Are the prohibitions on blood transfusions God's will, or the Watchtower's?
The numbers the Watchtower uses to show complications that arise from blood transfusions is seriously outdated. Their latest source is from the 1980s. The medicine has improved significantly since then. But I would definitely argue that getting a few complications, like fevers or chills (which is now closer to 1 in 100) is a lot better than death. In an independent study that included 125 JWs who all refused transfusion, and they had reached the point where a doctor would normally insist on a transfusion, over 60% of them died. So, 3 in 5 died unnecessarily. Compared to 1 in 100 who get complications like a fever or chills, and 1 in 362,000 that potentially died as a result of the transfusion. It's pretty evident that getting a transfusion is astronomically better than not getting one. But the Watchtower spreads misinformation to make it seem like the opposite is true.
From the article “
Jehovah’s Witnesses and Blood – Tens of Thousands Dead in Hidden Tragedy”, using government sources, we can see that at least 46,544 JWs have died between 1961-2016 as a direct result of the Watchtower's blood policy. You can search the title on Google, but here is an excerpt from the article:
That's 2-3 PER DAY dying as a result of this blood policy.
However, the prohibitions against blood transfusions are:
- Scripturally Inaccurate - Most Christian religions recognise that there is no scriptural prohibition on Christians transfusing blood.
- Inconsistent - The Watchtower states God's standard is that blood must not be stored, yet allows Jehovah's Witnesses to use blood fractions derived from stored blood.
- A Double Standard - Jehovah's Witnesses use significant quantities of medical products derived from blood, but are forbidden from donating blood.
What’s more, the Jews take the law far more seriously than JWs, and they have no problem with blood transfusions. Many of them actually donate blood. These are the same people who won't even eat cheeseburgers to not even risk breaking Exodus 23:19; do not cook a calf in its mother's milk. This is because they know that blood transfusions for the purpose of saving a life are totally different to eating or drinking blood in an animal you've just killed.
But how is the Watchtower blood policy unbiblical?
- The Rabbinic principle of Pikuach Nefesh (appealed to by Jesus at Matthew 12:11) dictates that the Law be superseded if it would result in loss of life
- The Bible refers to eating blood from animals killed for food, not blood transfusions that do not result in the death of the donor.
- Paul showed that the prohibitions at Acts 15 were only binding when it would result in stumbling (See 1 Corinthians 8)
Watchtower claims the command to refrain from blood originated with Noah.
"God imposed this one restriction. They were not to consume blood. (Genesis 9:3,4)" - Watchtower 2008 Oct 1 p.31
Genesis 9:4 does not discuss eating blood, rather Noah was told:
"Only flesh with its soul - its blood - YOU must not eat."
This command is about respect for animal life during the ritual of slaughter. This does not state that blood could not be eaten. In its strict Hebrew wording, it means that an animal should not have flesh torn off it for food, whilst the animal is still alive. In general, it is understood to mean that out of respect for the life of an animal, it was to be bled when being killed for food; a command against eating things strangled.
The Watchtower uses this as a key scripture to show that blood transfusions must not be used, attempting to apply it to the consumption of human blood. Neither point is made in this Scripture.
However, the Watchtower originally recognised that Genesis 9:4 did not apply to eating blood, as shown in the following article that attempted to prove that vaccinations were wrong.
"All reasonable minds must conclude that it was not the eating of the blood that God objected to, but it was bringing the blood of the beast in contact with the blood of man." Golden Age 1931 Feb 4 p.294 - WATCHTOWER SOURCE (do CTRL+F and search for "all reasonable minds")
Showing that the Law to Noah was related to the act of killing an animal, rather than the blood itself, Deuteronomy 14:21 allowed Israelites to sell un-bled animals found dead as food for "alien residents" and "foreigners." This is because the alien resident was bound by Noahide Law, but not Mosaic Law.
In order to use blood fractions, you need to use significantly more stored blood to begin with (9-10x the amount). The Watchtower is against donating and storing blood too, so this is a double standard. So, why are blood fractions allowed if it depends upon significantly more donated blood, and donating and storing blood isn't allowed? If blood must be poured on the ground, where are the blood fractions they use derived from? If abstaining from blood does not allow taking a "major" fraction, why does it allow a fraction of a fraction? If blood fractions were always acceptable to Jehovah, who is responsible for the Witnesses that needlessly died refusing them, due to Watchtower policy forbidding them prior to the year 2000?
And why did they change their minds on vaccinations? Because they couldn't afford the legal costs! From Watchtower, December 15th, 1952, page 764, they said:
But remember, this was after they'd said vaccinations were a devilish practice... From Golden Age, 1921, October 12th, page 17:
They kept this belief for 10-20 years, saying it goes against the everlasting covenant that God had made with Noah after the flood, and only changed their minds because they couldn't afford the legal costs. They changed their minds on this "devilish practice" because of money!
So, you're supposed to refuse blood transfusions to the point of death, but they're allowed to change their beliefs on things based on legal costs!
Here's a lot more information on this. At least read the first article:
- Jehovah's Witnesses and the Watchtower's changing stance on blood transfusions
- Jehovah’s Witnesses and Blood – Tens of Thousands Dead in Hidden Tragedy
- Blood Transfusions: Facts, Fictions and Fractions - Refuting The Watchtower