Unfortunately, a series of statements were left in a previous thread framed as fact which are actually a result of your ignorance of Jehovah's Witnesses and the way they promote their policies regarding the non-acceptance of blood transfusions.

If someone were to take a pint of blood and put it in a device that separated out the water and then drank the water would they have drank blood? Of course not. Since the water in a pint of donated blood isn't blood then maybe there are other things in a pint of donated blood that isn't actually blood. And perhaps these non-blood items are okay for a Christian to take. That is the JW position in a nutshell.

Your ignorance demonstrated in this post is in the form of belief that they think there is something wrong with blood itself, and that this is why they avoid accepting it. Their prohibition is 100% based on use of blood because they believe blood to be sacred.

Given this disparity between the actual position of Jehovah's Witnesses regarding blood and your statement of their position, I fully understand the ignorant conclusions you arrived at.

In your illustration (presumably meant as a defense of their position) you miss the vital point that water derived from blood remains"”according to their doctrine on the sanctity of blood"”a misuse of blood. This would be true regardless of the fraction derived from blood. In any case, if blood is used to obtain the water it would not be abstaining from blood to partake of the water that came from it.

The Scriptural prohibition they emphasize in Acts is only part of their dogma, the other part is from the OT in Leviticus where the people were instructed to pour the blood onto the ground (in all cases except the performance of specific religious rites). Certainly, such a dogma is not satisfied by permitting the usage of any products derived from blood.

You confess that you are neither an expert on their dogma regarding blood, nor on their misrepresentation of medical facts as a means to encourage compliance with their doctrinal position. I am an expert on both.

I was one of Jehovah's Witnesses for 20 years, my father served on the local Hospital Liason Committee from the time it was formed up until today (and likely will continue to do so). He has been a Congregation Servant (and then elder) for over 40 years.

I have read and analyzed the information provided to health care professionals"”which the rank and file publisher never sees, as well as all DVDs and brochures related to the blood issue since the first one was published (1/4 page-size booklet). I have copies of each of these publications in my personal library.

Something very important I forgot to mention. If a JW child needs a blood transfusion and the parents refuse to give permission then the hospital will get a court order and a blood transfusion will be administered to the child. So those claiming that JW children are dying because of their parents religious belief don't know what they are talking about.

I hate to be the one to tell you, but this is both a misrepresentation and an untruth rolled into one.

First, the misrepresentation: In cases of massive blood loss there is no time to get a court order, such a measure is only possible in cases where the life threatening condition presented to physicians allows for the acquisition of such an order. It appears you have bought into Jehovah's Witnesses press about themselves. Their lawyers fight such orders tooth and nail, thereby limiting or negating any potential effects that the treatment might have for the child. Often such tactics result in death even after the treatment is administered, which is then used as "evidence" in local lore that blood transfusions aren't life-saving, after all.

Second, the untruth: Frequently such sought court orders are not awarded. Even more frequently, due to the nature of the injuries presented they are not even sought"”court orders take time that the patient rarely has.

Based on these two realities of which you seem to be ignorant when you arrived at your conclusion, and of which I have frequently been a first-hand witness, I can state with quite a lot of authority that you don't know what you are talking about. I think that once you consider these facts that you have thus far ignored, you might revise your assertions somewhat.

I find it interesting that no one here is complaining about the Christian scientists. They reject all medical treatment and rely on God to heal them.

You did not introduce the subject until this post. However, although I disagree with their decision I respect adherence to doctrine applied consistently more than adherence to doctrinal policy that is not clearly understood, is inconsistent, undergoes modifications, has exceptions for certain medical conditions, and which is supported in part by misrepresentation of secular facts.

That said, I believe any parent who does not value the life of their child enough to decide in favor of life over death for their child should not have children"”because those children are endangered by being in such a parent's custody. This would apply to Christian Scientists just as much as to Jehovah's Witnesses.

Maybe you can stay on point in your responses to me instead of relying on your confessed ignorance when convenient, while asserting statements of fact that demonstrate your ignorance. Maybe you can demonstrate that your mind is keen enough to avoid the logical fallacy of misdirecting to a worse example as a way of mitigating the error of the example under discussion. Maybe I can keep respecting you. We shall see.

With cautious respect,
AnOtherOpinion

Thankfully, there are scientists who do search for answers to the question of the origin of the immune system. It's the immune system. It's our defense against debilitating and fatal diseases. The scientists who wrote those books and articles toil in obscurity, without book royalties or speaking engagements. Their efforts help us combat and cure serious medical conditions. By contrast, Professor Behe and the entire intelligent design movement are doing nothing to advance scientific or medical knowledge and are telling future generations of scientists, don't bother.

If you did, what was your reaction to it? First thing I thought of myself was God cursing the serpent to crawl on its belly…