I have to say that at one time I wouldn't even consider reading material at a discussion group like this one. But in the last two years, discussion groups like this one have been indispensable to my dealing with a very personal crisis of faith, and I want to thank the brave and loving persons who sponsor sites like this, and the brave and loving persons who participate in them.
Like many here, I was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnesses and never questioned the validity of the wbts view. I was baptized during my teenage years, and later served as an elder in my local congregation. I have a beautiful and loving wife who remains a devout jw. As you can probably imagine, we have quite heated discussions regarding wt theology, but that is a topic for future posts.
Several years ago I began to question my faith when, while serving as an elder, a fellow elder and I were assigned to visit some older ones to discuss their concerns regarding the blood card and dpa. One sister was going in for surgery and wanted to be sure that her dpa was properly filled out. When we got to the section in the document regarding non-blood alternatives, the sister just said to mark everything NO. The brother with me tried desperately to describe to this faithful sister the many non-blood alternatives available to her that would not violate God's laws on blood. Inspite of his sincere efforts, this wonderful older lady could not grasp the medical complexities of the ever changing jw stand on non-blood alternatives and procedures.
It was an epiphony for me.
Did Jehovah really expect his servants to be experts on medical procedures and treatments? Did the first century christian congregation really have in mind twentieth century medical procedures when the prohibiton on blood was given at Acts 15:28,29?
Later that year, the society sponsored a talk and QandA session with a member of the bethel hospital liaison committee at a local kingdom hall. In an unusual, and quite propitious twist, the society invited the elders to bring their wives. After the bethel speaker discussed in depth the many non-blood products and procedures that would be available to a conscientious jw, he opened the floor for questions. I have to add here, that the brother dealt with many products that, while they were not in themselves any of the four main components of blood, they were derived from them. One of the elder's wives raised her hand and asked one of the clearest and most thought provoking questions of the evening.
"If Jehovah prohibits the medical use of blood, how can we, as conscientious jw's, take products that are derived from a prohibited procedure?" The speaker had no answer! After nervously adjusting his notes and not speaking for nearly 3 minutes, his only response was, "That's a great question." It really was! Needless to say, it started me thinking about the wbts's position on blood with a more open mind.
After many months of struggling with this and many other questions, I reached a cross roads. I got down on my hands and knees and begged God to show me the truth. I started reading the bible without the "help" of the societies publications, and was astonished at what I was reading and learning. Show much of what I had accepted as irrefutable bible truth simply was simply not to be found in scripture. One thing that really impressed me was that the christian greek scriptures were primarily a Jesus book. Something I take for granted now, but at the time, was astonishing to me.
I have since stepped down as an elder and continue to struggle with stepping away from the watchtower. Sorry if this post seems a bit disjointed and lacking in details, but I'm hastily writing this while my wife is away at book study.
Looking forward to some christian fellowship... tech 597