Confirmation bias - followed up with a failure to understand the both the science and the context of the relevant Biblical passages. The icing on the cake was the need to find issues where they could distinguish their unique Watchtower "brand".
Lee Elder
JoinedPosts by Lee Elder
-
4
Where the Watchtower missed the boat on Blood
by Lee Elder into really understand the jehovah's witnesses policy on blood, you have to understand the fundamental mistake watchtower leaders made when the policy was first developed.. http://ajwrb.org/the-historical-perspective/the-evolution-of-the-watchtower-blood-policy.
-
-
Lee Elder
-
4
Where the Watchtower missed the boat on Blood
by Lee Elder into really understand the jehovah's witnesses policy on blood, you have to understand the fundamental mistake watchtower leaders made when the policy was first developed.. http://ajwrb.org/the-historical-perspective/the-evolution-of-the-watchtower-blood-policy.
-
-
Lee Elder
To really understand the Jehovah's Witnesses policy on blood, you have to understand the fundamental mistake Watchtower leaders made when the policy was first developed.
http://ajwrb.org/the-historical-perspective/the-evolution-of-the-watchtower-blood-policy
-
7
Medical prohibitions leading to documented loss
by Vanderhoven7 inother than general cases involving blood prohibitions...are you aware of instances of jws or exjws who have suffered health issues as a result of obedience to wts medical dictates?.
i'm thinking specifically of those who were denied vaccinations or organ transplants and i would also include those who were denied hemophelac preparations from 1975 - 1978.. any known or documented examples would be appreciated..
-
-
Lee Elder
Use this link:
http://ajwrb.org/experiencesI'd start with Debbie Shard's story and "Stories that Break Hearts"
-
19
Where Do You Think Your Dear Loved Ones Are?
by minimus insince we were jws at one time, has it influenced your view as to where your dead loved ones are now?
i know many here do not believe in anything biblical but i’m curious as to whether you believe anyone is in heaven?
?.
-
-
Lee Elder
Since energy can neither be created or destroyed, and all matter emanates from energy, we have existed for a much, much longer period of time than our precious few years on this particular rock. Its a fair bet that we will continue to exist as well. The question at hand relates more to our consciousness. Is it lost forever upon our death, or some how transferred to another place? Stay tuned!
-
9
blood
by zeb inover heard other day.
if you take blood you are taking in some ones elses dna.?.
i eat meat and vegetables drink milk so what about the dna in them...
-
-
Lee Elder
If you kiss your wife on the lips, I suppose you are taking in her dna as well. ;-)
-
15
Blood Componenets Are The Issue
by Lee Elder inin a new "must read" article, a former jw hlc committee chairman explains why blood components are the real issue, and the terrible price paid to learn this important lesson.. http://ajwrb.org/components-of-blood-are-the-issue.
-
-
Lee Elder
In many respects, this issue can be viewed from a similar perspective as the child abuse issue in my view. Ultimately, what seems to be a primary driver for the organization is protecting the belief that they are God's channel. That they have divine authority, and special knowledge and authority. It follows, naturally, that anything that could cast doubt on this must opposed, hidden or ignored. Those who live in glass houses dare not cast stones.
-
15
Blood Componenets Are The Issue
by Lee Elder inin a new "must read" article, a former jw hlc committee chairman explains why blood components are the real issue, and the terrible price paid to learn this important lesson.. http://ajwrb.org/components-of-blood-are-the-issue.
-
-
Lee Elder
In a new "must read" article, a former JW HLC Committee Chairman explains why blood components are the real issue, and the terrible price paid to learn this important lesson.
http://ajwrb.org/components-of-blood-are-the-issue
-
26
Not posted for a year because mum died did not want blood.
by Witness 007 ini posted here weekly until a year ago when my mum died of a mild form of lukemia which is easy to treat with 2 blood tranfusions a month.
you can live to 100 with treatment, but no my mum chose to die a faithful witness after 2 years of chemo and hell for her family and doctors.
her chemo doctor cried when she only had weeks left to live knowing that she could be saved with one bag of blood!
-
-
Lee Elder
I am very sorry for your loss. It is a tragic waste of life that is so precious and brief. We would be interested in publishing you and your mom's story as a cautionary tale for other JW's. It is important for such events not to be lost to time and forgotten. You can see other examples of how we do this at this link:
http://ajwrb.org/experiences
If this is something you would like to consider, please email me:
Much love,
-
AJWRB on Twitter
by Lee Elder inyou can now follow ajwrb on twitter for the latest updates on the watchtower society's policy on blood, and how it is impacting the lives of people around the world.. https://twitter.com/ajwrb.
-
Lee Elder
You can now follow AJWRB on Twitter for the latest updates on the Watchtower Society's policy on blood, and how it is impacting the lives of people around the world.
-
5
How Blood Saved Evelyn's Life
by Lee Elder inat the 1988 divine justice district convention of jw’s.
i had stopped going to the meetings for six months.
before that i was fading, but it wasn’t deliberate.
-
-
Lee Elder
At the 1988 Divine Justice District Convention of JW’s
I had stopped going to the meetings for six months. Before that I was fading, but it wasn’t deliberate. The stress of being a Jehovah’s Witness and the daily treadmill on Watchtower’s hamster-wheel was too much for my physical and mental health.
In early 1992 I moved out of my parent’s home and did not tell anyone where I was going. There was no easy way for people to track me, no mobile phones, no Internet with social media profiles. I had met someone and moved in with him.
It was an act of desperation, as I had to get away. The Watchtower organisation was suffocating me. However, while only two months into my newfound freedom, I was involved in a serious motorcycle accident.
I was rushed to the hospital and while in the Emergency Room the medical staff were tasked with whether to x-ray my arm first, which they knew was broken, or check on the severity of my internal injuries.
They decided on an ultrasound to check for internal damages, which confirmed extensive injuries and that I needed immediate surgery. By this time, I was very, very cold and shaking uncontrollably.
Suddenly I needed to throw up and warned the nurses, who were now scrambling to get me a bowl. But it was too late. One nurse received the brunt of it and I began apologizing over and over again. I was abruptly interrupted by a doctor, who told me I needed to be operated on immediately. But, I first had to sign a consent form.
In that moment, the feeling of doom I had been burdened with for my entire life was pressing on my chest and suffocating me. This is it, this is where I die.
In a panic, I explained to the doctor that I could not have a blood transfusion. I quickly saw the frustration in the doctor’s expression. He uttered those words that anyone brought up as a Jehovah’s Witness does not want to hear, “You will die if you don’t have a blood transfusion. There is no other way of doing this.”
I’m sure that it is different for everyone that has been in this situation, but in that moment I didn’t question my faith. I didn’t think about the resurrection, or what Jehovah would think, or if having a blood transfusion was right or not. I just remember thinking that this is a doctor, an expert, and he wouldn’t say this unless it was true. And, I didn’t want to die.
Even though at various points in my life I’d struggled with depression and suicidal ideation, it was like a bolt of lightning to suddenly realize that now I had a choice whether or not to die and I didn’t want to die. In fact the idea of dying terrified me.
I told him in no uncertain terms I did not want my parents to know I had received a blood transfusion. I will say this now to anyone who is reading this: no matter what you are told by the Watchtower organisation, they do not have the right to your medical records or to speak to your doctors without your express permission.
After this, everything was a blur. I remember being told not to be concerned if I woke up in intensive care or if there were loads of machines around me. They rushed my trolley in the direction of the operating room. This amazing team of medical staff then proceeded to save my life.
When I woke up, my parents were at my bedside. I was not aware of how long I had been unconscious, I was just glad that I was alive.
1993 Following Evelyn’s Accident
If you were in this situation, what sort of things do you think your parents might say to you? To a child who had nearly died and one they had not spoken to in three months. They were looking at me, their child, albeit a young adult, in a hospital bed, hooked up to numerous machines, with strange tubes and wires attached to me. What would be the first words out of your mouth if your child had nearly died?
After telling me that they were worried about me, the questions started:
- Did you have a blood transfusion?
- Have you had sex with your boyfriend?
I expected to be questioned, but not immediately upon waking up. I was in terrible pain and my brain was fuzzy due to the morphine. So I denied everything. I looked at my parents and did not believe they had any love for me whatsoever.
They seemed more concerned with whether or not I had broken their religious rules. Their feigned love and acceptance of me in their life was conditional. I now could never go back to being a Jehovah’s Witness.
Shortly after the interrogation, my surgeon visited me and said they had needed six pints of blood and without it I would have died. My spleen was ruptured and in addition to removing it, the surgeon removed part of my pancreas and appendix.
As I recovered in the hospital, I thought about what I’d have to do if I wanted to continue on as a JW. Once I had been released from the hospital I would have had to meet with the elders in the congregation, and I would have had to detail every single sin I had committed, including receiving a life saving blood transfusion.
There was a small chance I might have just received a reproof, but I doubted that. Even if I had sincerely “repented”, I’d done so many things wrong they would have viewed any demonstration of repentance as just words. So I would have been disfellowshipped and shunned by all my friends and family for at least six months to a year, and obligated to attend all their meetings. Only then I might have been considered sufficiently repentant to be reinstated.
Recent Photo of Evelyn
Back then, as crazy as it sounds now, I didn’t doubt that JWs had “the truth”. It never occurred to me that I had been raised in “the lie”. I just felt that I wasn’t worthy of being a JW and that I wasn’t good enough or faithful enough for God to want me in his organization. So I resigned myself to never living forever in the paradise earth. I would never see my grandparents again in the resurrection.
Only now, at almost 50 years of age, do I realize I should not have been put in this position. I realize that my wonderful children are only alive thanks to the hard work and dedication of a small team of medical workers and the blood transfusion that they gave me.
Now, and with the help of my loving children, I am basking in the luxury of healing from the fears and induced phobias imposed upon me as a child while growing up as a Jehovah’s Witness.
Do not go gentle into that good night
Don’t succumb to the peaceful release of death.
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
– Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night, Dylan Thomas 1914-1953
Links for Evelyn De L’Ombre’s blog and YouTube: