I "think" I know where WT against medicine/vaccines originated......

by EndofMysteries 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  EndofMysteries

  While reading an interlinear of the greek scriptures, I noticed where "spiritism" was put in place of "druggery", which is from the greek word, pharmakia. Now that is where we get pharmacy from.

  Is this not hypocritical though? If the bible was strictly against druggery/pharmakia, then why was just blood condemned. Surprised not ALL medicine forbidden.

  Now aside from the WT apsect of it, I wonder why druggery/pharmakia is translated to spiritism. Many will simply take that to mean reading magic books and casting spells, when it is definitely referring to drugs.

  Any thoughts on the WT side AND/OR just the strict biblical sense of it and how it would apply to us modern day?
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  JWoods

  I think a lot of the WT mysticism on medical things just came from turn of the 20th century general quackery.

  Like a lot of the Russell - Rutherford stuff, they pretty muched picked up things here and there from literature of the day.

  Such nonsense as the RadioBola and such "cures" were not unique to the Watchtower. They also had a guy around who was out of his head on this - someone mentioned him in another thread on medical ideas from the early literature.

  Some have also said that the blood issue was used as a sort of replacement in the 1950s for the loss of the doctrine against vaccinations.
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  nancy drew

  if a person writes articles in a magazine about whatever crazy health ideas they have and it's their personal opinions who cares. however if an organiztion claiming to represent the creator and his will starts touting crazy medical ideas and people believe it's info straight from the horse's mouth and people are at risk and maybe die. that's serious.
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  Titus

  When you take drugs (like ecstasyor datura stramonium), you can have hallucinations and see visions. But in vision you can see spirits of your dead ancestors, and you can talk to them. You can ask and inquire them, and you know that "there should not be found in you anyone who inquires of the dead." (Deuteronomy 18:10)

  Does this answer satisfy you?
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  glenster

  The end of the road for the quack medicines now considered grossly fraudulent in the nations of North America and Europe came in the early 20th century. February 21, 1906 saw the passage into law of the Pure Food and Drug Act in the United States. This was the result of decades of campaigning by both government departments and the medical establishment, supported by a number of publishers and journalists (one of the most effective of whom was Samuel Hopkins Adams, whose series "The Great American Fraud" was published in Colliers Weekly starting in late 1905). This American Act was followed three years later by similar legislation in Britain, and in other European nations. Between them, these laws began to remove the more outrageously dangerous contents from patent and proprietary medicines, and to force quack medicine proprietors to stop making some of their more blatantly dishonest claims.

  "Medical quackery and the promotions of nostrums and worthless drugs were among the most prominent abuses which led to the establishment of formal self-regulation in business and, in turn, to the creation of the NBBB."

  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quackery

  http://www.museumofquackery.com/welcome.htm
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  TD

  You're not going to find the answer in an interlinear. Try a good book on the history of medicine in the 20th century
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  yknot

  While Russell's foray into quackery was probably purely financial....

  Woodworth is the father of modern-day JW hang-ups over medical issues. Woodworth was not above endorsing spiritism and claimed once to have been possessed.

  Poster JWfacts has nice little write up on his website......regarding the influence of Ole Clayton.... further if you research WTS publication from the Rutherford era you will start to discern his influence.

  http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/medical.php

  Also Ken Raines also has some enlightening info on the period and Woodworth.... http://www.seanet.com/~raines/articles.html

  Meet Clayton J Woodworth, co-author of the Finished Mystery and father of JW medical mayhem and other oddball bans!

  
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  Quentin

  Quackery has been and will continue to be around for as long as humanity lives...people just gotta have that "magic" pill to take away their woes...Barnum said it best, one born every minute...
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  GLTirebiter

  Interesting new references to check out--Thanks Yknot!