The Secret Fault I Tolerated About Blood

Yes, I tolerated a secret fault concerning blood. I have never told anyone about it until this day. Now I am telling you.

As I recall, sometime in the 80's (or maybe late 70's) we were told to check our pet's food for animal by-products. This was usually another way of saying animal blood. I remembered one circuit overseer made it his business to point it out in that New Things We Have Learned Recently talk that he always wasted our Saturday night on. He told us that if we were in question about the ingredients, then we should write to the company! WHAT? I seldom wrote to my own relatives and I was supposed to take the time to write to some company about this stupid rule?

So as my dog loved Alpo, I always "forgot" to read the ingredients, or the ingredients of any other dog food that my dog deemed tasty. Maybe I was becoming more rebellious, or just it was the plain German stubbornness that runs in my Mom's side of the family, but by golly, I had just about enough of the stupid endless rules they were coming out with to fill up each and every bloody magazine!

My reasoning was this. Jehovah God never said anything about animals not eating blood, even animals in our care. I lived on a farm. We had goats. We had cows. We had a pig and a sheep. We had chickens. And so, by the very nature of having a farm, we had other animals that tend to go along with a farm; mice, wild rabbits, and the occasional opossum. Our cat and our dog would occasionally catch and eat this game. It was just their nature. Heck! It's what's expected of farm pets. They go after vermin! That's just nature. And Jehovah invented nature. So while we thoroughly bled all of the animals we butchered, I didn't expect it of our dog or cat, and I wasn't about to do it for them. So why should I worry about the friggin' canned food we fed them?

So that was my secret fault. Just another of those little steps on the road to full apostasy!

Tammy

If your cat caught a mouse and did not bleed the mouse properly...the cat must surely be disfellowshipped (and it most likely contracted feline AIDS).

We had a dog when I was growing up - he loved his Alpo too - until the day that a large blood vessel showed up in the dog food.  My parents decided that it was "tainted" by blood, and never bought that brand again.

BTW - did you know that it's only the more expensive brands of dog or cat food that doesn't contain animal by-products?  It sure makes it hard for a Pioneer? or anyone who wants to Put Kingdom Interests First? to be able to afford pet ownership.  Just one more thing for the WTS to take away from people that might otherwise give them some happiness in their life.

Love, Scully

(1 Corinthians 10:25)  Everything that is sold in a meat market keep eating, making no inquiry on account of YOUR conscience;

As a jw i also thought this was a stupid rule.  I also grew up on a farm, and the rule made no sense me, whatsoever.  They even had a rule that you couldn't use fertilzer w blood in it.  That made less sense to me, because the bible even says that blood should dumped on the ground.  It never dislodged me from the org, though.

S

Ok so I am fanatical about me dog...we used to feed her Wysong which is a very expensive food - and somewhat hard to find around here. Then I checked and compaired the ingredients against Science Diet, Purina, Eukanuba, and...Kibbles & Bits homestyle. Well come to find out, the cheapo Kibbles (homestyle canned and dry) are really good especially if you get both the canned and the dry together. And it $10/20 lbs and $0.50 can...a good price. Of course we give her vegtables, nuts, and cooked/raw meat on a daily baises anyway. Never paid attention to whether there were "blood products" in it though...

Excuse me.........I need to run out and feed my dog a salad............

 

~~Hill

Hey Swan....you just gave me an idea. I hope the food we feed our cat and dog has blood in it as I'm going to check.....and if it does, I'll point it out to my wife. Usually I don't do anti-dub stuff with her but this sounds like it might make her think a bit of the idiocy of the Organisation.

If any of you know Bill and Joan Cetner....he told a true story on a cassette tape. This story told how he pointed out to a sister (he had already exited ), that he saw her cat eating a bird and how wrong that was. She said that was ridiculous! He called the society to prove she was wrong. The society's response was....."keep a better eye on your pets".

Gumby

In the part of Texas where we live there are thousands of cattle in feed lots and there is a fairly high death rate among those cattle in the winter. In the past there has been a booming business in dead cows which can be converted into all kinds of products and one of those businesses furnished meat for Alpo. From what I saw at the  place I visited they ground up every part of the cow that could be ground and sent it off to be canned for dogs. Yep, it had blood in it.

One of the elders fertilized his grass with a product that had blood in it before reading the label and decided he would never do that again. Just for the record, the stuff worked great on his lawn, it was beautiful. He is still an elder.

Another young couple took their dog to the vet who recommended a transfusion and they decided to put the dog to sleep because of their convictions.  Makes you wonder what the dog would say if given a choice, a quick death now or a few more years of life with new blood. Looks as if the dog paid with his life over his owners religious convictions.  Incidently, I understand he is a co now.. Go figure.

 

Bigglesworth didn't like his salad, throw him a frickin' bone!

Many years ago a sister came up to me one day after reading a question from reader concerning the use of leaches(blood suckers) in the practice of blood letting. She wanted to know if we sin when we go out side and let mosquitos bite us and suck our blood. I told I wouldn't worry about it,, as long as we don't do it on purpose .

Well if you had read the thread about the woman reproved for kissing the pet (dog cat sheep whatever it was) full on the lips as that was bestiality you would understand... Maybe you have become one who needs milk not solid dog food and you can't understand these "deeper" issues...

 

Mark of the; yeah something is sure getting "deep" in here, class

 

Here is the quote about fertilizer containing blood.

*** w81 10/15 p. 31 Questions from Readers ***

Consider, for instance, the use of blood as fertilizer. When an Israelite hunter poured an animal?s blood out on the ground it was not in order to fertilize the soil. He was pouring it on the earth out of respect for blood?s sacredness. So, would a Christian with a similar appreciation of the significance of blood deliberately collect it from slaughtered animals so that he could use it as fertilizer? Hardly, for such commercialization of blood would not be in accord with deep respect for the life-representing value of blood.

S

Satan,Of course they ask the question rhetorically and give you the supposed only right answer: "Hardly, for such commercialization of blood would not be in accord with deep respect for the life-representing value of blood." But what about this type of reasoning : You can use the blood for fertilizer if you say a prayer just before you use it and in that prayer mention: "dear Jehovah please accept the blood in this fertilezer that I am pouring out on the ground as a gift from me to you, in Jesus name amen."

Expounding on Satanus' reference to WT excuses note the original QFR in 1964:

*** w64 2/15 pp. 127-128 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?

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.

Of course, if there is no indication on the label of a package of animal food that the product contains blood, a Christian might conclude that it could be used. Still, his conscience might trouble him. In that case he should put his conscience to rest by making reasonable inquiry and acting in accord with the information he receives, for a Christian surely desires to have a good conscience before God.?1 Pet. 3:21.

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.

Ah, the old dogmatic days... Now the WTS answers questions with questions:

*** w81 10/15 pp. 30-31 Questions from Readers ***

Another situation that sometimes arises involves feeding blood to animals. It is true that at present many animals in the wild do not live on vegetation as the Bible says they did originally. (Gen. 1:30) Rather, they eat other creatures, blood and all. Nonetheless, would a Christian who knows God?s law on blood intentionally feed blood to animals under his care? Would that harmonize with what he knows about how blood was handled under the Law?

And now we note the logical gynastics of leeches and blood:

*** w82 6/15 p. 31 Questions from Readers ***

However, though leeches parasitically feed on blood in their natural state at present, it would not be proper for a Christian to permit leeches to draw his blood. (Proverbs 30:15) Even where this was urged for medical reasons and the leeches would later be disposed of, the use of leeches would involve deliberately feeding blood to these creatures. That would conflict with the Bible?s indication that blood, being sacred and representing life, should be disposed of if it is removed from a body.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Right (as I gain my composure), so even though God didn't create animals to eat blood originally (including leeches it seems ) they do now with God's sanction, but we don't want to delirberately feed them blood. OK. Finally the next quote makes perfect sense...

*** w05 1/15 p. 20 Foregleams of God's Kingdom Become a Reality ***

Perhaps some have found certain information published by "the faithful and discreet slave" hard to grasp.

Now this is something I never paid any attention too...

When I prepared meat (most of the time chicken) I carefully removed all blood parts a.so. (not because the WT said so, but I disliked it) WHAT I removed I always gave it to the dogs who are always happy sitting around me - waiting for the next bit.....

Still do that.

Did'nt see that as a secret fault....

----

Now what was my secret fault is that I never destroyed anything that we were not allowed to posses like fairy and Buddha statues - or anything related to the stars (the constellations I mean)... like earrings or pendants. I figured they are most of the time made from silver or gold so I gave those items away to non-JW's on occasion.

I even forbid my daughter to destroy a rather expensive silver/amethyst cross I did buy her a while before she started to be a JW. (I was never very fond of crosses, but she wanted it badley and since it was a beautiful piece) She was willing to throw it into the garbage. So I took it, and let it be remodel-ed (sp) else she had done so...

 

I suppose in the "future" leeches will fee on tree or plant sap ???

Ofcourse Rabbit --- and lions eat grass.

Review the following list of 'Jehovah's creations' and answer these questions:

What did they eat before the flood?

How did they adapt their entire biology to almost exclusive blood-feeding in only 4,300 years (WTS says Noah's Flood occured 2370 BC)?

Vampire bat Desmodus rotundus. - If they can?t find blood for two nights in a row, they will die. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/creature_feature/0110/bats2.html

Tick Ixodes - The tick's engorgement occurs during the last 24 hours of feeding during which the females imbibe 2 to 8 times as much blood as they finally gain in weight and multiply their body mass by as much as 100 fold. http://www.forschung3r.ch/en/publications/bu27.html#descr

Mosquito Ochlerotatus - The female seeks a blood meal to obtain the protein necessary for the development of her eggs. http://www-rci.rutgers.edu/~insects/moslife.htm

Leech Rhyncobdellida and Gnatbobdellida - Sanguivorous (blood-feeding) leeches can ingest several times their own weight in blood at one meal. http://www.austmus.gov.au/factsheets/leeches.htm

Flea Ctenocephalides - The mouthparts of adult fleas are adapted for puncturing animal skin and sucking blood. http://muextension.missouri.edu/explore/agguides/pests/g07380.htm

Chicken mite Dermanyssus gallinae - The body of a hungry female up to 0.75mm, after sucking of blood they grow up to 2mm. http://www.cdfound.to.it/html/ecto_4.htm