Recently someone
asked me about the Jehovah Witness beliefs. Do in fact Jehovah’s Witnesses
refuse Blood Transfusions. The simple answer is YES. Jehovah’s Witnesses use
the scriptures in Leviticus and the man who started the Jehovah Witness
organization Charles Taz Russell’s words, the Bible prohibits eating blood
therefore injecting blood into ones veins would be same as eating it. In
general Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t want to die BUT they will make the ultimate
sacrifice of death, even if it meant a blood transfusion could save them. They
believe by being faithful to Jehovah and abstaining from a blood transfusion
will make Jehovah’s heart happy that they would be dying as a witness to their
faith and an example to other
witnesses and have eternal life in
Paradise.
This was
always another belief that bothered me and I can remember being a teenager
thinking , OMG , I hope I’m never at the hospital where I would need a blood transfusion , because my parents
would let me die . I’m sure they wouldn’t have wanted me to die and they would
have tried to get the doctors to do everything but if it came down where the
only alternative was to save my life was a blood transfusion my parents indeed
would have followed the religion. If they would have chosen to have allowed me to
have a transfusion they would have been excommunicated and shunned. There are several JW’s who have allowed their
children to die when a transfusion could have saved them.
What
bothered me when I was younger , is that it made no sense to me , I would
question myself.. Would Jehovah be that angry for saving our life with a
transfusion? As we know in Biblical times breaking the Sabbath law was
punishable by death but even the Pharisees broke the Sabbath law just to be
humane to an animal if it needed water. Even Jesus broke the Sabbath to heal
someone … so it just never set well with me.
Two years ago, my father who is a devout Jehovah Witness and does shun me, he was diagnosed with colo rectal cancer. Now although, my parents shun me, I have always tried to honor them by taking care of specifically their medical needs. I feel as if that is what Christ would want and as a matter of fact that is what my parents who now shun me taught me ”to honor they mother and father” When my dad had his first major surgery to remove the tumor and have an ileostomy and colostomy bag, my father was at deaths door in the hospital. His blood levels were so low, they did not expect him to make it. I stayed with my father pretty much around the clock during those weeks with my mother. His Doctor came and talked to my mother and I how seriously low his levels were and they were encouraging a blood transfusion. Knowing my father’s beliefs, although I sure wanted to say YES GIVE HIM ONE... I did not, I told the doctor that we will just take him home, we understand the chance of death is high, but this is his belief and we will honor no transfusion. One particular night , around 2 am in the morning , my dad said these words “ Karen , I’m glad your mother and I never had any more children “ I began to think , what is he going to say next , are they glad they had no more children because I have been such a disappointment since I am no longer a witness? But he said these words “We couldn’t have asked for a better daughter to take care of us” During these weeks while he was in the hospital and even after he came home ( he had to have IV iron the pics are the day we brought him home )very few of his fellow Jehovahs Witnesses friends came to visit him, or check in on my mother , go mow their grass etc. No it was their Apostate daughter at his bedside even bickering with the doctors NO BLOOD, it was my fathers Baptist son in law, my husband Mark , who was driving me there , it was this Baptist man of mine and my worldy sons and their worldy grandsons who were mowing their grass taking care of their home while my dad lay on deaths door …. But I am the shunned one .
I cherish those words that my dad told me that night , especially now, since my dad has made it very clear he is devoted to Jehovah and is threw with me. I can at least feel and know that I did do what was expected of me and I am a good daughter, my name is Karen your daughter not an apostate. But just for once I would love to hear my dad say in front of all Jehovah’s Witnesses, This is my daughter whom I am proud of and well pleased. I love you daddy , just because you are my dad, why wont you love me for who I am , your daughter , not for what Im not a JW. But I do know my heavenly father tells me in
Matthew 3:17
17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
I like to
add my name to that and I can hear Jesus say “ This is my beloved daughter
Karen I am well pleased.”
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