Blood On Their Hands

By Frank J. Toth

Jesus and his apostles would object to the Jehovah's Witnesses ban on blood transfusions which has led to the slow deaths of thousands of their members.

The following texts list the sins that Christians should guard against:

Matthew 15:19, 20
1 Corinthians 6:9, 10
Galatians 5:19-25
Ephesians 5:3-7
Colossians 3:5-9
1Timothy 1:8-11
Revelation 21:8

The following 42 sins are listed:

Abusive Speech
Adultery
Anger
Badness
Blasphemy
Contentions
Covetousness
Cowardice
Disgusting Filth
Divisions
Drunkenness
Enmities
Envies
Extortion
False Swearing
False Testimony
Fits of Anger
Foolish Talking
Fornication
Greediness
Homosexuality
Hurtful Desire
Idolatry
Jealousy
Kidnapping
Lack of Faith
Loose Conduct
Lying
Murder
Obscene Jesting
Obscene Talk
Revelries
Reviling
Sects
Sexual Appetite
Shameful Conduct
Spiritism
Strife
Thievery
Unbecoming Speech and Conduct
Uncleanness
Wrath

Though the list is extensive, the eating of blood is not mentioned even once in the several above-mentioned sources. There is not one verse or one list in the entire Christian Greek Scriptures that says Christians in general must not eat blood. Early in their history, Jehovah's Witnesses taught that Acts 15 simply contains admonition for GENTILE CHRISTIANS who were being urged to have regard for the sensitivities of their Jewish brothers and sisters.

So, it is completely without authorization from the Bible that Jehovah's Witnesses condemn their members who accept a blood transfusion. Since thousands of Jehovah's Witnesses have died slow deaths due to this man-made teaching, who should be blamed for their deaths?

Each one of Jehovah's Witnesses should prayerfully consider the following:

-- It is a fact that the Bible does not condemn blood transfusions. Acts 15 contains instructions for Gentile Christians on conduct in the presence of their Jewish brethren. That was the original and official view of the Watchtower Society before the no-blood ban went into effect during the 1940s and 50s.

-- It is a fact that blood consumption is not in any New Testament list of sins.

-- It is a fact that the originator of the "no-blood" doctrine was a man who dabbled in spiritism. Clayton J. Woodworth, just a few short years before he became editor of the magazine now called "Awake!," admitted that "my mind became unbalanced, and I came directly under the influence of evil spirits, so much so that for three days I was as completely under demonical control as was Mrs. Eddy when she wrote 'Science and Health.' . . . I know now that all these Scriptures were suggested to my mind by the evil spirits."

-- It is a fact that Jesus showed how wrong it is to let someone die because of having a pharisaical concern for obedience to a religious law. (Matthew 12:11, 12; Luke 14:5, 6)

-- It is a fact that THOUSANDS of Jehovah's Witnesses have already died because their leaders choose to reject Jesus and to follow a spiritist.

-- It is a fact that Jehovah's Witnesses would rather see a helpless tiny baby die than receive a life-saving blood transfusion -- a baby that cannot speak for itself or defend itself.

-- It is a fact that Jehovah's Witnesses throw their sick and weak members out of their organization as "evildoers" if they accept a blood transfusion. (To avoid lawsuits, they claim the accused was not expelled but that he chose of his own volition to leave the organization.)

-- It is a fact that rank and file Jehovah's Witnesses are quick to label anybody who disagrees with their stance as "uninformed," "prejudiced" and "hateful."

-- It is a fact that some in the rank and file accuse doctors and hospitals of being "greedy lovers of big money" or that they practice "bad medicine" simply because the vast majority of them don't agree with Jehovah's Witnesses.

-- It is a fact that Jehovah's Witnesses are so self-absorbed that they often think they are being "persecuted" when a member dies and the media relates the news just as it happened, explaining that the death was due to refusing a blood transfusion.

-- It is a fact that bloodless surgery is useless in immediate emergencies, as when a patient is rapidly losing blood from a car accident.

-- It is a fact that bloodless surgery offers no hope to persons suffering from certain types of leukemia and other health problems. Neither is it of any value in most parts of the world where such surgery is unavailable.

-- It is a fact that bloodless surgery has its failures just as there are failures in transfusing blood.

-- It is a fact that most reputable articles that point to dangers in transfusions are dealing with specific types of transfusion and not with the type generally administered.

-- It is a fact that blood transfusions save lives -- MILLIONS of lives every year -- and bloodless surgery saves LESS THAN ONE PERCENT OF ONE PERCENT of that number.

Still, millions of Jehovah's Witnesses choose to go along with the no-blood doctrine, with minds shut to the fact that there is a truly heartless and unscriptural aspect to the story of their religion!