8/20/2019 Blood Transfusion - Why Not for Jehovah's Witnesses, 1977 http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/blood-transfusion-why-not-for-jehovahs-witnesses-1977 1/4 lood Transfusion Why Not for Jehovah s Witnesses? l ~ tl tJ . f . J l t . 1 J J iol r Jehovah's Witnesses appreciate that through your skillful practice of medicine you have been able to aid many persons. Blood transfusion may have been one of your principal treatment tools. Since blood transfusions are so widely used., many in the medIcal field have been perplexed by Jehovah's Witnesses' refusal to accept blood. Logical questions arise, such as: Why o Jehovah's Witnesses believe as they do? What does their stand respecting blood mean for you who are in the medical profession? nd what can you do if you are called on to treat one of Jeho- vah's Witnesses? Some persons have mistakenly concluded that Jehovah's Witnesses dis- agree with the practice of medicine or that we want to e martyrs. Both ideas are incorrect. When ill or injured we willingly seek medical help, for we desire to stay alive and enjoy good health. From our study of the Bible we have come to view life as sacred, something to treasure, not to SQuander or needlessly endanger. t is not our intent here to take issue with the medical or scientific ad- visability of blood transfusions. You who are authorities in the field of medicine appreciate that blood transfusion is a standard medical prac- tice in many situations. The fact is, though, that our objection to accepting blood is not primarily a medical one ; it is a Biblical or religious objection. We understand the Bib le to prohibit a Christian's taking blood, sustaining his life with blood. In a number of places the Bible pointedly forbids con- suming blood. And the Bible book of Acts sets forth a command to all Chris- tians to abstain from blood. (Acts 15:20, 28, 29; 21:25) Abstaining from blood is therefore as important for Christians as abstaining from idolatry or fornication. True, persons of various religions may have differing views as to the meaning of these Bible passages. But we, Jehovah's Witnesses, understand these important texts as ruling out blood transfusions. For more details about the Biblical basis for this position, and confirmation of it from the
4
Embed
Blood Transfusion - Why Not for Jehovah's Witnesses, 1977
This document is posted to help you gain knowledge. Please leave a comment to let me know what you think about it! Share it to your friends and learn new things together.
Transcript
8/20/2019 Blood Transfusion - Why Not for Jehovah's Witnesses, 1977