Jehovah's Witness'

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

I had a friend who is a JW and they don't believe in accepting blood (transfusions...don't know if it means organs as well?).....not sure why! Anyone?

This is because the Bible tells us to abstain from blood. Jehovah also views blood as sacred and life sustaining, saying in the Bible that our soul is in our 'lifeblood'.

On a medical note, it is very risky to accept blood, even your own, after it has left the body, as it changes. More and more surgeons are choosing bloodless medicine as they realise that blood is unnecessary. The body continues to make more blood, it is generally volume that is lacking, which saline solution / plasma expanders can take care of while the body boosts the blood naturally.

[Inanna]

JW what you refer to as the rebirth of the sun & the winter solstice is called the Yule in some parts of the world. So- I think we possibly were referring to the same thing but calling it different names!

Thankyou for sharing your faith.

[YoYo]

Thanks Sunflowa

Like you said, I'm not out there to change my views....but I dont' really have any, so I like to learn about all sorts.

I just remember watching a TV show once (a baby story) where the woman was a JW and after the birth of her baby, she was bleeding out and the docs said she needed blood. She left it for a good while saying about her faith, but in the end decided to take it. It would be a very hard decision I guess. She was sat there in the bed with a brand spanking new baby!

What happens if you do 'sin'.....do you have to repent and that makes it all better again?

[Bumperstump Cummerbund]

I just remember watching a TV show once (a baby story) where the woman was a JW and after the birth of her baby, she was bleeding out and the docs said she needed blood. She left it for a good while saying about her faith, but in the end decided to take it. It would be a very hard decision I guess. She was sat there in the bed with a brand spanking new baby!

What happens if you do 'sin'.....do you have to repent and that makes it all better again?

Do you mean sin in terms of taking blood? Or just in general? If we do the wrong thing and are genuinely repentant, then Jehovah will forgive us. But we don't do an official 'confession' like some religions do, as it can lead to a wrong attitude - as in, I can do what I want because I'm confessing on Sunday anyway.

With more serious sin, something that the Bible specifically says NOT to do, things have to be taken more seriously, as the rest of the congregation needs to be protected as well. Again, if you are genuinely sorry for what you've done, everything's fine, but if you're not, then the rest of the congregation has to be protected. This is a part of our beliefs that many mock, and most outsiders don't agree with. I'm happy to explain further on this point over PM's, but there are a few members that I believe are in this situation, and I don't want to offend or embarrass them, so I would like to keep it off the boards

On a side note MM, was this show a documentary or a tv show? JW's not accepting blood has been portrayed on many medical soap operas, and sadly the only one I ever saw happen the right way was All Saints! The rest were all wrong - JW goes in for surgery, surgeon decides to give them blood despite their clear wishes, JW goes off their nut when they find out, cut to shower scene with JW trying to 'get the tainted blood out'. It's amazing how wrong tv shows can get it, when we're so willing to answer questions!

[YoYo]

Yeah I guess I meant in general.....but maybe relating to the blood thingo.

The TV show was a documentary, and the woman was very adamant about not receiving any blood (or blood products?). The doctors knew her wishes and respected them, but their job was to save her, so I guess it was hard for the both of them. Like I said, she did decide to take the blood because she was hemmoraging I think.

When it comes to confessions, in other religions....I don't quite get it. To me it just means, like you say, people can do what they want and then just say 'sorry' at church on the weekend!

Thanks so much for sharing, and thanks lilias for starting this thread. It's good to learn things like this. It keeps your mind open and makes you more accepting of people in general, regardless of what religion we are talking about

[MrsFabuloso]

Thankyou everyone, sunflowa girlie in particular. You have opened my eyes to new concepts
I did think of ome more q's to ask as I was reading (which I should have written down...) but I'm not in much of a posting mood so I will come back another time to ask
Thanks again!!

[Traveller]

Thank you so much Sunflowa_girlie, I really enjoyed reading your posts.

I have a friend who is a Jehovah's Witness and she had a serious PPH after the birth of her first baby. The doctor's reccomended a blood transfusion but she asked for a 2nd opinion and upon establishing that she would feel terribly ill without it, but would not be in any actual danger, she refused.

For her 2nd baby she had an elective cesarean and again had a major PPH. However this time she had made sure she was in a hospital will a cell saver machine which reused her own blood. She was very well after this birth.

However I was very sad for her that there were something like 14 people in the room for her caesarean, according to her husband most of them were there to see it all go wrong so they could say "we told you so". I felt so sad my beautiful friend was viewed as a disaster waiting to happen for her beliefs.

[shellbell3]

Thanks for sharing, I always find it so interesting to learn about other religions.

Lilias, I had 2 woman at work that were Jehovah's Witness' and they were always more than happy to answer questions, I always had many!

Best thing too was they would work xmas day cause they didn't celebrate it, meant others could have it off!