Bradley,
Am I understanding you correctly if I were to say that if the JWs literally apply the command to 'abstain from blood' they would need to not even touch blood or have anything whatsoever to do with it -- that is the object, blood, would be taboo?
Not exactly. The problem is even more fundamental than this. I'm saying that quoting the phrase ?abstain from blood? as an independent construction conveys the idea of a simple and direct command, but what the JW's are doing here is ungrammatical. The incomplete predicate "Abstain from blood" cannot legitmately be invoked apart from the context that completes it. Therefore it's not a question of whether the phrase is applied literally or not. The phrase can't stand on its own in the first place --- End of story.
Complete sentences require a transition of action between subject and object. "Abstain" is intransitive and can neither take a direct object nor transfer action from subject to object. What is required is a finite verb or verb phrase. Sometimes though, when an "Abstain from....." construction is used, a finite verb is missing and must be supplied by the reader based upon the context. English is such an intuitve language with so much taken for granted that we usually do this without even thinking.
Consider the following two simple examples:
?Her obstetrician said, ?Pregnant women should abstain from alcohol.??
"His dermatologist said, ?Persons with sensitive skin should abstain from alcohol.??
Even though the phrase ?abstain from alcohol? appears in both of these sentences, it does not negate the same action in both. While we would understand the former to be a reference to drinking alcoholic beverages, we would understand the latter to be a reference to the topical application of alcohol. Our source for the finite verbs "Drink" and "Apply" which bridge the gap between subject and object and complete the thought is the context itself.
Has the woman been told that she should not apply cosmetics containing alcohol to her skin? In context, the answer is "No." That's not what her obstetrician is talking about. Has the man been told that he should not drink alcoholic beverages? In context, the answer is also "No." That's not what his dermatologist is talking about.
The situation is the same with JW?s and blood. Were Christians told that they must not use blood for the basic set of functions for which it was created? (Circulating in your arteries and veins.) In context, the answer is "No." That's not what the Jerusalem council was talking about. The context of the discussion was whether Gentile converts to Christianity should be circumcised and follow the Law. Therefore the eating or drinking of blood as forbidden in the Law is unquestionably the Biblical context of this reference.
Literal translations of the Bible are truest to the original text, but their downfall lies in the fact that the end result is sometimes awkward, incomplete, or poorly constructed English. Consider for example how the following dynamic equivalent and paraphrased translations complete the thought:
"eat no food that has been offered to idols; eat no blood; eat no animal that has been strangled; and keep yourselves from immorality."
Today's English Version
"avoid what has been sacrificed to idols, tasting blood, eating the meat of what has been strangled and sexual immorality."
Phillip's Modern English
"You must abstain from eating food offered to idols, from consuming blood or eating the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual immorality."
New Living Translation
"abstain from eating food offered to idols and from unbled meat of strangled animals and of course from fornication."
The Living Bible
"Do only what is necessary by keeping away from food sacrificed to false gods, from eating bloody meat, from eating the meat of strangled animals, and from sexual sins."
God's Word Bible
?But you should not eat anything offered to idols. You should not eat any meat that still has the blood in it or any meat of any animal that has been strangled. You must also not commit any terrible sexual sins."
Contemporary English Version
"That you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols and from [tasting] blood and from [eating the meat of animals] that have been strangled and from sexual impurity."
The Amplified Bible
"You are to keep away from everything that has been given to gods. Do not eat blood or meat from animals that have been killed in ways against the Law. Keep away from sex sins"
New Life Version
"You must not eat food that has been given to idols. You must not eat the meat of animals that are killed by choking. You must not taste blood. You must not commit adultery. If you keep away from these things, you will do well. Goodbye."
The Bible in Worldwide English
Contextually supported interpolations such as these are the only ones that anyone may legitimately make.
Tom
