Is BLOOD therapy really a sin?

Fisherman

Is Blood therapy a sin? If a blood transfusion could save a person's life, would God want such person to die instead of receivng the blood? On the other hand, heart, livers, kidney transplants are ok. But then again, blood transfusions may be sinful? Are they?

TD

No

M.J.

TD said it. I believe it. That settles it ;)

Oh and also check out Mark 2:25-28...

He answered, "Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need? In the days of Abiathar the high priest, he entered the house of God and ate the consecrated bread, which is lawful only for priests to eat. And he also gave some to his companions."

Then he said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. 28So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath."

...and ask yourself, "Is man made for the blood, or is the blood made for man?"

sovereign

Of course not. A symbol of life cannot be more valuable than the thing it's supposed to represent - life itself.

Honesty

Give us just ONE reason why blood therapy could be a sin.

momzcrazy

No, it's not. Even Israelites were allowed to eat improperly bled meat in life or death situations, they were just considered unclean. They weren't stoned to death. Or allowed to die of starvation. Lev 17:15,16

A sinful misuse of blood would be murder.

momz

Fisherman

mOMZ what a great post! thanks. I never thought of it that way. I also thank the other poster for the info. However, I am still afraid of blood transfusions and going against wts position.

Gopher

Fisherman,

I understand that overcoming the WT Society's indoctrination on the blood issue is one of the hardest things to do. They make their members invest so much emotion into it.

However the WTS "position" is just that, a position. Their positions on things have constantly changed over the years. Even on the blood issue, they've changed so that most blood fractions are now allowable in their doctrine.

It seems the best advice to apply about them came from Psalms 146:3 which said to not put your trust in princes nor in earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs. -- If we put our trust in THESE men (the WTS), we are gambling with our own lives. The JW's are against gambling with money, why aren't they against gambling with your own life (especially when what they are teaching is not even what their Bible even means -- the Bible says life itself is precious, not the blood).

Fisherman

Gopher,

I understand what you mean but I am still afraid. I dont think that I would accept blood myself, but I do not know about a loved one. I could not allow a loved one to die if such really needed a blood transfussion.

I remmember back in the early 80's when news reports were terrorizing about AIDS and blood transfussions. I also know people that have been infected and ravaged by blood transfussions. I would rather have died than to be in the state that I saw those people living with practicaly no liver. You cant trust doctors and medical personnel completely. I worry a little about BT being a sin but I worry a lot about the risks.

What the Bible says about blood seems to indicate that it could be a sin but on the other hand so would vaccines and antivenoms made from blood and the act of processing blood and using and benefiting from such derivatives made from blood that should have been poured to the ground.

If BT's are really a sin I would not want to sin intentionally and go against God's wishes but I dont think that God would be happy if people chose death instead of life. It doesnt make sense.

Gopher

As I said, the Watchtower keeps changing its minds on doctrines, and are therefore requiring their members to gamble with life itself. I think it's shocking.

You mentioned vaccines, the WTS used to forbid vaccines, using very unsound reasoning that equated them with poison. They have now allowed it for decades. But some of their members suffered or died because they thought God was leading them to some sort of truth the rest of the world didn't know.

The WTS has also taught that aluminum cookware was evil! The "Awake" magazine used to be called "Golden Age", and in its 9/8/1937 issue it published a cartoon saying that aluminum cookware caused cancer, insanity and food poisoning.

Source: http://www.ajwrb.org/watchtower/images.shtml

So I agree with your line of reasoning here:

I dont think that God would be happy if people chose death instead of life. It doesnt make sense.

You brought up the issue of safety in blood transfusion. Actually, every medical procedure has a risk. Hardly any such procedure is completely 100% safe statistically. So what about the safety of blood transfusion? Your chances of an HIV-free transfusion are 679,999 out of 680,000.

Look here: http://www.bloodtransfusion.com/faq.asp

Is it safe to get a blood transfusion?

All medical therapy involves some degree of risk. Most patients and their families are concerned about the risk of contracting disease (hepatitis, AIDS, bacterial infection) through a transfusion. The safety of the blood supply is a shared responsibility of many organizations including community blood banks and the federal government.

Donors are carefully screened for a history which suggests the potential for transmission of a disease. Only a person with a clean bill of health is allowed to give blood. In addition, the blood goes through extensive testing for various infectious disease markers including HIV and hepatitis.

In almost every case, the lifesaving benefits of receiving a blood transfusion outweigh the risk of contracting an infectious disease. The risk of contracting HIV from a blood transfusion is currently one in 680,000. While the blood supply has never been safer, blood transfusions are not risk-free.

If your doctor recommends a transfusion, you will need to decide if you want to have the transfusion at all and get options explained through informed consent prior to the transfusion. Your physician can advise you about all the adverse consequences of transfusion, its benefits and how to reduce the risks of any adverse consequences including infectious agents.

Is BLOOD therapy really a sin?

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