Bridge of Reason

On their   website   the Watch Tower Society write: 'The Bible commands that we not ingest blood. So we should not accept whole blood or its primary components in any form, whether offered as food or as a transfusion.' A key text they use is Acts 15:20 where we find the conclusion of the Jerusalem Council on the issue of circumcision. Commenting on this text,   the Watch Tower writes , ‘God gave Christians the same command that he had given to Noah. History shows that early Christians refused to consume whole blood or even to use it for medical reasons.’ This is a most peculiar observation since the use of blood for medical reasons was something far in the future for the church as for wider society. There is sleight of hand here, suggesting something that isn’t in the text. It would not have crossed their minds to consider such a thing. Yet the Watch Tower misleadingly suggests a positive decision might have been made to avoid using blood, ‘even for medical reasons.’ In...

With a major JW convention happening at Twickenham Rugby Stadium, the home of English rugby, and the place where Reachout Trust had its beginnings so many years ago – you can read about it here – I thought it would be helpful to post some useful information on the blog. Following a convention they will be fired up and motivated, and down your street. Do you know who they are, and what they believe? Can you confidently engage them in discussion and share the gospel? These articles, mostly Doug’s own work, are intended to equip you for the task and I hope you find it useful. Who Are They? The vast majority of Jehovah’s Witness at your door will be very genuine people. They will be zealous for the truth that has been learnt from their relationship with the ‘organisation’-the Watchtower Bible &Tract Society. The individual will be calling on you as part of their ‘mission field.’ They will feel in doing this that they are serving Jehovah. Most will attend five weekly meetings eac...

One of the things people ask of ministry to the cults is, “Why do you do it?” There was a time when it hardly needed explaining but now, even within some parts of the church, there are those who ask whether it is really altogether Christian to challenge other religions. Somehow it doesn’t seem altogether respectable, especially in a world where, if people want a religion at all, they shop for one. I mean, you wouldn’t rummage through other people’s purchases down at the department store, identifying fashion victims, criticising colour combinations - at least not to their faces. There are two reasons why we do it. The first, and by far the most important, is that people pin their eternal hopes on their religious choices and God has commanded that Christians should “Go into all the world telling the good news.” People concerned about eternal things need to hear eternal truths and be warned about those things that will prove ultimately false and empty. Jude wrote of his eagerness to ...

Mrs Baxter, of Naas, Co Kildare, died of acute cardiac failure caused by blood problems in Tallaght Hospital on September 15, 2009. The Jehovah's Witness died five days after surgery to remove a tumour from her colon, after which she suffered significant bleeding. Surgeon Diarmuid O'Riordan told the inquest there was a “98% to 99% chance she would have survived if she was given the appropriate blood transfusion”. A woman with a 98% chance of surviving surgery dies because she has refused blood. The madness of this tragic decision becomes even more incredible when you realise that the blood issue came about, not because of a biblical injunction to abstain, nor from a misinterpretation of Bible verses regarding blood, but because of one mad man’s irrational opposition to vaccination. In 1919 Clayton J Woodward became editor of the JW publication The Golden Age magazine. in 1923 an article appeared that proved the first shot in a salvo against vaccinations. Under the title The...