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Continued From No.331
The Society construes passages like Gen 9:3-4, Lev 7:26-27, Lev 17:10-14,
and Acts 15:19-20 to imply that transfusing blood is all the same as using it
for food.
Rather than get into a semantic quarrel with the Society over its
interpretation of those passages; I suggest another tact. And our purpose is
not to win a debate; only to offer a second opinion. (a.k.a. misinformation)
The Jews' sabbath law is very narrow. In point of fact, the covenant that
Moses' people agreed upon with God imposes capital punishment for sabbath
violators. (Ex 31:14-15)
Now, that is very interesting because Jesus appears to have broken the
sabbath on a number of occasions, but when doing so based his actions
upon the principle that human life, safety, and welfare trump strict
observance of certain kinds of religious practices.
One of the best illustrations I've seen of a die-hard legalist was a cartoon
showing a man behind the wheel of his car stopped at a red light while huge
landslide boulders are within seconds of crushing to death him, his family,
and the family dog. While his wife and children shriek in mortal panic, the
legalist calmly points out that he can't move the car until the light turns
green.
Legalists typically refuse to accept the possibility of extenuating
circumstances, which Webster's defines as: to lessen, or to try to lessen, the
seriousness or extent of by making partial excuses; viz: mitigate.
Although it's illegal to run red lights, those boulders rumbling down the hill
to crush the man's family to death unless he moves the car, are an
acceptable excuse to go before the light turns green. In those kinds of
cases; human life, safety, and welfare trump strict conformity to the law.
Compare Ex 1:15-21 where Jewish midwives lied through their teeth in order
to save the lives of little Jewish boys. Did God punish the midwives for the
sin of dishonesty? No, on the contrary; He overlooked it and instead
rewarded the midwives' actions with families of their own. In point of fact,
their actions were adjudged as fearing the true God. (Ex 1:21)
Should someone reading this section chance to discuss blood transfusions
with a JW from Christ's sabbath perspective; I urge them to go about it with
the utmost in diplomacy, care, and civility because this is a hot-button issue.
Should your JW audience come to the realization that they've made a
monstrous mistake, they will be overwhelmed with guilt, disillusion, and
humiliation; not to mention fear of the organizational tsunami that'll come
down on them should they dare to question the Society's stance on blood
transfusions.
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