I went on another Bible study yesterday - Any suggestions on what I could have said?

by BonaFide 14 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  bohm

  about what psychotic parrot said - in case of arguments like "but blood is also dangerous" bla bla bla, well, as far as my research indicate, it may actually be true that for some illnesses blodless treatment may actually be better. but that is not the point. for certain ilnesses, blood is the only way to go, and this is documented by wts itself in, eg., "children who put god first" which can be found here: http://www.ajwrb.org/

  oh, and about aids, i cant find the link right now but you can dig it up yourself. the problem with that stance is that wts allowed fractions that (in some cases) carried hiv and all that nasty stuff, while clearly hinting that by following the blood policy you was protected. the term asshats comes to mind.
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  Heaven

  As someone else said on another thread recently...

  "I can't understand why the symbol of life is more important than life itself." Was that you BonaFide?

  For me, it's the fact that their doctrine/policy is not supported by the other scriptures that speak of blood (Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17:14, Deuteronomy 12:23). So they take 1 scripture outside of all the others for their own purposes. I just shake my head.

  In my opinion, if JWs truly believe this blood doctrine based on the scripture to 'abstain from blood', then each and every one of them would drain all the blood out of their bodies. This is the ultimate in abstaining from blood. And strangely, none of them have done this. Go figure.

  So if the life in their bodies is diseased, distressed, or draining out, they are to do nothing about resolving this? How does this support their believe that God says all life is precious? It's completely contradictory.
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  Black Sheep

  The blood doctrine is just another branch of the tree. One that they use to differentiate themselves from other religions.

  You can chip away at the branches of the tree and weaken it or you can ringbark the bastard.

  I don't get much opportunity to speak now, so when I do I go for the roots.

  The primary doctrine of any cult is that it is selected by God, and THAT is the only doctrine worth attacking.

  Cheers

  Chris
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  Farkel

  Heaven,

  :"I can't understand why the symbol of life is more important than life itself." Was that you BonaFide?

  I don't know about that, but I brought it up about 11 years ago in my Apostate's JW Glossary:

  "Blood" - the "symbol" of life itself.
  
  "Blood Transfusion" - a life-saving medical procedure refused by JWs, in which it is reasoned, a "symbol" is more important than the life the "symbol" represents. (See "Blood" and "Idolatry")
  
  "Idol" - any likeness or symbol of something. (See "Idolatry")
  
  "Idolatry" - the worship of an Idol. (See "Idol")
  
  "The Society" - the representative or symbol of JWs. (See "Idol")

  Farkel
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  bluecanary

  I agree with you Black Sheep that what you mention is the most important teaching to debunk. However, I think that if you shoot directly for that one, you're more likely to make the person run for cover. Starting with the blood doctrine is, I think, a little softer and gentler way to shake them into a state where they're ready to hear more.

  I'm organizing my information to try to wake up a friend and at the end of the section where I present all the info on blood, I ask these questions:

  "In light of the evidence, does it appear that Jehovah is directing the Society in issuing medical directives? If Jehovah did not intend for people to die for the sake of a symbol of life, if the Watchtower Society has clung to this policy against all Biblical evidence, are they not blood-guilty on behalf of the many who have died by refusing blood transfusions? Jehovah has the power to resurrect, but does he not hold accountable those who are responsible for untimely deaths?"