Has the WT ever said it's okay to steak rare?

by neverendingjourney 35 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Half banana

  R u a jw then Splash?
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  stillin

  Returning home from Kingdom Ministry School with two carloads of Ministerial Servants, we stopped at an Outback Steakhouse, got a big table and everybody ordered their steaks...well done. I was the last knight at this round table to order and when I said I wanted mine medium-rare you could hear a pin drop!

  I got the last laugh, though. My steak was delicious!
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  Splash

  Half banana R u a jw then Splash?

  Officially, yes.

  Irrespective of my status, it's useful to understand the issues and teachings accurately, and unhelpful to misunderstand them.
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  tiki

  This is so comical.....seriously people....animals slaughtered for food are bled out. Provided it is done properly that is. But any self-respecting carnivore will stand by the fact that beef cooked rare is best. And if you want to go biblical about it...Noah was given the go-ahead to kill and eat meat...just to bleed it out in respect for the life force it symbolically contains. That is the story my friends....
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  blondie

  *** w72 9/1 p. 544 Questions From Readers ***

  ● When meat is cut in the course of preparation for cooking, or when it is sliced after it has been cooked, a reddish fluid may run out of it. Is such meat suitable for eating by a Christian?—U.S.A.

  A Christian may eat meat only from animals that were drained of their blood at the time they were slaughtered. The Bible commands: “Keep abstaining . . . from blood and from things strangled.”—Acts 15:29.

  Of course, even the meat from properly bled animals may appear to be very red or may have red fluid on the surface. This is because bleeding does not remove every trace of blood from the animal. But God’s law does not require that every single drop of blood be removed. It simply states that the animal should be bled.

  Then, too, there is extravascular fluid in the meat. This fluid may mix with traces of blood and take on a red color. The extravascular fluid filling the spaces between the cells is known as interstitial fluid and resembles blood plasma. But it is not blood and therefore does not come under the prohibition respecting blood. Hence the presence of a reddish fluid does not in itself make meat unsuitable for food. As long as an animal has been properly bled, its meat may Scripturally be used for food.

  There may be times, however, when a Christian has reason to believe that an animal may not have been bled properly. If there is no way for him to get the facts, he may choose not to eat the meat and thus avoid disturbing his conscience. This is in harmony with the principle stated at Romans 14:23: “If he has doubts, he is already condemned if he eats.”

  Just reporting not supporting, Blondie
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  DwainBowman

  Thanks Blondie! I knew when I read the question, something was in print from the early 70's, but you kept me from digging!
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  Half banana

  Quite so Splash.

  @ Tiki,it just demonstrates the utter stupidity when JWs might say Noah was allowed to eat meat but not the blood.

  For goodness sake JWs: Wake up! Noah is just a character from a book of fiction..............................................

  Like for example as Big Ears said to Noddy;

  "When you make road kill in your toy car you can eat all of the meat on the deer but the great Invisible Wizard in the sky says you mustn't drink its blood".

  "Why is that Big Ears?"

  " 'Cos the Invisible sky Wizard is big on not drinking blood".

  "And what happens if we drink it?" Said Noddy

  "He'll come down and smite you and you'll never drive your toy car again" said Big Ears"

  "Blimey!" said Noddy, "I don't fancy this Sky God bloke".
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  Half banana

  double post
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  StarTrekAngel

  I do remember public talks on the matter. I know is not something that is often brought up and there is probably no written statements. I think that most of the issue is a consequence of hispanic culture. Eating blood in Latin America is a very strong tradition. Blood sausage specially. I would almost bet that the subject was originated by some elder or CO who decided to use his own ignorant reasoning and spread the word because I do remember being told this. I've always liked my meat medium. Besides being delicious, it is well known that the cooking process lowers the quality of the protein. I too arrived to the conclusion that even if it was blood, cooking it would not make it different. I did so a long time ago, even before awakening. If cooking blood would make it ok, then eating blood sausage would not be a problem. If they really want to be so picky about it, then they need to start letting JWs now that they need to wash their steak until it gets pale. Just like some jewish people do.
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  neverendingjourney

  Thanks, Blondie. That's exactly what I was looking for.

  It's no wonder there's confusion on this topic since the QFR is over 40 years old.

  My brother's not a particularly bright guy and he's not one to want to use logic that isn't handed to him in a publication.

  Slightly off-topic, I came very close to losing my cool with him because he was serving as an elder at the time and helped my mother fill out her medical directive when she was undergoing a very minor surgical procedure. He checked "no" next to every option for blood fractions because "Jehovah doesn't like blood." He did not understand even the WT's explanation on the subject. His gut told him blood=bad and my mother just went along with it. The probability that something would go wrong with this particular procedure was extremely minor, so I held back. At the end of the day, it would have accomplished nothing other than straining my relationship with them.