Blood Question

by TD 13 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  TD

  As a semi-outsider, I've struggled at times to understand exactly when and how JW's believe the 'sin' occurs in transfusion.

  Specifically, at what point in the process does the 'sin' occur?

  For example, would a JW sin if they were to attach a small surgical tube to a hypodermic needle, put the tube in their mouth, insert the needle in a vein and swallow a mouthful of their own blood?

  Note that by JW standards and rulings, the blood has not left the body in this scenario. It's simply been transferred from the circulatory system to the digestive system in an admittedly gross way.

  Thoughts?
• 

  yknot

  Sin occurs according the WT when.....

  *** w91 6/15 p. 15 par. 9 Walk as Instructed by Jehovah ***
  But the Christian cannot ignore an even graver risk, the risk of losing God’s approval by agreeing to a misuse of blood. Paul once spoke of those who “practice sin willfully after having received the accurate knowledge of the truth.” Why was any sin of that sort so serious? Because such a man “has trampled upon the Son of God and . . . has esteemed as of ordinary value the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified.”—Hebrews 9:16-24; 10:26-29.

  So sin occurs when the 'true Xian' having 'accurate knowledge' of the WTS rules and regulations willfully disobeys said ordinances without remorseflly throwing themselves at their BOE.

  Also......Ewwww (same goes as above as it is intent of said JW to misuse blood)
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  Mad Sweeney

  I think technically one could talk their way out of a DF in the scenario you present.
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  Heaven

  I always felt that refusing a life saving medical treatment was in the same vein (pardon the pun) as committing suicide. Therefore, to refuse a blood transfusion that is needed to save your life is also suicide. How is that reconciled with God?
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  blondie

  The sin in their mind is disobeying the FDS...regardless of the action. Even if later the FDS retracts their rule, you were still wrong to disobey them.
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  Balsam

  I encourage you to go and read about the blood policy at: www.ajwrb.org

  This is Associated Jehovah's Witness for Reform on Blood, I am a volunteer with them and a great deal of information is available on blood and the mistaken attitude of the Governing Body in making rules to prevent active witness from accepting life saving blood transfusion.
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  TD

  Thanks for your replies.

  The reason I've asked the question is because JW literature has given various explanations over the years of why transfusion is wrong and the "sin" doesn't occur at exactly the same point in every explanation.

  Originally, it was taught that transfusion directly nourished the body as food. The "sin" would occur at the moment of transfusion.

  In 1959, they said that blood could not be stored. That would have moved the "sin" forward in time to well before the transfusion occured. (In the case of autologous transfusion)

  In 1967, they tried to defend the original premise by basically saying, "Well eventually the body will break down the transfused blood and scavenge what it can." That would have deferred the "sin" or at least one aspect of it to an unspecified length of time after the transfusion.

  Today, they say that blood simply cannot be "misused" but never give a concrete set of criteria for defining the "misuse."
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  Balsam

  I found when I started really investigating the blood policy in 2001 they were very vague and just really didn't want to say anythng.

  At the time my son died in 2001 from refusing blood for him they were allowing Hemopure to be used which was a new product that used the red blood cells from cow's blood to be transfused into JW's. I didn't even learn about this because they didn't make it know except to only the high ups. The hospital liason committee knew nothing of it in North Carolina at that time. They are dealing with the blood policy very slyly. Fact is they have made changes repeatedly over the past 40 years.

  Ruth
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  undercover

  But the Christian cannot ignore an even graver risk, the risk of losing God’s approval by agreeing to a misuse of blood.

  Which still begs the question...when does any use of blood become a misuse? Does extracting blood for a blood test constitute a misuse? If the principle of the Law Covenant was to apply, it would be.

  One can argue that 'we're' not under the Law, but that principle was carried over in the admonition in Acts, correct?

  So, technically speaking, if one wants to not risk misusing blood at all, then one would have nothing to do with any medical practice that uses any part of the blood, whole or part, extracted or transfused.
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  TD

  Greetings Ruth,

  I'm familiar with AJWRB. On the contact list I'm between you and "Concerned Elder"

  My handicap is I became disillusioned with the JW's at such a young age, that I was never an "Elder" or anything else. I know that at the end of the day, JW's view transfusion as wrong, but even JW's themselves seem to be vague on what exactly the "actionable offense" is.