BLOOD -- WTS Questions and Sound Answers 4

Marvin Shilmer

Does the WTS respect JWs who decide to eat from blood?

*** w86 9/1 p. 25 Godly Respect for Blood *** So idolatry, the partaking of blood, and fornication are placed on the same religious plane. Christians must abstain from all of these to maintain good spiritual health and share in the fulfillment of God’s promises. With regard to blood, it matters not whether this is eaten through the mouth or transfused through the veins. The purpose is the same—to sustain and nourish the body. As the governing body clearly indicated, failure to abstain from blood is a violation of the law of God.

So, the WTS' policy on blood regards eating blood as equal to transfusing blood. Therefore the same policy applied to transfusion of blood also applies to eating of blood.

WTS policy on use of blood is to respect JWs who accept all parts of any component from blood.(1) So when it comes to medical use of blood, the WTS requires JWs to respect fellow JWs who choose to accept all parts of all components from blood. Since WTS policy equates transfusion of blood with eating of blood then the current WTS policy requires JWs to respect fellow JWs who choose to eat all parts of all components of blood.

It should be noted that the normal acts associated with preparing and cooking blood have the effect of fractionating whole blood's components beyond the forbidden forms of red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma. That is, when blood has fresh water added to it, the red cells are immediately fractionated into protein membranes and hemoglobin. When this material is cooked, within only a few seconds of high temperature (like in a cook oven, on a stovetop, on a griddle or a campfire!) white cells and platelets are completely fractionated beyond recognition. Within minutes of this high heat the water content is virtually exhausted too, which means even the plasma has had its water fractionated from its protein content. Since this process of cooking whole blood fractionates all the red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma then, according to current WTS policy, JWs are to respect fellow JWs who choose to eat the rendering.

So, does the WTS respect JWs who decide to eat from blood? According to its current policy, yes, it must.

Marvin Shilmer, having a good day

Reference:

1. A document provided by the WTS to any JW wanting one stipulates what is respected and prohibited uses of blood based on the WTS' current policy. One acceptable line item for JWs to select states: "I will accept all fractions of any components from blood." (Durable Power of Attorney, Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylvania, Inc., 2003)

hawkaw

Interesting

It should be noted that the normal acts associated with preparing and cooking blood have the effect of fractionating whole blood's components beyond the forbidden forms of red cells, white cells, platelets and plasma. That is, when blood has fresh water added to it, the red cells are immediately fractionated into protein membranes and hemoglobin. When this material is cooked, within only a few seconds of high temperature (like in a cook oven, on a stovetop, on a griddle or a campfire!) white cells and platelets are completely fractionated beyond recognition.

This is very interesting.

Do you have the particular reference wrt this comment?

Sorry to be a pain for the request as I know you are busy but I find this interesting.

hawk

AlanF

Good point, Marvin. That means that, to be consistent, the Society cannot prohibit JWs from eating any cooked foods containing blood, like blood sausage, blood pudding, and various unbled animals. Quite a change!

Of course, The Watchtower will never of its own free will address this.

AlanF

Marvin Shilmer

Howdy, Hawkaw

You write:

Do you have the particular reference wrt this comment?

My comment is based on physics and direct observation.

The difference in osmotic pressure between red cells and fresh water causes the red cells to immediately rupture when contacted by fresh water.(1) This is called hypotonic shock.

Plain ole evaporation fractionates water from blood. Or, when we speak of heating blood we are actually vaporizing the water, which is also a fractionation.

A direct observation of whole blood before adding water and after adding water shows the red cells completely obliterated. The platelets and white cells are almost totally obliterated too. But an observation of the same substance before and after heating to the boiling point for about 5 seconds reveals the complete destruction of identifiable components in terms of formed red cells, white cells and platelets. So when you add water and cook there is no red cell or white cell or platelet that is not fractionated. Of course, the cooking vaporizes the water, so plasma is fractionated too.

Marvin Shilmer

Reference:

1. Medical students must learn of this reaction before they can successfully fix blood for microscopic examination. The 1997 educational article Let's Observe the Blood Cells, by Daniela Tagliasacchi and Giorgio Carboni, states:

"If you apply the stain to a smear without having fixed it beforehand, the cells will explode because of the so-called osmotic or hypotonic shock. This happens because the saline concentration inside the cells is much higher than that of staining fluid which is diluted in distilled water. In the attempt to equal the internal saline concentration to the values of the external one, the cells undergo swelling by osmosis. To attain the same saline concentration of the external liquid, the cells should swell more than their membrane allows, in fact they explode. The cell contents are released, and the preparation becomes unusable. To avoid this, before staining, you have to fix the smear. This operation hinders the inflation of the cells which keep sound when they are stained."

Marvin Shilmer

Hello, AlanF

You write:

That means that, to be consistent, the Society cannot prohibit JWs from eating any cooked foods containing blood, like blood sausage, blood pudding, and various unbled animals. Quite a change!

Exactly! It is amusing to observe would-be JW apologists address the science of this. They find themselves completely disarmed and without sensible reply. They often resort to responses that are so ridiculous that it makes scientist laugh behind the scenes. Though I'm sad to say it, the funniest part is that they believe their answers are sound scientifically not realizing the huge gaps in their own scientific knowledge or blood's physiology and how it reacts to various common things, like plain ole water and cooking over a campfire!

You write:

Of course, The Watchtower will never of its own free will address this.

Again, completely correct!

Once I ran this by Major Spry of the WTS' Hospital Information Services. His reply was "Why would a JW want to eat anything from blood?" I responded, "A starving JW would want to eat something from blood for the same reason that the same JW patient would want to accept all fractions of any component of blood, to save their life." He said, "Oh." Then we got on with our round of golf!

Marvin Shilmer

AlanF

Howdy Marvin!

I'm going to run this by certain JWs I know and see what they think.

AlanF

Marvin Shilmer

Hey, AlanF

You write:

I'm going to run this by certain JWs I know and see what they think.

Don?t run it by them too fast. I suggest walking it by them very slowly.

Marvin Shilmer, grinning

hawkaw

Thank you kindly for your information Marvin.

This is very interesting.

Take care

hawk

Fisherman

THe wts has a perspective on blood. According to wts Bible understanding on blood, blood must ne dealt with in a special way by jws. Jws believe that blood represents life to God and therefore it is better that a person die than to somehow direspect the life it represents. In other words, to jws, blood is more important than the life it represents to God.

Jws recognize that they eat blood. THey know that it is impossible to extract every blood fraction from a dead chicken or cow, etc. So, when consuming meat they are aware that they are also eating some blood with it, but that is in accordance with the BIble because ancient Bible law observer also ate some blood with their meat. THe issue with jws is that blood cannot be used for any purpose whatsoever and so jws are enjoined from using blood in a way that vilated their understanding of the Bible,

The contradiction in jw belief is that they benefit too from the sinful way blood is used by others in the production of vaccines, blood fractions, and other things. The problem is not the resultant kosher product containing microscopics amounts of blood but that perhaps gallons of blood was misused acccording to their doctrine to produce the end produce that they too use.

In all fairness though, more people have died from infected blood than from refusing blood transfusions.

At one time vaccines and organ transplants were dangerous and risky, the same can be said about blood. I personally have known individuals that have died from infected blood and I also know individuals that were cured because of blood during an operation in the past. THe obejection that I have with blood is infection and medical and that I loathe getting injected with someones body fluids. My mentality is a result of wts indoctrination. I stiil feel this way. I am not sure about the religious part of it. I am not sure.

I do not feel that anyone should be allowed to die having medical options available to save his life even blood.

Marvin Shilmer

Fisherman writes:

“In all fairness though, more people have died from infected blood than from refusing blood transfusions.”

What a silly thing to say. The only reason more have died from tainted blood than refusing blood is because the proportion of patients refusing blood is so miniscule, which makes the remark above meaningless.

Marvin Shilmer

BLOOD -- WTS Questions and Sound Answers 4

Share this