My friend is standing at the bedside of her critically ill Dad who has joined the JWs with all of the family, my friend is not in the religion, they have given him a matter of hours to live, yet he has specifically said No to a transfusion, I wish I could understand and make sense of this,
Bobbi
Has to do with the denomination's interpretation of Acts 15:29, which requires abstaining from the blood of animals... one can eat the meat but not the blood. Jehovah's Witnesses believe a transfusion is the same as "eating" the blood. As usual with most cults, the belief system has undergone modifications to the point that theynow allow and blood consituents that pass thorugh the pacental barrier can be given in transfusion. This includes most of the plasma... watch for more revisions as timegoes on...
Bobbisox, I'm afraid you are wasting your time trying to 'make sense' of religious beliefs. If this chap decides to give up his life for that reason it is his decison however much grief it may cause his loved ones. It is just an example of how religion addles the mind.
It becomes a problem for the rest of us when religious nutters refuse to give their child the transfusion it needs to save its life. That's when the law has to step in on behalf of society.