thought blood issue was left up to each one's discretion....

crazyblondeb

Now I may have gotten this wrong. But didn't someone mention the blood issue is up to each person? In the new release, "What does the bible really teach" it gives a list of "what Jehovah shuns":

manslaughter, sexual immorality, spiritism, idolatry, drunkenness,stealing, lying, greed, violence, improper speech, MISUSE OF BLOOD, refusal to provide for one's family, participation in wars or political controversies of this world, and use of tobacco or so-called recreational drugs.

And HOW many of those do the GB engage in routinely???

shelley

Jeffro

I think the invisible footnote to 'MISUSE OF BLOOD' says 'unless you're in Hungary and we had to agree with the government to let it be your own decision'.

Cygnus

"Misuse of blood" can mean just about anything. The Society leaves it up to the local brothers to determine whether blood had been misused either in surgery or elsewhere.

greendawn

How hypocritical can they be, for Bulgaria they agreed not to sanction in any way jws that had blood transfusions, and that was back in 1998. For seven years since they continue to have a different policy in other countries.

blondie

This is one of those written rule/unwritten rule areas.

I remember when the Question from Readers on voting came out. It seems to let JWs make their own decision but in reality it was just an end run around some secular governments concerns that the WTS was interfering with a basic civil right. If JWs vote in countries where the government does not require it, the JW has DA'd themselves.

While JWs can personally accept fractions of blood components, they cannot accept them all at the same time. And while a JW cannot store their own blood prior to an operation, if their conscience allows, they can use hemoglobin-based products (blood fraction) which is made out of stored blood.

And then the changed it so that a JW who accepts a blood transfusion has DA'd themselves rathern than being DF'd. The JW has made a personal choice to leave the WTS rather than being kicked out. Legal semantics.

Blondie

jaffacake