by minimus 37 Replies latest jw friends
I'm not sure anyone can answer the question for yourself or your children until that time comes if your a die hard dub.
I don't know if dubs still carry the blood card BUT an MS friend of mine had the best answer. "No blood transfusions....but for God's sake, don't let me die!"
I`m sad to say this but for myself and probably for my wife I would not have consented to a blood transfusion as for my two boys? I`ll never know and thankfully I was never in that position .
All I can say is when I was a believer I was a TRUE believer .and that scares the shit out of me today as to what I might have done then and now come to regret it.
I would not have given blood to my family. I would have died faithful.... like a moron.
At the birth of our youngest son we were willing to sacrifice him because of blood stance. He had complications at birth and intensive care doctor was ready to go to court. Our doctor was able to stop it for 24 hours. Luckily he improved during that time and the mater was dropped.
To this day it still runs chills up my spine when I think how indoctrinated I was in the borg. What's is so incredible is he is the one son who left the borg almost 2 years ago and we were with for Christmas this last year. The question that comes up in my mind is "What if it went the other way and he died because of total allegiance to the borg?" A very scary thought. I hate to say it that I was so in. Still Totally ADD
The answer to this question is...NO!
I knew at sixteen that Jehovah was a made up name for a god that didn't exist. And the WTBTS was a made up religion that did exist....unfortunately.
If we were told that we had to die for the WTBTS that would put an honest face on the question of human sacrifice.
For those that lost family and close friends because the WT said that they had to die for want of a life saving blood transfusion...... Welcome to Jonestown...... pretend poison drinking practice is held 3 evenings a week....... everyone is welcome.
My mother stated she would not allow herself to be tortured for her faith. My father though more genuine believer stated he believed martyrdom was not the will of God. I have No idea what their stand on blood was I was never a believing jw. If you ask me today as a believing Christian I honestly dont know
They deserve nothing at all. I feel that the best way to deal with the blood issue is to not have it come up. This means safety first. Carrying a bright umbrella in rain (especially with poor visibility) instead of the approved drab one might stop you from getting hit in the first place, and then you won't go to the hospital at all. Using common sense and not going out in field circus when it is too dangerous might prevent an accident. Allowing people to exercise sensibly instead of denigrating it would allow people to get in shape, avoiding heart problems (and so would being less tight with time, so people don't need to eat at McDonald's every day).
Yet, they are so insistent on their rules that incidents happen that should have been prevented. Instead of returning safely home, they fight to refuse blood. They never ballyhoo anyone that is sensible enough to stay home in dangerous conditions instead of going to the boasting session, and then avoid a trip to the hospital that forces them to miss 10 or 15. Better for them if people suffer needlessly, get into needless fights, and waste so much time in the hospital than to have people not get hurt at all.
I recall on an episode of "Life in the ER", there was an elder and his wife that were brought in after a bad accident near Austin texas and all they could do is yell out "No Blood" as they slipped in and out of consciousness . They came across as foolish, dying older victims, that interfered with their own medical care. It was embarrassing to watch and I think I recall that they didn't survive. This was probably 15 years ago.
As a side note about blood transfusions and dying for Jehovah...
My sons non JW girlfriend recently received her Nursing Degree and was immediately hired at a world famous local hospital.
Part of her new employee training dealt with how to handle Jehovah's Witnesses.
She told us that the hospital requires the nurses to visit the JW patient after the liaison committee leaves, to make sure they really don't want a blood transfusion. She said this is because once the Liaison Committee members leave, the majority of JW's (especially younger ones) beg them not to let them die and to do whatever it takes to keep them alive. They want to live but are afraid of what will happen when their Elders find out they didn't follow through with their refusal of blood. The hospital staff then assures them that their privacy will be upheld and their decision will be kept private.
It's scary to think that I went around all those years thinking that I'd die over this matter when in reality (at least at this major hospital) most JW's secretly accept a blood transfusion....so much so that it's become a standard operation procedure for them to follow up on this with their JW patients and to include it in their new nurses training.
