OVO

Gemma O'Doherty: "Why I'd let my daughter die before allowing her to have a blood transfusion" [LINK-ZUM]

Rebecca Whelan adores her 13-month-old baby daughter Reese - but she would let her die before giving permission for her to have a blood transfusion. "One day when she's older she might look at me and ask 'would you have done that to me?' I would have to tell her yes. If she chooses not to take up my beliefs and is upset with me for that, it would be very sad - but I have to stand by my faith." [...]

"In our religion, we have very clear standards about blood, which God asks us to abstain from using. In Scripture, blood is described as a very sacred thing that should not be shared. Even if I was told by doctors that my refusal to take it would result in death, it would still not be an option for me. I would stick to that belief even if they told me Reese's life was in jeopardy." [...]

"To us, it is about nothing more than being loyal to God. It is not an emotional decision. If the crunch came and my child ended up dying because she needed a blood transfusion, at least I would feel I had done everything according to my faith. I am also reassured that I would see her again."

[Article continues at link. If I were to have a child, then give an interview in the newspaper that I was willing to cause them to die through neglect as part of my service to Battlecat, I am quite sure that the law and society would be against me. Battlecat is an imaginary being. Only religion makes child sacrifice socially acceptable. But not just any religion. I couldn't get away with causing my child to die through neglect as part of my service to Geb the Great Cackler. Geb is a real God, just like all the other real Gods. But no one worships Geb any more. To get away with child sacrifice I would have to cause them to die through neglect as part of my service to a contemporary superstition. That gods aren't real doesn't matter. That today's gods are just as imaginary as the thousands and thousands of yesterday's gods doesn't matter. But heavens above, if I cause a child to die through neglect as part of my service to a contemporary imaginary invisible monster that lives in the sky - that's a private affair. It just barely matters that the lovely young mother shown above doesn't even have her own superstition right. Sometimes the Jehovah's Witnesses forbid blood transfusions (Watchtower 1961 Sept 15; 1964 Feb 15) and sometimes they don't (Watchtower 1964 Nov 15; 2000 June 15). Why would this woman pick the superstition that kills her child over the superstition that lets her child live? Maybe because her religion demands child sacrifice (Genesis 22:2; Exodus 22:29-30; Leviticus 27:28-29; Numbers 31:25-29; Deuteronomy 28:53-62; Judges 11:29-40; 2 Samuel 21:1,8-9, 14; 1 Kings 13:2; 2 Kings 23:20; Ezekiel 20:25-26; Mark 5:18-19; Luke 16:17). Maybe because religion softens minds and hardens hearts. As always, I advocate a reasoned critique of religion seasoned with scorn and contempt as the most peaceful and effective means to help children survive their religious parents. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, watchtower

Trevor Blake: The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society in the News [LINK-ZUM]

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, better known as the Jehovah's Witnesses, are in the news...

Jehovah's Witnesses elders refusing to testify in Murrieta molestation case: "two of the elders who oversee the Windsong Valley Congregation in Wildomar say that defendant Gilbert Simental's statements are confidential and they do not want to testify."
Mother in blood transfusion row wanted Coca Cola and tomatoes: "The woman at the centre of the Jehovah's Witness blood transfusion case told the High Court she believed Coca Cola and tomatoes should have been given to her when she refused the transfusion."
Fighting the curse of the face-eating tumour: "Unwilling to accept a blood transfusion, Jose Mestre has allowed the bloody tumour that first appeared on his lip in adolescence to obliterate almost all of his face."
Church elder is jailed: "Michael Porter, a Jehovah's Witness, preyed on 13 boys - including an 18-month-old baby."
Jehovah's Witness elder gets three years for sexual exploitation.
Jehovah's Witnesses Abuse Crisis in France: "A new documentary exposes how Jehovah's Witness children in France are exposed to pedophiles by the worldwide policies of the religion."
Watchtower Court Documents: "Approximately 5,000 pages of court documents have been amassed from twelve court record depositories in four states."
Sadistic foster mother's 19-year reign of terror: "Eunice Spry, 62, routinely beat, abused and starved the youngsters in her care over a 19 year period. The devout Jehovah's Witness forced sticks down their throats and made them eat their own vomit and rat excrement."

More links on the Watchtower society, particularly their origins and beliefs, to be found here.

Labels: christianity, watchtower

Matthew Moore: Fighting the curse of the face-eating tumour [LINK-ZUM]

A Jehovah's Witness who for decades refused all surgery on his horrific facial disfigurement has been given hope by a British doctor and new medical technology. Unwilling to accept a blood transfusion, Jose Mestre has allowed the bloody tumour that first appeared on his lip in adolescence to obliterate almost all of his face. Now 15 inches long and weighing 12 pounds, it has blinded him in one eye and made eating a daily ordeal. As it begins to block his airways, doctors fear his life could be in danger. But now one of Britain's leading facial surgeons has proposed treating Jose, 51, by employing ultrasound waves to coagulate the blood before the operation. This should allow his growths to be removed without risk of heavy bleeding - satisfying his religious prohibition on blood transfusions that has so far hampered his search for treatment.

[Article with photographs continues at link. The Watchtower Society, also known as the Jehovah's Witnesses, have predicted the end of the world no less than five times. According to their founder Charles Taze Russell, their second President J.E. Rutherford, and their official magazines The Watchtower and Awake!, the world was to end in 1914. But 1914 came and went without the world ending. So the date changed to 1915. But 1915 came and went without the world ending. So the date changed to 1918. But 1918 came and went without the world ending. So the date changed to 1925. But 1925 came and went without the world ending. So the date changed to 1975. But 1975 came and went without the world ending. So they stopped making public predictions about the end of the world and purged members (nearly 30,000 in 1978 alone) who questioned these false prophecies. Making failed predictions is a sure way to look stupid, but looking stupid isn't so bad. Where the Watchtower Society really stands out is denying medical care for their children, based on fickle revelations from God to their leadership. Sometimes they ban medical procedures such as blood transfusions, sometimes they do not ban them - too bad for you if your was eaten away by a tumor while the ban was in effect. Blood transfusions were forbidden to members of the Watchtower Society, as described in The Watchtower on September 15 1961 (pp. 563-564) and February 15 1964 (pp. 127-8). Then again, Blood transfusions were not forbidden to members of the Watchtower Society, as described in The Watchtower on November 15 1964 (pp. 680-3) and June 15 2000 (p. 31). I am glad for advances in medical science, but it is upsetting that they are applied in the accommodation of superstition. Perhaps a God who would give you haemangioma isn't a God worth worshiping; perhaps a religion that convinces you to to do nothing about it isn't worth following. - Trevor Blake]

Labels: christianity, religion, science, watchtower

atheist tags [LINK-ZUM]

9/11 atheist buddhism christianity hindu islam judaism magick mormon philosophy religion satanism scientology subgenius subud theocracy watchtower

Labels: 9/11, atheist, buddhism, christianity, hindu, islam, judaism, magick, mormon, philosophy, religion, satanism, scientology, subgenius, subud, theocracy, watchtower

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