Q. The Jehovah Witnesses use Acts 15:20 as one of the scriptures to justify their belief that having a blood transfusion is a SIN. Is it WRONG to have a blood transfusion? (Submitted by: LaVerne) A. Let's take a look at the verses in question in Acts 15, where James addresses brethren gathered in Jerusalem to discuss and debate whether circumcision was necessary for salvation: "Therefore I (James) judge that we should not trouble those from among the Gentiles who are turning to God, but that we write to them to abstain from things polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from things strangled, and from blood." (Acts 15:19-20, NKJV and emphasis throughout) It is widely recognized that a doctrine or belief cannot be based upon only ONE Bible verse, as this would be the case if blood transfusions were the issue here named. Acts 15:20 is not referring to blood transfusions at all, but to EATING or DRINKING blood, based upon: "'This shall be a perpetual statute throughout your generations in all your dwellings: you shall EAT neither fat nor blood.'” (Leviticus 3:17) You may notice that out of four items named in the Scripture you are referring to, three concern eating: "things polluted by idols" (meats sacrificed to idols, see 1Corinthians 10:18-28), things "strangled" and "blood." The Bible says to abstain from them, meaning not to eat them at all. Some people fry blood until it solidifies and eat it. Others, even more grossly, drink blood. This is what God forbids. It has to do with eating and subsequently passing it through the digestive system. Transfusion is an entirely different matter which the Bible doesn't specifically mention. In those days the medical technology was not available to perform blood transfusions. This medical practice isn't any more of a sin than having an operation, a root canal performed on one of your teeth, and so on. |
