians decide differently. They too refuse transfusions of whole blood, red cells, white cells, platelets, or plasma. Yet, they might allow a physician to treat them with a fraction extracted from the primary components. Even here there may be differences. One Christian may accept a gamma globulin injection, but he may or may not agree to an injection containing something extracted from red or white cells. Overall, though, what might lead some Christians to conclude that they could accept blood fractions?
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS FOR THE DOCTOR
If you face surgery or a treatment that might involve a blood product, ask:
Does the fact that opinions and conscientious decisions may differ mean that the issue inconsequential? No. It is serious. Yet, there is a basic simplicity. The above material shows that Jehovah's Witnesses refuse transfusions of both whole blood and its primary blood components. The Bible directs Christians to 'abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from fornication'. (Acts 15:29) Beyond that, when it comes to fractions of any of the primary components, each Christian, after careful and prayerful meditation, must conscientiously decide for himself.
Many people would be willing accept any therapy that seems to offer immediate benefit, even a therapy have know health risks, as is true of blood products. The sincere Christian endeavors to have a broader, more balanced view that involves more than just the physical aspects. Jehovah's Witnesses appreciate efforts to provide quality medical care, and they weight the risk/benefit ratio of any treatment. However, when it comes to products derived from blood, they carefully weigh what God says and their personal relationship with our Life-Giver. Psalm 36:9.
What a blessing for a Christian to have such confidence as the psalmist who wrote: Jehovah God is a sun and a shield; favor and glory are what he gives. Jehovah himself will not hold back anything good from those waking in faultlessness. O Jehovah., happy is the man that is trusting in you! Psalm 84: 11, 12.
[Emphasis Added]
Questions from Readers
Do Jehovah's Witnesses accept any medical products derived from blood?
The fundamental answer is that Jehovah's Witnesses do not accept blood. We firmly believe that God's law on blood is not open to reform to fit shifting opinions. Still, new issues arise because blood can now be processed into four primary components. In deciding whether to accept such, a Christian should look beyond possible medical benefits and risks. His concern should be what the Bible says and the potential effect on his relationship with Almighty God.
The key issues are quite simple. As an aid to seeing why that is some consider some Biblical, historical, and medical background.
Jehovah God told our common ancestor Noah that blood must be treated as something special. (Genesis 9:3,4) Later, God's laws to Israel reflected the sacredness of blood: As for any man of the house of Israel or some alien resident who says any sort of blood, I shall certainly set my face against the soul that is eating the blood. By rejecting God's law, an Israelite could contaminate other; thus, God added: I shall indeed cut him off from among his people. (Leviticus 17:10) Later, at a meeting in Jerusalem, the apostles and older men decreed that we must 'abstain from blood.' Doing so is as vital as abstaining from sexual immorality and idolatry. Acts 15:28,29.
What would abstaining have meant back then? Christians did not consume blood, whether fresh or coagulated: nor did they eat meat from an unbled animal. Also ruled out would be foods to which blood was added, such as blood sausage. Taking in blood in any of those ways would violate God's law. 1 Samuel 14:32, 33.
Most people in ancient times would not have been troubled over the consuming of blood, as we can see from the writings of Tertullian (second and third centuries C.E.). Responding to false charges that Christians consumed blood, Tertullian mentioned tribes that sealed treaties by tasting blood. He also noted that when a show is given in the arena, [some] with greedy thirst have caught the fresh blood of the guilty as a cure for their epilepsy.
Those practices (even if some Romans did them for health reasons) were wrong for Christians: We do not include even animals' blood in our natural diet, wrote Tertullian. The Romans used food containing blood as a test of the integrity of real Christians. Tertullian added: Now, I ask you, what sort of a thing is it, that when you are confident [that Christians] will turn with horror from animals' blood, you should suppose them greedy for human blood?
Today, few people would think that the laws of Almighty God are at issue if a physician suggested their taking blood. While Jehovah's Witnesses certainly want to keep living, we are committed to obey Jehovah's law on blood. What does this mean in the light of current medical practice?
As transfusions of whole blood became common after World War II, Jehovah's Witnesses saw that this was contrary to God's law and we still believe that. Yet, medicine has changed over time. Today, most transfusions are not of whole blood but of one of its primary components: (1) red cells; (2) white cells; (3) platelets; (4) plasma (serum), the fluid part. Depending on the condition of the patient, physicians might prescribe red cells, white cells, platelets, or plasma. Transfusing these major components allows a single unit of blood to be divided among more patients. Jehovah's Witnesses hold that accepting whole blood or any of those four primary components violates God's law. Significantly, keeping to this Bible-based position has protected them from many risks, including such diseases as hepatitis and AIDS that can be contracted from blood.
However, since blood can be processed beyond those primary components, questions arise about fractions derived from the primary blood components. How are such fractions used, and what should a Christian consider when deciding on them?
Blood is complex. Even the plasma which is 90 percent water - carries scores of hormones, inorganic salts, enzymes, and nutrients, including minerals and sugar. Plasma also carries such proteins as albumin, clotting factors, and antibodies to fight diseases. Technicians isolate and use many plasma proteins. For example, clotting factor VIII has been given to hemophiliacs, who bleed easily. Or if someone is exposed to certain diseases, doctors might prescribe injections of gamma globulin, extracted from the blood plasma of people who already had immunity. Other plasma proteins are used medically, but the above mentioned illustrate how a primary blood component (plasma) may be processed to obtain fractions. *
*Footnote: See Questions From Readers in The Watchtower of June 15, 1978, and October 1, 1994. Pharmaceutical firms have developed recombinant products that are not taken from blood and that may prescribed in place of some blood fractions used in the past.
Just as blood plasma can be a source of various fractions, the other primary components (red cells, white cells, platelets) can be processed to isolate smaller parts. For example, white blood cells may be a source of interferons and interleukins, used to treat some viral infections and cancers. Platelets can be processed to extract a wound healing factor. And other medicines are coming along that involved (at least initially) extracts from blood components. Such therapies are not transfusions of those primary components; they usually involve parts or fractions thereof. Should Christians accept these fractions in medical treatment? We cannot say. The Bible does not give details, so a Christian must make his own conscientious decision before God.
Some would refuse anything derived from blood (even fractions intended to provide temporary passive immunity). That is how they understand God's command to 'abstain from blood.' They reason that his law to Israel required that blood removed from a creature be 'poured out on the ground.' (Deuteronomy 12: 22-24) Why is that relevant? Well, to prepare gamma globulin, blood-based clotting factors, and so on, requires that blood be collected and processed. Hence, some Christians reject such products, just as they reject transfusions of whole blood or of its four primary components. Their sincere, conscientious stand should be respected.
Other Christians decide differently. They too refuse transfusions of whole blood, red cells, white cells, platelets, or plasma. Yet, they might allow a physician to treat them with a fraction extracted from the primary components. Even here there may be differences. One Christian may accept a gamma globulin injection, but he may or may not agree to an injection containing something extracted from red or white cells. Overall, though, what might lead some Christians to conclude that they could accept blood fractions?
SUGGESTED QUESTIONS FOR THE DOCTOR
If you face surgery or a treatment that might involve a blood product, ask:
- Do all the medical personnel involved know that, as one of Jehovah's Witnesses, I direct that no blood transfusions (whole blood, red cells, white cells, platelets, or blood plasma) be given to me under any circumstances?
- Has the medicine been made from one of the four primary blood components? If so, would you explain its makeup?
- How much of this blood-derived medicine might be administered, and in what way?
- If my conscience permits me to accept this fraction, what medical risks are there?
- If my conscience moves me to decline this fraction, what other therapy might be used?
- After I have considered this matter further, when may I inform you of my decision?
Does the fact that opinions and conscientious decisions may differ mean that the issue inconsequential? No. It is serious. Yet, there is a basic simplicity. The above material shows that Jehovah's Witnesses refuse transfusions of both whole blood and its primary blood components. The Bible directs Christians to 'abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from fornication'. (Acts 15:29) Beyond that, when it comes to fractions of any of the primary components, each Christian, after careful and prayerful meditation, must conscientiously decide for himself.
Many people would be willing accept any therapy that seems to offer immediate benefit, even a therapy have know health risks, as is true of blood products. The sincere Christian endeavors to have a broader, more balanced view that involves more than just the physical aspects. Jehovah's Witnesses appreciate efforts to provide quality medical care, and they weight the risk/benefit ratio of any treatment. However, when it comes to products derived from blood, they carefully weigh what God says and their personal relationship with our Life-Giver. Psalm 36:9.
What a blessing for a Christian to have such confidence as the psalmist who wrote: Jehovah God is a sun and a shield; favor and glory are what he gives. Jehovah himself will not hold back anything good from those waking in faultlessness. O Jehovah., happy is the man that is trusting in you! Psalm 84: 11, 12.
[Emphasis Added]
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*** The Watchtower Reprints, November 1890, p. 1 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
We need not here repeat the evidences that the 'seventh trumpet' began its sounding in A.D. 1840, and will continue until the end of the time of trouble.
[Emphasis Added]
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
We need not here repeat the evidences that the 'seventh trumpet' began its sounding in A.D. 1840, and will continue until the end of the time of trouble.
[Emphasis Added]
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*** Studies in the Scriptures Vol. 2, 1906 ***
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Six Thousand years from the creation of Adam were complete in A.D. 1872, and hence that since A.D. 1872, we chronologically entered upon the seventh thousand or the Millenium.
[Emphasis Added]
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
Six Thousand years from the creation of Adam were complete in A.D. 1872, and hence that since A.D. 1872, we chronologically entered upon the seventh thousand or the Millenium.
[Emphasis Added]
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1975
*** Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God (book) 1966 p. 35 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
1975 - 6000 End of 6th 1,000-year day of man's existence (in early autumn).
1925
*** Watchtower 1922 September 1 p.262 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914.
[Emphasis Added]
1918
*** The Watchtower Reprints, October 1, 1917, p.6149 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The parallel, therefore, would establish definitely that the harvest would close forty years thereafter; to wit, in the spring of A.D. 1918. If this be true, and the evidence is very conclusive that it is true, then we have only a few months in which to labor before the great night settles down when no man can work.
[Emphasis Added]
1914
*** The Watchtower Reprints, October 1890, p. 1243 ***
The Millennium of peace and blessing would be introduced by forty years of trouble, beginning slightly in 1874 and increasing until social chaos should prevail in 1914
[Emphasis Added]
1978
*** Studies in the Scriptures Vol.2, 1906 p.101 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The Kingdom of God is already begun, which is pointed out in prophecy as due to begin the exercise of power in A.D. 1878, and that the "battle of the great day of God Almighty" which will end in 1914 with the complete overthrow of the earth's present rulership, is already commenced.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God (book) 1966 p. 35 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
1975 - 6000 End of 6th 1,000-year day of man's existence (in early autumn).
1925
*** Watchtower 1922 September 1 p.262 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914.
[Emphasis Added]
1918
*** The Watchtower Reprints, October 1, 1917, p.6149 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The parallel, therefore, would establish definitely that the harvest would close forty years thereafter; to wit, in the spring of A.D. 1918. If this be true, and the evidence is very conclusive that it is true, then we have only a few months in which to labor before the great night settles down when no man can work.
[Emphasis Added]
1914
*** The Watchtower Reprints, October 1890, p. 1243 ***
The Millennium of peace and blessing would be introduced by forty years of trouble, beginning slightly in 1874 and increasing until social chaos should prevail in 1914
[Emphasis Added]
1978
*** Studies in the Scriptures Vol.2, 1906 p.101 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The Kingdom of God is already begun, which is pointed out in prophecy as due to begin the exercise of power in A.D. 1878, and that the "battle of the great day of God Almighty" which will end in 1914 with the complete overthrow of the earth's present rulership, is already commenced.
[Emphasis Added]
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*** The Golden Age 1923 January 3rd, p.214 ***
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The public is not generally aware of how large an industry is the manufacture of serums, anti-toxins and vaccines, or that big business controls the whole industry...
...the boards of health endeavor to start an epidemic of smallpox, diphtheria, or typhoid that they may reap a golden harvest by inoculating an unthinking community for the very purpose of disposing of this manufactured filth...
Vaccination summed up is the most unnatural, unhygienic, barbaric, filthy, abhorrent, and most dangerous system of infection known. Its vile poison taints, corrupts, and pollutes the blood of the healthy, resulting in ulcers, syphilis, scrofula, erysipelas, tuberculosis, cancer, tetanus, insanity, and death.
[Emphasis Added]
vaccination is a crime
*** The Golden Age, May 1, 1929, p. 502 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
Thinking people would rather have smallpox than vaccination, because the latter sows the seed of syphilis, cancers, escema, erysipelas, scrofula, consumption, even leprosy and many other loathsome affections. Hence the practice of vaccination is a crime, an outrage and a delusion.
[Emphasis Added]
*** The Golden Age, November 13, 1929, pp. 106-107 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
Avoid serum inoculations and vaccinations as they pollute the blood stream with their filthy pus.
[Emphasis Added]
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The public is not generally aware of how large an industry is the manufacture of serums, anti-toxins and vaccines, or that big business controls the whole industry...
...the boards of health endeavor to start an epidemic of smallpox, diphtheria, or typhoid that they may reap a golden harvest by inoculating an unthinking community for the very purpose of disposing of this manufactured filth...
Vaccination summed up is the most unnatural, unhygienic, barbaric, filthy, abhorrent, and most dangerous system of infection known. Its vile poison taints, corrupts, and pollutes the blood of the healthy, resulting in ulcers, syphilis, scrofula, erysipelas, tuberculosis, cancer, tetanus, insanity, and death.
[Emphasis Added]
vaccination is a crime
*** The Golden Age, May 1, 1929, p. 502 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
Thinking people would rather have smallpox than vaccination, because the latter sows the seed of syphilis, cancers, escema, erysipelas, scrofula, consumption, even leprosy and many other loathsome affections. Hence the practice of vaccination is a crime, an outrage and a delusion.
[Emphasis Added]
*** The Golden Age, November 13, 1929, pp. 106-107 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
Avoid serum inoculations and vaccinations as they pollute the blood stream with their filthy pus.
[Emphasis Added]
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Jesus' Presence
*** Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 4, page 621 1897 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since October 1874.
[Emphasis Added]
*** The Time Is at Hand, page ii, (forward) 1916 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great 1000 year days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great 7th Day, the 1000 years of Christ's Reign, began in 1873.
[Emphasis Added]
*** Studies in the Scriptures, Vol. 4, page 621 1897 ***
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
Our Lord, the appointed King, is now present, since October 1874.
[Emphasis Added]
[Note: not available on 1993/1995/1999 CD-ROM]
The Bible chronology herein presented shows that the six great 1000 year days beginning with Adam are ended, and that the great 7th Day, the 1000 years of Christ's Reign, began in 1873.
[Emphasis Added]
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