My response=
No no no no no... There you go off on a witness caught with their pants down tangent. I'm more than happy to show you how all your beliefs are wrong but lets just agree to not throw a bunch of your hippie nonsense feelings in the mix and just deal with what the BIBLE says ok. Not your trumped up 'but it's healthier, these people would have died anyway' garbage, ok!
So... We'll start with an EASY one. Blood.
The symbol of life (blood) and other 'sacred' items are NEVER represented in the bible as more important than the life itself. This is made clear again and again and again. What happened to Saul and his men when they ate the food that was sacred to avoid starvation? What happened to the Israelite who came upon a dead animal that hadn't been bled and ate the meat to avoid starvation? Clearly it was more important to God that you broke a minor law to stay alive than to die. As you stated gods standards don't change so why should we believe that standard has changed? LIFE is still more important than the SYMBOL of life.
Now we'll deal with your lie that I only quoted the OT. What did PAUL say to do if you came upon meat that hadn't been bled in the market or had been sacrificed in one of the temples and the meat was being sold? He said if there is a risk of stumbling a brother EAT THE MEAT! Clearly gods standards had not changed! It was more important to eat the meat and not risk the SPIRITUAL life of the person that you might stumble. LIFE was STILL more important than the symbol. Why is it exactly opposite with the witnesses? Do you think that god is pleased that your religion has twisted this so badly that the symbol has become more important than what it represents? Do you think that god is PLEASED when one of your members martyrs themselves rather than violate one of the minor laws? What do you think Jesus would say? Strain the gnat while gulping the camel and all that?
The next point of your argument is that if your told not to EAT alcohol would it be ok to inject it. This isn't an argument for you, it's an argument for ME, it clearly shows that the bible writers were referencing EATING not using blood in medical procedures that hadn't even been CONSIDERED at that point in history. Eating blood is not the same as injecting it for medical reasons. This is why the Dr doesn't give blood transfusions to someone who is starving. The body doesnt absorb the blood that is injected it is used to carry oxygen and nutrients. The writers of the bible didn't know about blood transfusions and weren't referencing them they were referencing EATING BLOOD.
As to the statement that there are "also medical and physical reasons not to take blood" what does that have to do with a discussion of what the BIBLE says?
Oh well if that's the road we're going down then I will go down it with you. You are partially correct, blood transfusion are not 100% safe and effective in all cases and certainly the medical community has started to give less blood and attempt to come up with alternate therapies. That said you are being lied to about the LEVEL of the dangers in blood transfusions. If you are shot or stabbed or in a car accident and all your blood is running out in a big ol puddle you WILL DIE if you don't get a blood transfusion that is a fact. Can their be complications? YES! Could you die ANYWAY? YES! Is a transfusion with a 99.999% safety record better than a 99.999% chance that YOU WILL DIE if you don't get it better? HELL YES!
You are being deceived about matters of life and death!!! Why is it ok to take 95% of the components that make up blood as a conscience matter? In fact the only parts that you can't take amount to the water in the blood! That's like saying you can't eat a hamburger but you can eat a meat patty and a bun and a tomato slice and even some cheese so long as you don't eat any of the sesame seeds and you never under any circumstances put all the parts TOGETHER and eat it!
Ridiculous... And now you can use your own blood that's been recirculated and cleaned (so much for pouring it on the ground) also you can now take organ transplants (new light don't you know... Too bad if you DIED waiting for that new light) and here's a news flash for you THERE IS NO WAY TO GET ALL THE BLOOD OUT OF AN ORGAN FOR TRANSPLANT!
Check this website (I think it's run by a witness) for details http://www.ajwrb.org/... SOOOO now that's changed and apparently YOU didn't even know! Hope you get a chance to check that out before you or a loved one has an emergency!
This is a clear case of (drum roll please) cognitive dissonance! Yeah! You know that I'm right on this and your brain says wow that makes perfect sense but I DON'T WANT TO BELIVE THAT I'M BEING LIED TO! Therefore... Change the subject!
I'm willing to have a 'study' with you online and help bring you out of this cult. You deal with this issue first and then we'll move on to the next chapter ok!
