Blood and Ron Rhoades

by Marvin Shilmer 23 Replies latest watchtower medical

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  TD

  I don’t envy Marvin the task of debating with someone that literally needs to be educated at every turn.

  How do you discuss the difference between consumption and transplantation/transfusion with someone who doesn’t understand that protein catabolization performed by the immune system is in many ways, incomparable with that performed by the digestive system?

  How do you discuss the language of the Decree with someone who doesn’t understand that you can’t simply plug in the definition of apachesthai that most suits your theology and still have an accurate translation? Could it be that there was a linguistic reason why even the Witnesses dropped the rendering “keep free from” around 1970?

  How do you discuss the question of blood fractions with someone that doesn’t realize that only one plasma fraction (gamma globulin) crosses as the result of an active transport mechanism and that all other blood fractions and components cross simply because no containment system is perfect?

  How do you discuss questions of legality with someone that doesn’t understand that life over property is a basic tenant of both the laws of God and man?

  How do you discuss an alleged prohibition on the “use” of blood with someone who sees nothing inconsistent about selectively opening a door he had already emphatically declared to be shut? Or are Witnesses prohibited from working in the healthcare industry altogether?

  Marvin --- You’re a better man than I am gunga din!

  Tom
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  AlanF

  Hi Risot,

  Thanks for your response. I seriously doubt that Rhoades will change his mind on the blood issue unless the Society itself does. All of their reasonings are so blatantly wrong that only a thoroughly doctrinaire cultist could swallow them. Rhoades has certainly proved himself to be that.

  I have mixed feelings about Rhoades' willingness to discuss Marvin's points head on. Rhoades' position, because it results in unnecessary death, means that he's like a person valiantly attempting to defend religious child sacrifice -- i.e., there is NO justification, ever, for the practice. So in a way he's rather stupid because he doesn't realize how ridiculous his "defenses" are, whereas one could argue that Furuli had enough sense not to try to defend the indefensible before a knowledgeable opponent. So, rather than saying that I admire his effort, I would rather say that I applaud his effort since, as you say, it exposes the stupidity of the blood doctrine.

  Hi Tom,

  : How do you discuss questions of legality with someone that doesn’t understand that life over property is a basic tenant of both the laws of God and man?

  It's not that guys like Rhoades don't understand, but that they refuse to admit this basic tenet. Why? Because to admit it is to go against the Society, which means setting up a severe cognitively dissonant mental state, which usually leads to quitting the religion altogether, which leads to extreme stress via loss of family and friends, social structure and so forth. In other words, the Watchtower holds a gun to the heads of longtime members, and they willingly pretend there is no gun even when it's jammed down their throats.

  AlanF
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  kgfreeperson

  Considering the fact that WTS is getting more and more restrictive do you think they are likely to receive new light telling them that fractions may not be used after all?
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  TD

  Considering the fact that WTS is getting more and more restrictive do you think they are likely to receive new light telling them that fractions may not be used after all?

  They might like to for consistency's sake, but it would be impossible. Blood fractions are everywhere. Depending on the manufacturer, even the MMR and Poliomyelitis vaccines may contain human albumin. The same is true for Erythropoietin, which has been recommended by Witness HLC members as part of an aggresive pre-operative strategy to avoid allogenic blood for years. Post exposure vaccines and antitoxins for such things as tetenus, diptheria, hepatitus often contain not only albumin, but gamma globulin as well. The death toll would skyrocket if the Witness community were deprived these things. Tom