Blood transfusions, lying, and God's laws - an epiphany

by sir82 10 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  sir82

  We all know about "theocratic war strategy" - it's not really lying, if the person you are speaking "isn't entitled to know the truth".

  But, it suddenly struck me - this definition of lying, unique to JWs (lying is not merely telling a known untruth, but telling such to one who doesn't deserve the truth) helps them justify the blood doctrine. How so?

  Well, consider the extreme example cited in the old WTs bold enough to actually name & describe "theocratic war strategy" - a country where JWs are under ban. A clandestine meeting is being held in the home of a JW - there is a knock at the door - the secret police ask "do you know where the JWs are hiding?".

  Now, the person who answers the door has a dilemma - if he tells the truth - his brothers will be incarcerated, perhaps killed. But God's law says he cannot lie. What will he do?

  Most normal people, with normal ethics, realize that a "greater good" will be done by lying in this case. It is wrong to lie, but it is even worse to allow harm to others, when it is in your power to stop it.

  However, if the WT were to say "it is OK to lie in this case, to save a life", what precedent are they setting? "It is OK to break one of God's laws, if it accomplishes a greater good."

  If that were the case, then in the case of a blood transfusion, one could (in a logically consistent way) argue that saving a life is a "greater good" than respecting a "symbol" that God considers holy. One could accept a blood transfusion when one's life was in danger.

  We can't have that! So, what do they do? Well, they redefine "lying" as "not telling the truth to someone entitled to know". The secret police are not "entitled" to know where the hiding JWs are, so telling them "I don't know" is not a lie...i.e., you haven't broken God's law.

  Thus, per their reasoning, there is no justification for "breaking God's law" regarding blood, even in extreme circumstances.

  For those who are interested, it is worthy to note that Jesus subscribed to the "greater good" theory. He performed "work" by curing people on the Sabbath (he could feel 'power going out of him' when a cure occurred - it took effort - work). Breaking the Sabbath was technically a capital offence - yet greater good was achieved by breaking that law in extreme circumstances.

  Of course, such subtlety is lost on most JWs.
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  journey-on

  Epiphany indeed!
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  zack

  Good post, Sir.

  I agree, the subtlety is lost on most witnesses because they have been conditioned to accept without question. Also, most people reason that needing a transfusion

  is something that won't happen to them. It's very disturbing when a religion "redefines" a standard of conduct to suit it needs. Lying is lying, stealing is stealing. Everything

  has a degree to it and not all of it is bad. Lying is not bad all the time. Stealing is not bad in every instance. What creates the exception is the motivation and the end achieved. As you

  said, the greater good. With the WTS the motivation is manipulation and control. They have thought it all through. It's what they do.
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  Terry

  Jesus broke the Sabbath Law.

  The penalty should have been death by stoning.

  He was called on it and he responded by pointing out a Principle.

  In Luke 6 we get a lesson from the Master on the "meaning" of the Law.

  The Pharisees condemned Jesus for breaking the Sabbath and he responded.

  NASB: And Jesus said to them, "I ask you, is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to destroy it?" (NASB ©1995)

  The Pharisees were forced to reply in a way that revealed the intention of the Law by exposing the value of human Life over the mere rule-following of the Law as they knew it.

  "To save it" was the only response possible.

  How, then, can modern day Christ followers (Christians) imitate their master if they DESTROY a life in observing a rule of law?

  The Watchtower Society has exactly the same reaction as the Pharisees. They gnash their teeth.
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  Clam

  Good post Sir82

  Recently my two sisters had a falling out. My non JW sister asked my JW sister to tell our elderly Mother that a plumber had visited her house in her absence and fixed a leaking shower. It was actually fixed by my non JW sister's husband, but my mother had been most insistent that it must be a professional plumber. My mother worries over nothing and can be very unreasonable. She's 88.

  It was my sister's intention merely to solve the problem quickly, cheaply and to put my mothers mind at rest. After covering for her, my JW sister, after obviously stewing over what she'd done gave her sister a real dressing down. "You made me lie" she fumed. The situation was trivial and the small white lie was intended to ease my mother's anxiety, but the JW sister was so angry.

  Telling a white lie to help her Mother is sinful. Lying for the Society is perfectly ok.
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  BluesBrother

  The logic of this argument is fine by me..

  If that were the case, then in the case of a blood transfusion, one could (in a logically consistent way) argue that saving a life is a "greater good" than respecting a "symbol" that God considers holy. One could accept a blood transfusion when one's life was in danger.

  I can see the dubs of my family being unimpressed. The trouble is that they are so anti blood, that they view it as a sure way to contract Aids, Hepatitis, or something equally nasty. As for predictions of death? They don't believe them!. There is always somebody they know whose blood count went so low as to be certain to die - but what do you know? He recovered... . They are sure that doctors are either in the pay of the Blood Transfusion Service or just inept. They are sure that the Society knows better..
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  Hortensia

  on one of these threads someone said something I had never thought of (I'm not a parent) but it seems so logical - it's not about blood and lying, but about blood and love. If a child's life could be saved by blood, a parent who really loved his child might decide to take the hit - make the decision that would save the child, sacrificing his own life to Jehovah's anger. Of course, if Jehovah were a loving god, he wouldn't want to seem one of his children lose everlasting life over legalistic mumbo-jumbo, he would feel the same - wanting to save his child's life rather than demanding obedience to a law that requires idolizing blood. In other words, the whole blood thing is just plain illogical and crazy.
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  Scully

  To the loyal JW, "the greater good" is what most of us recognize as martyrdom. Sacrifice the life you have now while complying with God's Will™ and you get rewarded with a Resurrection™ and Living Forever in Paradise on Earth™.

  To a devout Muslim, "the greater good" might be driving a vehicle loaded with explosives into a crowded church or synagogue on one of their holy days. They have sacrificed themselves, destroyed the infidels, and fulfilled the will of Allah. They believe in a reward of 70 virgins for their supreme act of martyrdom.

  What most JWs do not realize is that the WTS does most of its lying (Theocratic War Strategy) to JWs themselves. The average JW doesn't know about the attempts to curry favor with Hitler in the 30s. The average JW doesn't know about the WTS's NGO status with the UN for 10 years which was authorized by members of the Governing Body. The average JW doesn't know about the bribes that Mexican JWs paid (which were discreetly authorized by the WTS) which allowed JWs to be excused from military service and have a falsified cartilla while at the same time JWs in Malawi were being raped and pillaged and tortured and murdered because they were told by the WTS that they could not have a 25¢ government issued identification card. The average JW does not know that there are tens of thousands of JWs known to be pedophiles in the records of the WTS, who are still active JWs in good standing. The average JW does not know of the shoddy and manipulative misquotations used and its misrepresentations of scholarly works to support their creationist beliefs or their position on blood transfusions.

  Make no mistake: JWs are the WTS's most common target for Theocratic War Strategy. The average JW - as far as the WTS is concerned - is not entitled to know the truth.
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  Doubting Bro

  Scully, well put!

  Make no mistake: JWs are the WTS's most common target for Theocratic War Strategy. The average JW - as far as the WTS is concerned - is not entitled to know the truth.

  I think that's the part that hurts the most. Waking up to the fact that what the WTS has done and said rises above just being misguided or mistaken. Its outright lying in some cases and manipulation in many other instances. It is a systemic problem and will be their ultimate undoing.

  I never really understood why when people left they went through a period of anger. I now feel that same anger. Its the feeling of being taken advantage and lied to by the people you trusted the most in the world. I now feel the same distain for the GB as they feel for the rank & file.
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  Hortensia

  I have heard of most of those things - never heard of the JWs attempting to curry favor with Hitler, although it doesn't surprise me. The org. has really elastic principles, although they demand that their followers have really rigid principles.