by lepermessiah 10 Replies latest jw friends
I am so curious about that topic.
I would love a committee to drag someone in the back room to disfellowship them for giving blood, and then hope that the person simply says "Well, I wanted my blood to be used to donate fractions for my brothers and sisters!"
Hm... I am still not DFd and I plan on giving blood as soon as I have a bit of free time from work. I was planning on doing this privately, but there's something about your plan that's appealing..
Has the Watchtower ever published any reasoning on the total ban against donating blood while still allowing a person to take certain donated blood fractions?
Or - do we have any clearly published rule against donating blood?
Or - are we merely assuming that there is a WT rule against it?
I ask because looking way back to my JW days, I can't really remember a clear statement that donating blood was a DF offense...
I did... and the elders found out and threatened me.
How did they find out, Elsewhere.
I can believe that a few jws might have their own blood stored ahead or donate for a close family member, but I can't imagine them telling anyone and trying hard to keep it secret.
jws flout a lot of WT rules and directives if they know they won't be caught.
I did... and the elders found out and threatened me.
What Blondie said - how did they find out?
I just checked my old Pharisee manual - it says that "Failure to Abstain From Blood" is considered apostasy.....
I would assume that most elders would lump giving blood into accepting a transfusion.....just a guess on my part, but as many of us know, if a committee gets it in for you, you can change the "rules".
I would assume that most elders would lump giving blood into accepting a transfusion
I would assume so too - but I really cannot recall this ever being actually stated in print. At least not while I was an elder in the 1970s. All the written instructions were about taking a transfusion.
Such a rule is really illlogical in todays witness blood law in which blood fractions from non-witness donors is legal. If it is ok to take the fractions, why would it be wrong to donate them?
One other question - as I never knew of such a case - does anybody recall a situation where a witness was actually disfellowshipped for receiving a blood transfusion?
JWoods:
does anybody recall a situation where a witness was actually disfellowshipped for receiving a blood transfusion?
Yes. I know of two.
Although technically they're not DFed anymore. It's like joining the military. They have, through their actions, disassociated themselves. Of course, the rank and file won't know this subtle distinction since all they hear is:
"Stella Stillalive is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses."
I also know of one instance where the person was "repentant" and so received private reproof. The BOE was at least nice enough to wait until the guy got out of the hospital.
om
Although technically they're not DFed anymore. It's like joining the military. They have, through their actions, disassociated themselves. Of course, the rank and file won't know this subtle distinction since all they hear is:
"Stella Stillalive is no longer one of Jehovah's Witnesses."
Which shows that, like the military issue, the Watchtower is afraid of legal liability. When I was an elder, I knew of a couple cases which were basically just overlooked because the person claimed they didn't know it was going to happen and that they were sorry afterwards.
Hate to keep harping on it, but really - has anybody found a written instruction in which donating blood is an equally DA/DF offense?
