Well, do you have a response to him, since you wrote it? :-))
Randy
Dogpatch
JoinedPosts by Dogpatch
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Defenders of Pastor Russell speak out on FREE MINDS' debunk
by Terry inhttp://ctrussell.wordpress.com/2012/03/18/examining-freeminds-discover-the-legacy/#comment-1584.
an article i wrote on charles taze russell, j.f.rutherford and fred franz for freeminds asserted that they were not professionals in their field.
because they took the illegitimate course of self-proficiency.
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Lions eating straw....is this possible?
by highdose ini recall a jw telling me that.... "they" meaning scientists, had done study's on lions in zoo's and discovered that if they gave lions straw and grass to eat that the lions became very passive and no longer showed predator behavior??
now they never explained who "they" were, or were these "study's" had been done or why based on these study's lions are not now fed grass etc
has anyone else heard this for real?
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Dogpatch
Phizzy is right on:
Carnivores evolved to be thus, it would take a million years, and lots of painful deaths, and a lot of genetic fiddling to get them to eat straw.
I have a lot of vegetarian and Vegan friends (remember I'm from the 60s generation). Not to cause an argument, but for many tens or hundreds of thousands of years man evolved into a carnivore. Why? Because it was a healthier diet for survival at the time, and still is.It will likely shift in a few centuries.
I don't really have to eat much veggies or carbs, though it may make me healthier due to the added vitamins and good contents. I also take good vitamins and "green" drinks. But IMHO, and experience having colitis, I have never had any problem with meat and never get sick. I do eat veggies but most of them I am allergic to unless they are cooked (citrus fruits are an exception - I have no problem with them). I do like most vegetables, but they give me infinitely more problems in digestion, heartburn, etc. than meat (not junk food meat but healthfully prepared - I can't eat any processed or even restaurant food due to the excess salt and other bogus ingredients like yeast extract). I must fix ALL my own food, which is unfortunately more expensive than junk food. Low salt, low in aggravating spices.
I also take high-quality probiotics because I have candida along with my colitis, allowing NO WHEAT, YEAST, SOY SAUCE or TOFU, or really anything fermented heavily, like strong cheese. All the things I love to eat (bread is #1).
This is not my choice or phiilosophy. When you are nauseating for three days and wishing you would die for relief of a tightly closed stomach (location of ulcer: near stomach) even water bloats me and will not eliminate during those times), you don't write scholarly papers on it. But if I follow my regiment (fix all my own meals, no packaged foods, pizza, or canned foods which ALL contain yeast extract, I am asymptomatic).
I often wonder just how much evolution is behind this. I first got the colitis about 20 years ago by taking massive doses of repeated antibiotics, which destroyed all bacteria in my stomach, good and bad.
Food for thought. :-))
Randy
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The Watchtowers Unholy Trinity
by Dogpatch inthe watchtowers unholy trinity .
most jehovahs witnesses believe that when the society appears to clearly designate a new doctrinal position on some issue, like blood transfusions, it is what they really follow and believe.
such naivete is typical of those who have never worked in a large corporation.. .
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Dogpatch
LOL to wha happened! :-))
There have been many sects of the JWs in Africa for years - the WT just ignores them but would never tell you. All 3 mouthes of the unholy Trinity clamp shut.
Randy
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The Watchtowers Unholy Trinity
by Dogpatch inthe watchtowers unholy trinity .
most jehovahs witnesses believe that when the society appears to clearly designate a new doctrinal position on some issue, like blood transfusions, it is what they really follow and believe.
such naivete is typical of those who have never worked in a large corporation.. .
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Dogpatch
Hi Siam,
I will post a response to this after talking to Zen, as I was not there listening to the phone call. He called me right after making SEVERAL calls. He can explain it better. But here's a cursory answer:
Am I correct in understanding that the society will no longer disfellowship a person for taking blood, or declare that a person has automatically disassociated themselves for taking blood?
That is the clear message that Zen was trying to elicit.
It is now a don't ask, don't tell policy? If this is true, how much liability will they have for changing the stance but not informing the congregations/ publishers? There are many people who will continue to refuse blood for fear of being dfed that will die unneccesarily.
No more liability than they faced when they changed their stance on Hemophiliacs taking the Rh factor. You would never know unless you were dying and called the Service Dept. They will definitely not put such things in print until enough time has passed to make it a moot point. They also will not put it in the elder's book. That's the "third mouth." It was used extensively in covering over the handling of pedophiles for years. Many more examples, perhaps Barb or others have good examples for this post.
How could they be that stupid to quietly change it without informing the congregations? Something doesn't add up. (or maybe they are that stupid)
No, they are being quite clever, just like the corrupt politicians they are. Legal issues have a lot to do with it. Blame it on the elders, not the Society, who "never printed that."
Randy
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The Watchtowers Unholy Trinity
by Dogpatch inthe watchtowers unholy trinity .
most jehovahs witnesses believe that when the society appears to clearly designate a new doctrinal position on some issue, like blood transfusions, it is what they really follow and believe.
such naivete is typical of those who have never worked in a large corporation.. .
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Dogpatch
The Watchtower’s Unholy Trinity
Most Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that when the Society appears to clearly designate a new doctrinal position on some issue, like blood transfusions, it is what they really follow and believe. Such naivete’ is typical of those who have never worked in a large corporation.
That Watchtower is indeed a corporation, an ENTITY in and of itself, with its own personality, modeled after the past and current leadership. All such entities seek to protect themselves at all costs, and most of the employees know they are expendable for the “greater good” of the organization. Its profits and goals are the most important issues to maintain, again, at all costs. Unscrupulous and/or plainly illegal techniques are used to keep the true policies and financial records from the public in most organizations. The larger they are, the more attorneys they will employ in order to protect the entity from harm or absolute extinction.
The Mouth That Speaks to the Public
This is no different when it comes to religious organizations. A single church or branch may be honest, but the larger corporate identity will always have rats in the closet. They might even have subversive policies to prevent damage to their reputation through the sacrifice of individuals that might tend to have a big mouth. The addition of a Public Relations Department that has exclusive rights to tell the “truth” about itself is a sure sign that they have things to hide, and must control -- perhaps not so much the actual doctrine or policy itself, but control bad publicity. The PR man’s job is to present favorable information in an exaggerated or devious way, in an attempt to distract people from important questions that need to be answered. Each time an answer is to be given to an outsider or even a lesser-ranked member of the organization, it is carefully tailored to what audience is being addressed. Case in point is the teachings of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. During the latest court cases and bad publicity about the Watchtower regarding the concealing of child abuse, J.R. Brown was the P.R. man chosen to assure the public that the Watchtower has exceptional policies and exceptional elders, and that opposers are just trying to make them look bad.
The Mouth That Speaks to the Elders
The local elders in the congregation are given special instructions at elder’s meetings every few months, where a representative of the New York corporation makes known it’s new policies and procedures, especially in matters of handling judicial committees, apostates, fornicators, and in general anyone or anything that causes trouble in the organization. Since the organization is deeply rooted in legalism and punishment and perpetual shame rather than the grace of Christ (as they are supposed to), the elders will follow what they learn from the “Shepherding the Flock of God” elder’s book, the special meeting instructions, and advice given over the phone by the Service Dept. Example: For decades the Watch Tower Society instructs the rank-and-file to go to the elders first when they see a serious problem. In the case of serious crimes such as pedophilia and physical beatings, etc., they have always told the elders and publishers to CALL THE SOCIETY BEFORE THE POLICE. Why? To keep it a secret from the outside world. That way they can save face from public scrutiny and maintain the image of “God’s Organization.”
The Mouth That Speaks Only in Situations to Others One-on-One
Over the eight years of time I spent as a member of the Watchtower organization, serving at its higher levels, and especially when I was appointed one of the special 300 “inner circle” of Bethel elders at the time, I was able to attend secret meetings with the Governing Body periodically, and these were occasions when the powers-that-be spoke openly and let down their hair, revealing the true emotions and the primal drive behind each leader. It was extremely enlightening to learn the character of each of these men, and how their individual styles contributed to the “personality” of the greater entity, the Mother Organization. This “godhead” of the Watchtower is hosted by their very own enforcement police team, the Service Department. They are the keepers of the inner policies that the Watch Tower will not put into print for fear of legal reprisals or losing legal recognition as a religion in other parts of the world.
Though never having served in the Service Dept. (Bethel hell), I gained quite a bit of insight into what I call the “third mouth” of Watchtowerspeak. I lived on the 10 th floor of the 107 building facing Manhattan Brooklyn and Manhattan Bridges. My room was adjacent to that of Harley Miller and his wife Brook (who rarely left her room except in a bathrobe). At that time (mid-80s) Harley was in charge of the Service Dept. I guess the Bethel office was too cheap to put a phone in his room (a serious misjudgment) so he had to step outside of his room door to answer the hall phone, which was a few feet away from my door.
Trouble is, hallways carry noise quite well, so I often got to listen at length to Harley’s conversations with Circuit and District overseers and elders who had difficult decisions to make with difficult problems such as child molesters or crooks or “apostates” or whatever was the flavor of the day. I don’t actually remember much citing of any Bible verses in Harley’s answers. It was either his own learned “wisdom” in protecting the reputation of the organization at all costs, or was most-often created on the fly, using common sense and appropriate problem-squashing techniques. Cronyism was quite common, and advice often differed according to who liked Harley Miller or knew him personally. It was rather noticeable, as sometimes very different answers were given for the same problems that you see in the “second level” of Watchtower secrecy, their Elders Handbook, “Shepherding the Flock of God.”
But the elder’s book was intentionally printed with wide margins on both sides of the page, and elders were instructed to put “second level” secrets (those secrets too legally problematic to be put in print where outsiders might get ahold it it). These books were NOT to be kept once they ceased to be elders, as they very much desired no one else to get their hands on them. But if they did, the writing of the ELDERS who owned the book could be disputed, and the Society had only printed things in it that were vague enough to be interpreted many ways (which it is!) I know a lot of people would like to read the “secret” elder’s book and they have, only to be bored out of their mind because it rarely says anything they don’t already know if they are in tune with the organization.
The darker side of the “third level” mouth of this unholy Trinity of mouths is the hiding of criminals and pedophiles. Often the legal department has to get involved in these. They involve such matters as what to do when a JW secretly donates all of their possessions to the Watch Tower at their death, excluding the family, and how to harass the victim and the courts into getting their due money, often rudely brushing off the bereaved family, making them fend for themselves. (A déjà vu of when Knorr one time refused to pay a one-way ticket for a sick missionary to come home, and she jumped ship in despair on the way back home.) They have also been famous at paying the court costs of child custody cases, so that the children remain with the JW parent. This was VERY effective, as few people can afford custody attorneys on their own, so the WT would often win by threatening the other party with bankruptcy. They even wrote a secret book on how to “educate” the child as to what to say in court, called Preparing for Child Custody Cases. It has no author or date listed inside, and is very difficult to get a copy of it.
Other issues, more common, were domestic violence and child abuse, troublemakers among the elders, and all matter of problems of everyday life. To my knowledge NONE of these gems of unholy advice were put into print, but were left in the hands of a “few accomplished men” who were slick enough to talk their way into benefitting “Jehovah’s Organization.”
The Service Dept. mantle was eventually passed on to Ted Jaracz, a Governing Body member appointed by then-president Nathan Knorr, close to his death. Jaracz was to be the new head of the Service Dept., knowing it would rankle the REST of the newly appointed Governing Body in the late 70s. President Knorr and Vice-President Frederick W. Franz greatly opposed a Governing Body, preferring an autocratic ruling president, such as Rutherford and Knorr had been. The splitting of power leads to an organization’s weakest leader becoming the weakest link in the chain, and this hurts the overall power and control over the organization. Rutherford and Knorr were keen businessmen, and they knew how to DEVELOP ON THE SPOT new policies and assign some scripture taken completely out of context to support it.
Thus began, in around 1977-1978, the darkest years in Watch Tower history thus far, where any vestige of the Bible’s teachings on “grace” were replaced with the Pharisaical hard hand, demanding full obedience to the organization.
The Watchtower is once again afraid of takeover from within by some charismatic elder or elders who dare to openly disagree with WT policy. They are deathly afraid of an inevitable schism. Well, my Watchtower friends, that schism is not only coming but has existed in infant stages for years, starting in Africa and now leading out to Brazil and other countries who suddenly have access to information negative towards the Watchtower. These articles and news items and court cases can be instantly translated right in their own Internet browser. As I write, many Witnesses in Brazil are picketing the Watchtower for its shunning practices.
Other countries are re-assessing the lies told to Bulgaria (in their efforts to become recognized as a legitimate religion), where the WT PR machine plainly said, “We do not disfellowship our members for taking blood transfusions.” But in secret Bethel meetings, the third-level guardians of the inner secrets instruct the elders that when someone breaks one of the Society’s laws or openly disagree with any doctrine, they are “disassociating themselves.”
Really? Did they ask for that? Did they sign anything or present a letter to the elders seeking to be disfellowshipped? That RARELY happens. No, the Society just has a clever way of getting rid of potential troublemakers – speaking out of two or even three mouths – one to the public, one to the local elders, and the third usually to the Circuit Overseer or a trusted mole in the congregations. So it is made to appear the “disobedient” Witness kicked himself out! They wanted to make sure no other Witness would ever speak to them again. By the use of Watchtowerspeak, they have attempted once again to cover their asses.
Yet almost NO ONE really knew the primal reasons for the outcome. Of course, it was always to preserve the interests of the Mother Organization, the unholy godhead.
There may be more heads on this icon. But for now, I clearly see a head with three lying mouths speaking different things to different people.
Blood Transfusions as a Prime Example
Blood transfusions are a perfect example. When was the last time you ever heard of a Witness being disfellowshipped for taking a blood transfusion (without other reasons being involved)? IT ISN’T HAPPENING. Zen Dean made several call to the Service Dept. about whether taking a blood transfusion is a disfellowshipping offence, and they plainly said, “No.” He then asked if they are necessarily considered disassociated, and the answer was that “taking a blood transfusion is not a disassociating offense.”
Yet the articles in the PRIVATE Watchtower edition, not offered to the public but studied in the congregations, as well on parts of this summer’s assembly coming up, are still scaring the rank-and-file over getting blood transfusions! They are coming just short of saying they will get disfellowshipped. This is clearly “NEW LIGHT”, and may have begun to take shape about 10-11 years ago, when a R. Jensen (elder) started sending a series of letters to the Society regarding blood transfusions. From around that point forward, the innermost “third level” of the Service Dept. began to change their spoken advice to leaders – apparently to avoid the publicity of disfellowshipping over being denied a life-saving procedure.
Soon Zen Dean will reveal how elders who are members of the Hospital Liaison Committees get their training, and how extensive that training is. He will share how conversations with one member who is on an HLC Committee shared with him how he knew just delaying a letter of approval by the WT or a phone call for just a few minutes will make a martyr out of the poor victim as they lay dying on the operating table, whereas a quick note to the frantic doctor may save the life of the JW. The elder had the power of life and death in his hands.
Today over 7 million Witnesses must live in fear of being shunned for taking a blood transfusion to save their lives. They are threatened with shunning. But interestingly enough, they are not being disfellowshipped or considered “disassociated.” It is usually swept under the rug because it prevents further bad publicity to the great Unholy Trinity.
Randy Watters
The AJWRB site index is at:
http://www.ajwrb.org/sitemap.htm
Two links I am going to put at the bottom:
Things I LearnedFrom Calling the Watchtower Society
the R. Jensen letters:
http://www.ajwrb.org/currentwtpolicy/watchtower/index.html
What Happened at Watchtower in 2001?
http://marvinshilmer.blogspot.com/2011/02/what-happened-at-watchtower-in-2001.html
Randall Watters
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TWO DAY WORKSHOP: Jehovahs Witnesses, Former Members and Families, May 12, 2012
by Dogpatch ins p e c i a l e v e n t : o n e d ay w o r k s h o p. jehovahs witnesses, former members and families, may 12, 2012 - 9:30. to 5:00 p.m. - philadelphia.. .
current and former jehovah'a witnesses to attend our special workshop.. .
attendees and facilitators will explore questions that are often.
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Dogpatch
S P E C I A L E V E N T : O N E D AY W O R K S H O P
Jehovah’s Witnesses, Former Members and Families, May 12, 2012 - 9:30
to 5:00 p.m. - Philadelphia.
The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) invites all
current and former Jehovah'a Witnesses to attend our special workshop.
Attendees and facilitators will explore questions that are often
central to the concerns of former members of cultic and non-cultic
groups and families/friends troubled about a loved one's group
involvement:
About ICSA (who are we and why do we feel we can talk about the JW
Organization)
Exploring a psychological perspective (experiences in the organization
as women, men, lgbt)
Is the JW organization a cult? What's a cult anyway?
How are cultic groups different from and similar to other kinds of
groups?
Why do people leave?
Can departures be facilitated?
What problems do people have when they leave?
How can they manage these problems?
Disfellowshipping
This event consists of directed discussions aimed at encouraging
participants to describe their relevant experiences and explore their
current opinions regarding the key questions listed above.]
(Participants may choose not to contribute to discussions, if they
wish.)
In short, the event will focus on attendees's experiences and views,
not presenters prepared talks, so as to help attendees better
understand these important questions and enhance their capacity to
express themselves and help others as well as themselves.
Location:
Sheraton Philadelphia University City Hotel - Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania (PA)
3549 Chestnut Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104
Register:
www.icsahome.com
You can register online or by mail/fax
http://icsahome.com/infoserv_respond/event_conferences_workshops.asp
INTERNATIONAL CULTIC STUDIES ASSOCIATION
P.O. Box 2265
Bonita Springs, FL 34133
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1.239.514.3081 -
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Jehovah's Witnesses and the Rh Factor
by Dogpatch injehovah's witnesses and the rh factor.
written by marlene mercado wednesday, 31 january 1996; revised 2012. .
i want to share with our readers an experience i had when two jehovah's witness elders came to my home to enlighten me regarding the new "technology" that allows for the taking of certain blood fractions with a clean conscience.
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Dogpatch
Jehovah's Witnesses and the Rh Factor
Written by Marlene Mercado Wednesday, 31 January 1996; revised 2012
I want to share with our readers an experience I had when two Jehovah's Witness elders came to my home to enlighten me regarding the new "technology" that allows for the taking of certain blood fractions with a clean conscience. They came with absolute confidence that they would be able to answer all of my questions. After all, as they had previously informed me, they were fresh out of a special elders' school that taught them all they needed to know about this issue.
First let me give you some background as to my education and first hand knowledge of the topic that we discussed. In 1989 I won $20,000 on the "Wheel of Fortune" (no kidding!) which financed my long overdue education, you know, the one I put on hold so I could be a pioneer back in the 50's because Armageddon was so close!
I chose the Health Unit Coordinator program at a local Community College, graduated on the President's honor roll, and shortly thereafter got a job at a large medical center here in town. This hospital serves as a major health care provider for all of the Inland Northwest. Critical cases are flown in from miles around. My job was in Nursing Service and entailed transcribing all Doctor's orders on the patient Kardex for nursing care. I was trained to work on every floor of the hospital, from Birthplace to Psychiatric Services, from Surgical floors to Intensive Care. I also ordered blood (and blood fractions) for the patients that required it, and when it arrived I picked it up at the satellite blood bank in the hospital. One of the blood fractions that I regularly ordered when working in the Birthplace is the immunoglobulin RhIG for Rh negative women who have given birth to an Rh positive baby. This happens to be one of the blood fractions allowed by the Watchtower Society for its followers. (See Awake! of Dec. 8, 1994.) What is RhIG and why is it necessary?
The Rh Factor is a protein coating on the surface of the red blood cells. People either have it or they don't (hence the positive and negative designations). Rh incompatibility can arise only when a woman's blood is Rh negative and her baby's blood is Rh positive. This can happen only if the baby's father's blood is also Rh positive. There are usually no problems during a woman's first pregnancy with a baby whose blood is Rh positive. However, because some of the baby's red blood cells may enter the mother's blood stream at delivery or during an invasive procedure such as amniocentesis, the woman may become sensitized to Rh positive blood. In other words, she may produce antibodies against the Rh factor so that if she has a future pregnancy with an Rh positive baby, there is a risk of hemolytic disease of the newborn. Thus the baby's red blood cells are destroyed. In the past, this was a common cause of stillbirth, severe fetal disease or death. Previously, the only remedy was a complete exchange blood transfusion for the baby as soon as possible after birth. However, with the advent of RhIG, Rh sensitization is becoming rare. When given by injection to a woman within 72 hours of delivery, it prevents 99% of Rh sensitization. The injection contains antibodies to the Rh factor which destroy any of the baby's red blood cells that may have entered the mother's blood stream, before they cause her to produce her own antibodies. RhIG has been available since 1968, and since one in eleven pregnancies are involved, it has saved many babies' lives.
What was the Watchtower's response to this miraculous discovery? Here was a solution to the problem of complete exchange transfusions at birth. Was there a big celebration in Brooklyn? Alas, such was not the case. Because, you see, RhIG comes from donated plasma, and was therefore forbidden for Jehovah's Witness women! In the case of RhIG, new light didn't flash up until June of 1974. (See "Questions from Readers" in the Watchtower of June 1, 1974.) Was there a major article to introduce this life saving new light? NO! You will find it buried in a footnote (small print) in the midst of a discussion about serum injections that immunize against disease. However, RhIG is not the same thing as a generic immunization. The mother and the baby must be typed and screened in order for the mother to receive RhIG. It is a blood product prepared specifically for her, and requires a blood draw to determine this. She then has a blood band put on her wrist which is the same as any other blood band that identifies a patient for whom blood has been ordered. Now that RhIG has been available for 43 years, Rh sensitization is rare. As a direct result of this, donors have become extremely rare. For example, in the mid-90's there were only four women in this large metropolitan area who regularly donated their plasma. Because of the scarcity of this precious fluid, it was necessary to advertise for donors. I have enclosed a copy of the ad that I found in the local newspaper in the week just before the elders' scheduled visit. Notice in the ad it says that RH negative males may also qualify. This is because they are given injections of Rh positive blood. Some of these red blood cell recipients develop antibodies strong enough to be fractionated into RhIG. Even though it is not mentioned in the ad, sterile females who are not sensitized also can receive the injections. The success rate for sero-conversion this way is about 60%. Of course, even though JW women can receive RhIG, they couldn't submit to a procedure where they were injected with red blood cells to make RhIG for others. Also note in the ad that these donors are paid for their plasma. All collection and fractionation of RhIG is regulated under federal law as blood.
Amazingly, one of the elders tried to tell me that RhIG was a synthetic product, as were all the other blood fractions that JWs have now approved for use. I asked him, "When does blood not become blood?" He said, "It's not blood, though. These are proteins that they have been able to isolate because of advanced technology!" Fortunately, I had cut out this ad, and I held it up and read it to him. "SAVE A BABY!" This ad proves that they are desperate for the plasma of Rh sensitized women. Now let's change the ad for argument's sake to "SAVE A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS BABY!' Can I donate my Rh sensitized plasma to save a Jehovah's Witness baby?" He replied, "Probably not!" I said, "Well, of course not! That would be a disfellowshipping offense." He said, "Well, I've never heard of anyone getting disfellowshipped for that or for accepting a blood transfusion, for that matter." I couldn't believe my ears and reminded him that it's been a disfellowshipping offense since 1961.
We went on to discuss other blood fractions as well, and it really became apparent to me that the Society is now doing a fancy two-step shuffle to try to back away from their bloodguilt. It seems that blood is no longer blood once it becomes a Society-approved blood fraction. How clever of them to divide blood into fractions and quietly, one by one, move each one over from the forbidden zone to the conscience zone! Yet they're taking several decades to do this so no one will notice (they hope). Then once they succeed in making it ALL a matter of conscience, they can wash their hands (a la Pontius Pilate) and say to those who have lost loved ones, "We're not bloodguilty! It was their choice to refuse blood. It was a matter of conscience all along!"
Referring to the Awake! magazine of Dec. 8, 1994 (p. 27), the question is asked, "Is the RhIG shot made from blood?" The response: "Yes. The antibodies that make up the shot are harvested from the blood of individuals who have become immunized or sensitized to the Rh factor. Genetically-engineered RhIG not derived from blood may become available in the future." (Italics mine.) Here the Society admits that RhIG is from blood, and that a synthetic version is only a future possibility.
Further along in the same article, in discussing whether or not a Christian can take the shot, they claim that they "have commented consistently on the matter." For backup they refer the reader to a footnote that cites a 1990 and a 1978 reference. They leave out the first reference of 1974 when RhIG was first allowed for JW women. And of course, there is no mention of the previous 6 years when it was not allowed, when they were commenting consistently on the matter in a decidedly different way! My own blood is Rh positive, but I personally know women who were damaged by their previous stand. My question to the elders about the possibility of donating my plasma was hypothetical, as I do not qualify. But let me point out that because of that six year window of time when Witness women were not allowed to take RhIG, many of them became sensitized, and therefore many of them could be donors. There is a Christian principle involved here. What gives Jehovah's Witnesses the right to dip into the nation's blood supply when they themselves don't donate any? How do they justify this? Over the years I have heard such harangues against blood banks from them; these are looked upon as places of absolute evil where the sanctity of blood is profaned. But if it weren't for these very same blood banks, where would they get their albumin, fibrinogen, Factor VIII, Factor IX, and RhIG? Where would all these blood products be processed from non-JW donors and stored so that JWs might have access to them? Since the most prevalent protein in plasma, albumin, is acceptable for them to take, but plasma itself is not, who would spin the albumin out of the plasma for them if they are burn victims or have a liver disease? Let me point out that the last JW patient I had who was taking blood was getting 250cc of albumin. It takes 10 liters of plasma to get that much albumin! If the albumin came from whole blood donations, which it most likely did, we are talking about 19 liters of whole blood. Since one donor gives about one pint, this means that 38-40 people donated their blood so that she could have that albumin. Her chart was marked "No Blood Products." I added the words, "except albumin."
The reason I became so interested in researching all this is because I had a family member die from this horrible doctrine. She bled to death nine days after giving birth to her fifth child who will never have the honor of knowing his mother. She lingered for several days believing that she was dying faithful to Jehovah. She had just graduated from nursing school as an RN, and her husband accepted her diploma posthumously. We were friends from our teenage years, and she was only 38 when she died. Such a needless death. She was denied the "technology" that she needed to live. I can only trust that God, in his perfect justice, will hold the leaders of the Watchtower Society responsible for all the deaths they have caused. They are truly the ultimate "people of the lie." ( John 3:19-21)
[revised from the Jan/Feb 1996 version in the Free Minds Journal]
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ICSA Annual Conference: Montreal, Canada - July 5-7, 2012
by Dogpatch inicsa annual conference: montreal, canada - july 5-7, 2012. .
last early registration deadline april 1st.. .
if you have already registered for the conference, ignore this.
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Dogpatch
ICSA Annual Conference: Montreal, Canada - July 5-7, 2012
Last early registration deadline – April 1st.
If you have already registered for the conference, ignore this
message.
For Information on the program, speakers, hotel, registration and
more, copy and paste this URL into your browser:
http://icsahome.com/infoserv_respond/event_conferences_workshops.asp
En français - http://icsahome.com/infoserv_respond/event_conferences_workshops_fr.asp
This conference will give you an opportunity to meet people of diverse
perspectives from around the world, including:
---former group members
---family members
---helping professionals
---researchers
---educators, clergy, journalists, and others.
This conference will have more than 100 speakers and attendees from
about two-dozen countries. There will be special tracks for ex-
members, families, mental health professionals, and researchers. On
Wednesday, July 4th there will be three pre-conference events that are
free to conference registrants: Overview for ex-members (7 - 9 pm),
Introduction for Mental Health Professionals (7 - 9 pm), writing
workshop for ex-members (10 am - 5 pm)
If you are new to this field, the ICSA annual conference provides you
with an opportunity to meet and speak with experts from around the
world, as well as with former group members and the families of cult-
involved persons. If you have a long-standing interest in this field,
the ICSA annual conference provides you with an opportunity to meet
with old friends, exchange notes with other students of the field,
present your own research or thoughts, and keep abreast of recent
developments. Everybody can learn and enjoy themselves.
To access a list of speakers, abstracts, an agenda (by day and time),
hotel information, directions, etc., go to the ICSA events page:
http://icsahome.com/infoserv_respond/event_conferences_workshops.asp
For the Conference Committee,
Michael Langone, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Editor, ICSA Today -
25
Donating blood
by SweetBabyCheezits inour daughter's school is having a blood drive today and me and mrs. babycheezits thought about signing up.
it's been on my bucket list i just haven't done it yet.. .
just curious if many members of jwn have donated?.
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Dogpatch
AJWRB.ORG will soon have a series of Youtube videos on how the whole blood process works with the Red Cross. Sevan Najarian, the filmer for V's videos, will be filming the segments. He is a hollywood filmmaker now. :-))
The introductory video is on the site already. Soon we will have an index to the archives on the site, to show the excellent research of the previous owners and writers there, but our direction is taking a slightly different course. But I'm not going to tell you what it is, so bug off.
We set up a Red Cross van and a table with a sign a few weeks ago in a Los Angeles shopping center for donating blood for Jehovah's Witnesses who i an emergency need blood parts, since they won't give themselves. That should embarrass the WT!
Come join our public forum on AJWRB! Zen has all kinds of plans of action, not just writing. So we will have both on the site. There will be regular updates as well.
Doctors have their own private forum, and so do JWs, for advice if they really want to follow the WT, without judging them for it. Go Zen!
Gears are rolling. We also link to some of the articles on Marvin Shilmer's excellent blog.
Randy Watters
and a few others :-))
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Dogpatch
Phizzy says,
Same for me Dinah, the Historical Jesus, as far as we can determine, was an O.K guy.
The Cult that grew up using his name, and the Mythos, from late in the 1st Century is a different thing from the teachings of the Nazarene. The "Christology" of Paul is another strand of the following that arose, the two combining loosely but splitting in to many sects straight away.
The Cult of Jesus was not something I see him planning deliberately, he was hijacked after his death for use by people with varying agendas.
Amen to that. Church history is a lot like JW history. But at least many more understood grace. Not Rutherford, Knorr or the other creeps. The popes and sectarians made the mess we have today.
Randy
