February 16, 1998 R. Jensen 24 Running Deer Road Phenix City, AL 36870 To: Watchtower Bible & Tract Society 25 Columbia Heights Brooklyn, NY 11201 Re: Blood and upholding righteous standards Dear Brothers I am an elder in the C——– congregation in C——– Alabama. What I write about in this letter has nothing to do […]
Beginning in 1998, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, an elder in the United States by the name of R. Jensen wrote to the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society asking for support on how to respond to questions raised by physicians and insurance claims examiners he encountered at his place of employment regarding the position of Jehovah’s […]
Article reprinted by permission of AJWRB. Author Lee Elder As scientists and clinicians search for therapeutics and a cure for COVID-19, there is one tried treatment that is consistently being cited for its potential: convalescent plasma. (https://covidplasma.org/) Plasma is a product rendered from blood. In medical settings, this is often called fresh frozen plasma (FFP). Individuals […]
Don Quixote is a well-known fictional character created by 16th-century Spanish author Miguel de Cervantes in his classic novel by that name. In that novel, Don Quixote fills his mind with legends and fables about brave knights in glittering armor coming to the rescue of damsels in distress. Soon he begins to believe that he […]
Since blood transfusions are not taking blood through the mouth, this medical procedure does not go against the Bible injunction to abstain from blood. However, if a person were on the verge of death and the only food available was meat that had not been properly bled would his eating it be condemned by God? […]
The following appeared in the October 15, 2000 Watchtower: “Questions From Readers In the light of Bible commands about the proper use of blood, how do Jehovah’s Witnesses view medical procedures using one’s own blood? Rather than deciding solely on the basis of personal preference or some medical recommendation, each Christian ought to consider seriously […]
For decades the position of the organization was that blood, whether whole or in part was not permissible for Jehovah’s Witnesses to use to sustain life. The September 1961 Watchtower states: “BLOOD TRANSFUSION Over the centuries man’s misuses of blood have taken on many forms. Ancient Egyptian princes used human blood for rejuvenation; others drank […]
In connection with baptism, the society recognizes that this is merely a symbol of one’s dedication to do God’s will: “It is thought by some that baptism is a ceremony that brings certain direct spiritual dispensations from God. A careful study of the instructions given by Jesus and his disciples on baptism proves otherwise. Being […]
For the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you except these necessary things: to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!” Acts 15:28, 29 […]
Since blood transfusions are not taking blood through the mouth how does this go against the Bible injunction? The Watchtower society offers two defenses to this: First, that a blood transfusion is nutrition to the body which makes it the same as eating blood. However, is blood a nutrient like food? Why is it that […]