Help me out here.
A JW believes that consuming blood is the worst thing they could do against their God and they are willing to die before they'd eat take blood.
During Jesus' last meal with his followers he gives them wine to drink and tells them that it represents his blood. Knowing this, they drink it. Jesus, the perfect W of J, commands they break the jewish LAW, and his followers supposedly the first to be of the "annointed class" go ahead and break the law.
Fast forward to 2005 JW memorial feast - The annointed honour Jesus on that one day of the year by drinking the symbol of his blood. While the lower level of followers watch in awe and contemplate their unworthiness.
I'd rather have questions I can't answer than answers I can't question.
Willpower....the symbol was never greater than what that symbol stood for.
When David and his men were hungary was hungry David entered the where only the priests could enter. He took the showbread from the tabernacle's Most Holy.
When Jesus and his diciples were hungry, they plucked grain on the sabbath and ate it.
When Jesus was questioned for doing this, he told them about what David did in the past.....then quoted scripture...."I want MERCY".....not sacrifice. Jesus put the symbol as LESS important than what that symbol stood for.
I totally agree, but then why are the JWs so Pokey at seeing this truth when a life or death situation is in the hospital?
Just a thought, but how much does advertising have to do with it? Many know JW's for 2 reasons, door-to-door preaching, and the blood refusal. Both topics are in many places very controversial and as a new case comes before the court, the JW name is brought to light (good or bad). Their strong stance will attract a few, but disgust most.
Also, because of the importance they have put on refusal, if they were to change the policy completely I'm sure there would be many upset JW's and could result in somewhat of an exodus. It reminds me of something I read in CoC about a policy change that was medical related. People were phoning WT HQ to see if a certain treatment would be acceptable. When they phoned in it was explained that it would be acceptable. Later they changed their minds on that. They wanted to recontact the people they told but didn't have a record of who contacted them, but at the same time they couldn't publish anything in the WT because they didn't want to say what the policy was previously.
I totally agree, but then why are the JWs so Pokey at seeing this truth when a life or death situation is in the hospital?
Perhaps they view it the same as if a sister was threatened with her life is she didn't have sex with a certain man. She would lose her life over a moral issue of integrity. Just a guess.
well then why is it ok for the elite to drink the symbol of life?
Could they decide to be raped by screaming or not screaming to keep their life? they could then keep dispensing proper food at the right time? The apostles and martyrs endured all sorts of torture. Some JWs scream and refuse to take blood and call it like rape - it is torture. Yet once a year the special few in full view of all, drink the symbol of life because they are the ones with God's spirit inside them?
Words in the bible surrounding this event put this a symbol of the sacrifice Jesus made for man - by partaking, they agreed & believed (although not all at that time even knew exactly what they were believing) and promised to keep believing. And there was no "audience or regular followers" in the room.
Why are all believers not given this right to proclaim their faith? If the difference between blood for spiritual life and blood for earthly life - then why can't the spirited ones drink the spirital blood for spiritual life, and the earthly take the scientific medical earthly fluid for their earthly fleshy life?
Isn't someone's spiritual life more important than their physical one? Why do regular jws let others tell them that they must pass on (like deny or not accept) the symbol of the sacrifice that seems to be a basic tenet of CHRISTianity.
Matt 10 ....:28"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul.....32 therefore EVERYONE who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father who is in heaven. 33 But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before my Father who is in heaven......
Both Matthew & Mark's account do not say to keep doing this. Luke's does at 22:19, but it also says that the one who will betray Him is ALSO there. Did JUDAS partake? or did he not accept? Did Peter partake then later deny?
First, lemme say that I really really like this (from your first post):
I'd rather have questions I can't answer than answers I can't question.
But, as far as symbols, meaning, and purpose are concerned:
Isn't someone's spiritual life more important than their physical one?
I would say, yes, it is!...but only insofar as one could prove that there is a spiritual life. For me, I'm strongly inclined to believe that there is such a life beyond the physical, but I can't prove it, nor has anyone else (to my knowledge). So, where does that leave me? In the somewhat uncomfortable position of trying to nurture that ideal, and yet balance it against reality--and therefore not to make decisions, or attach meaning, to the ideal (call it imaginary, perhaps). Life is real. Death is real. The after-life promises of each and every sacred writing on this planet are imaginary.
You forgot bud. They have to do ity till they drink it (new) with Jesus in the kingdom as he said. They partake untill they die.........then they have to drink some non alcoholic crap in heaven cuz da lowd don't like his children becomin alcoholic bastards.
