The way I understood the teaching of bloodguilt was that if I stumbled someone and they sinned because of it I was bloodguilty.
Can anyone elaborate on that or have some WT quotes to explain it?
Bloodguilt
by Lady Lee 29 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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dinah
I can remember them using the fear of "bloodguilt" all the time. If you didn't warn others of Armageddon and they died, if you stumbled someone and caused them to leave "the truth", if you fornicated with a worldly person and ruined their standing with Jah (that one is quite a reach!), if you were the Head of the Household and didn't train your children well and they left the truth-----all resulted in bloodguilt.
*shakes head*
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palmtree67
If you stumble someone and they leave the truth because of you, you are bloodguilty.
If you don't go in the preaching work, you are bloodguilty.
We had an issue one time in our cong with young people "car-surfing" ( one person drives and someone else stands on the roof and "surfs" ). One of the elders explained it to me that just the act of doing that makes the driver bloodguilty and even more so if the person was killed. So I think even the act of "endangering" someone ( for example: speeding or driving recklessly ) is considered to make you blodguilty.
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Lady Lee
I just found this from the old AID book
BLOODGUILT. "Hands that are shedding innocent blood" have been one of the most detestable things to Jehovah ever since righteous Abel's blood cried out from the ground before 3896 B .C .E. (Prov.6:16,17; Gen.4:10; Ps.5:6) Men also have long been aware of the sacredness of blood ; when Noah and his family came out of the ark they were informed of the dire consequences befalling those upon whom there was bloodguilt .-Gen.9:6; 37:21,22; 42:22 .
In due time laws were published, spelling out what constituted crimes worthy of death, and, in this way, everyone could avoid doing that which would bring bloodguilt upon his own head. Other legislation was enacted as preventive safeguard to protect people from spilling innocent blood. Parapets had to be built around the edge of the flat-topped houses so people would not fall off. (Deut.22:8) A man had to provide safeguards to prevent his bull from goring people. (Ex. 21:29) If a thief was killed while breaking in at night, there was no bloodguilt; but if he was killed during the daylight, it was a different matter. (Ex. 22 :2, 3) Cities of refuge were set up to protect the accidental manslayer from the avenger of blood. (Num. 35:25; Deut. 19:9, 10; Josh. 20:2,3) If Ezekiel failed in his duty as a watchman to Israel, the blood of the inhabitants would be upon him. (Ezek.3:18,20 ;33:6,8) With this in mind we find understandable what the apostle Paul meant when he said that he was innocent of bloodguilt .-Acts 18:6; 20:26.
The Bible lists both those that were free and those that were not free of bloodguilt, and these well serve as warning examples. There was Saul, who at one time escaped bloodguilt because he refrained from killing David; yet later Saul brought bloodguilt upon his whole household when he foolishly killed off some of the Gibeonites. (1 Sam. 19:5,6; 2 Sam.21:1)
There were others too that became stained with bloodguilt. (Judg.9:24; 2 Sam.1:16;4:6-12) David, on the other hand, escaped such guilt when he heeded Jehovah's warning sent to him through Abigail.(1 Sam.25:24-26, 31,33) The city of Jerusalem was destroyed in 607 B.C.E. because of gross bloodguilt.(Ezek. 22:2-4; 23:37,45) The false religious leaders of Jesus' day could not deny their bloodguiltiness any more than the leaders of Jeremiah's time, for, in both instances, their skirts were crimson red with the blood of Jehovah's faithful ones. (Jer.2:34; Matt.23:35,36; 27:24,25; Luke 11:50,51) The great "harlot" Babylon the Great is so bloodguilty she is said to be drunk with the blood of Jehovah's people.-Rev.17:5,6; 18:24 .
Truly such bloodguilty ones are not worth living half their lives, as David said. (Ps. 55 :23) As David did, all should likewise pray that Jehovah will deliver them both from bloodguiltiness and from the bloodguilty ones. (Ps . 51:14; 59:2; 139:19) As the Revelation prophecy foretold, the time will shortly come when a mighty chorus of praise will ascend to Jehovah because the last elements of Babylon the Great will have been destroyed and the blood of all these innocent ones will have been forever avenged.-Rev.19:1,2.
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Lady Lee
dinah
if you fornicated with a worldly person and ruined their standing with Jah (that one is quite a reach!),
what I am specifically looking for is if the wife failed to provide the "marital due" and her husband commited adultery then the wife would be bloodguilty
if you were the Head of the Household and didn't train your children well and they left the truth
Hmmmm I like that one. -- makes my ex bloodguilty because his kids are no longer JWs
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wobble
The Governing Body stumbled me, by their lies, so they are blood-guilty.
Love
Wobble
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Lady Lee
so true wobble
convicted by their own words
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BabaYaga
Ironic, isn't it... that they are the ones going on about bloodguilt?
I have lost loved ones in death due to their brainwashing and dogma. They themselves are bloodguilty in a literal sense.
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dinah
what I am specifically looking for is if the wife failed to provide the "marital due" and her husband commited adultery then the wife would be bloodguilty
Lee, I can remember hearing that as well.
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wantstoleave
Wow on the adultery/marital due bloodguilt. I had never heard that before.