Does the Bible say blood transfusion is against God's law?

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Justin108
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Does the Bible say blood transfusion is against God's law?

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Post by Justin108 »

Jehovah's Witnesses believe blood transfusions are against God's law. The usual supporting scriptures for this are Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17:14 and Acts 15:20. However, reading these verses, it's pretty clear that eating blood is prohibited. So why do Jehovah's Witnesses object to blood transfusions?

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Re: Does the Bible say blood transfusion is against God's la

Post #2

Post by JehovahsWitness »

[Replying to post 1 by Justin108]


#QUESTION: Is a prohibition on blood transfusions based on the bible?
ACTS 15:29
"that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell


Various other translations:
http://biblehub.com/acts/15-29.htm




Physicians speak
http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 423#844423

To learn more please go to other posts related to...

JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES , BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS and ...VACCINES ,
Last edited by JehovahsWitness on Fri Dec 10, 2021 7:42 am, edited 3 times in total.
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http://debatingchristianity.com/forum/v ... 81#p826681


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Re: Does the Bible say blood transfusion is against God's la

Post #3

Post by 2timothy316 »

[Replying to post 2 by JehovahsWitness]
Abstain or ἀπέχεσθαι

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from apo and echó
Definition
to hold back, keep off, to be away, be distant

From the New Yorker - Should Anyone Be Given a Blood Transfusion?
http://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk ... ransfusion

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Re: Does the Bible say blood transfusion is against God's la

Post #4

Post by onewithhim »

Justin108 wrote: Jehovah's Witnesses believe blood transfusions are against God's law. The usual supporting scriptures for this are Genesis 9:4, Leviticus 17:14 and Acts 15:20. However, reading these verses, it's pretty clear that eating blood is prohibited. So why do Jehovah's Witnesses object to blood transfusions?
If a doctor told you not to eat rat poison, would you pump it into your veins?

How else was God going to get it across to people to not take blood into their bodies? They would not have had any clue what a transfusion was; they wouldn't have understood what He would have meant by saying "don't stick it into your veins." And Acts' saying "abstain from blood" is quite clear. It has been covered in the previous posts, and I like to add my dictionary's definition of ABSTAIN:

"To keep from; to voluntarily do without; refrain."


(Webster's New World Dictionary of the American Language With Student Handbook)

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Re: Does the Bible say blood transfusion is against God's la

Post #5

Post by Justin108 »

JehovahsWitness wrote: [Replying to post 1 by Justin108]


#QUESTION: Is a prohibition on blood transfusions based on the bible?
ACTS 15:29
"that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.�


Various other translations:
http://biblehub.com/acts/15-29.htm
Image

"...that you abstain...from blood"

Now this can be a bit vague as it can mean several things. To "abstain from blood" could mean to not take in any blood whatsoever (as you suggest) but it could also mean one must not handle blood at all. Surgeons often handle blood, as do butchers. Surely God cannot mean we abstain from handling blood altogether?

What I hear most often from theists whenever I criticize a Bible verse is a reminder to "read in context". Considering the rest of the Bible, specifically Genesis 9:4 and Leviticus 17:14 (the only other verses mentioning abstaining from blood) it would seem that in context of Leviticus 17:14 and Genesis 9:4, "abstaining from blood" would mean "abstaining from eating blood". Genesis and Leviticus is quite precise here. So in the context of Genesis and Leviticus, it seems reasonable to conclude that "abstaining from blood" as mentioned in Acts seems to refer to eating blood specifically.

No because I'm not an idiot. I have enough understanding of medicine to comprehend what my doctor means if he tells me to abstain from alcohol.

However, if my dentist told me to abstain from sugar, I would surely not abstain from using a dextrose IV if I need one.

This is where common sense comes in. I understand that my doctor does not want me consuming alcohol in any way, whereas my dentist merely wants me to stop consuming sugar orally, yet they both use tell me to "abstain from X". A mixture of context and common sense easily solves this dilemma.
Last edited by Justin108 on Thu Jan 26, 2017 11:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Re: Does the Bible say blood transfusion is against God's la

Post #6

Post by 2timothy316 »

Justin108 wrote:
What I hear most often from theists whenever I criticize a Bible verse is a reminder to "read in context". Considering the rest of the Bible, specifically Genesis 9:4 and Leviticus 17:14 (the only other verses mentioning abstaining from blood) it would seem that in context of Leviticus 17:14 and Genesis 9:4, "abstaining from blood" would mean "abstaining from eating blood". Genesis and Leviticus is quite precise here. So in the context of Genesis and Leviticus, it seems reasonable to conclude that "abstaining from blood" as mentioned in Acts seems to refer to eating blood specifically.
So when you eat something what happens? It is first put into your body then your body uses it by digesting it. So what you're trying to look for is a legal way to put something illegal into your body. Is that correct? If you know that saturated fats are bad for you to eat do you try and find another way to put it into your body? Think of putting someone else's blood in you as something that could poison your relationship with a person that could give you everlasting life. Do you risk everlasting life for a few more years on this Earth or possibly immediate death due to bad blood?

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Re: Does the Bible say blood transfusion is against God's la

Post #7

Post by Justin108 »

onewithhim wrote: If a doctor told you not to eat rat poison, would you pump it into your veins?
No but if my doctor told me "you desperately need blood" then I'm not going to suddenly drink a pint of blood. Common sense. There's a huge difference between eating something and injecting yourself with something. Do you even have the slightest understanding of biology?

onewithhim wrote: and I like to add my dictionary's definition of ABSTAIN:

"To keep from; to voluntarily do without; refrain."
See post 5

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Re: Does the Bible say blood transfusion is against God's la

Post #8

Post by Justin108 »

2timothy316 wrote: So when you eat something what happens? It is first put into your body then your body uses it by digesting it. So what you're trying to look for is a legal way to put something illegal into your body. Is that correct?
No because the Bible does not say it is illegal to "put blood in your body", it says it is illegal to "eat blood".

Compare this to current legislation. Organ transplants are perfectly legal (i.e putting another person's organs into your body). It is however illegal to eat organs as that would be considered cannibalism.
2timothy316 wrote:Think of putting someone else's blood in you as something that could poison your relationship with a person that could give you everlasting life
Why would that poison my relationship with that person...? If anything, if I knew a friend of mine gave me his blood to save my life, I would be eternally grateful to him. It would actively strengthen our relationship.
2timothy316 wrote:Do you risk everlasting life for a few more years on this Earth or possibly immediate death due to bad blood?
The OP asks whether the Bible says blood transfusion is against God's will. I fail to see how this addresses the OP

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Re: Does the Bible say blood transfusion is against God's la

Post #9

Post by 2timothy316 »

Justin108 wrote:
2timothy316 wrote:Do you risk everlasting life for a few more years on this Earth or possibly immediate death due to bad blood?
The OP asks whether the Bible says blood transfusion is against God's will. I fail to see how this addresses the OP
Ah then are you aware of how God views blood? What the fuss is about? Or do you think God woke up one day and decided to make a law just because He could and to see who would follow it?
Last edited by 2timothy316 on Thu Jan 26, 2017 1:22 pm, edited 3 times in total.

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Re: Does the Bible say blood transfusion is against God's la

Post #10

Post by JehovahsWitness »

Justin108 wrote:
2timothy316 wrote: So when you eat something what happens? It is first put into your body then your body uses it by digesting it. So what you're trying to look for is a legal way to put something illegal into your body. Is that correct?
No because the Bible does not say it is illegal to "put blood in your body", it says it is illegal to "eat blood".
No that is not the verb that is used, the verb is ABSTAIN and abstain doesn't only mean "don't eat" (see dictionary)
INDEX: More bible based ANSWERS
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"For if we live, we live to Jehovah, and if we die, we die to Jehovah. So both if we live and if we die, we belong to Jehovah" -
Romans 14:8

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