| WITH
these few words the society has seemingly agreed to end one of
the most dangerous religious doctrines ever devised by man.
But while every Jehovah’s witness should be
rejoicing that they no longer face the prospect of deciding
whether their loved ones should live, or face an early death,
reality is somewhat different.
For these words, agreed
in the European Court of human rights, only apply to 2,000
Jehovah’s Witnesses living in Bulgaria. For the other
five million or so JWs throughout the world, accepting a
blood transfusion, to save their life, will still result
in them falling under the following:
"the receiver of a
blood transfusion must be cut off from god’s people
by excommunication or disfellowshipping…"
Watchtower
15th January 1961.
So now, not only does the
Watch Tower Society have a two-tier salvation system (I.e.
the 144,000 and the great crowd) it also has two versions
of its blood doctrine in force at the same time.
For an organisation that
prides itself on world unity, it’s going a funny way
about showing it.
Once again the real truth
is that the society has conveniently agreed to this statement
with the European court, but really has no intention of keeping
it. |
While
Bulgarians may have been given a free choice as to whether or
not they should take a blood transfusion, you can bet that many
will still refuse out of fear of being viewed as second class
members.
Just to prove our point, in a statement
made on April 27th, 1998, regarding this issue, the society
said:
"Bulgaria has agreed
to grant the Christian Association of Jehovah’s witnesses
recognition as a religion.
Bulgaria also agreed to
create without delay a bill that will allow alternative civilian
service for those whose conscience will not allow them to
engage in military service.
The agreement also includes
an acknowledgement that each individual has the freedom to
choose the type of medical treatment he receives. With the
amicable settlement, the Witnesses agreed to withdraw their
complaint against Bulgaria.
Jehovah’s Witnesses
are pleased that through open communication, an amicable
settlement was made between the Christian Association of
Jehovah’s Witnesses and the government of Bulgaria.
The terms of the agreement do not reflect a change in the
doctrine of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Rather, the agreement
reflects an increased understanding of the concerns and actions
of both parties."
So, as can be seen from
the above statement, the society does not consider the agreement
with Bulgaria, as change in its doctrine. It will continue
to disfellowship its members. |
