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I have a question:

May I use some parts of your page in a polish page about Watchtower and blood? I do not want to translate all your text, but only use it as a source of information. Maybe I would like to use as well the picture from your page - am I allowed?

Thank you for an answer.

T. K.

My wife, Sherry, wanted to let you know that she was really tickled to see her quote on your site. Keep up the good work...

In Christ,

D.V.

Dear Elder,

...I want you to know that I think what you are doing is great. I also think you are a born again Christian and I think you have to fight the good fight the way the Father tells you to do it, its your burden. God bless you. I support you and I will help you in any way I can. My whole in-law family are JW's and I have such a hurt for them. I want them to come to Christ and I am praying to the Father that he will draw them to him.

Agape,

A.

About your quote: The Quote of the Week

"Once you accept that someone else is speaking for God, to doubt that source is the same as doubting God." Sherry Veitenheimer, The Spokane Spokesman, Spokane, WA, Oct. 5th 1996

The Watchtower Society and the Governing body do not speak for God. The Bible is clear on this matter of blood.

Dear Liberal Elder;

You certainly did your home work on the blood issue. Beyond a doubt, the leaders at the Watchtower Society have used lies and deliberate deception on the blood issue. Do you suppose they could also have used lies and deliberate deception on other issues as well? Thanks.

Agape

J.

Hello Liberal Elder,

Seeing the Thread on H20 regarding "bad blood", reminded me of a book written by a Canadian JW called "Bad Blood" the authors name was George Delgleash.

I do no remember much about it except I know the Society was not very pleased that he wrote the book, I am sorry I do not remember what the book was about specifically, however it may be of some help to you.

Live Long & Prosper,

BJR

Hello Liberal Elder,

Thanks for your kind thoughts... You know, I think a lot of brothers and sisters even ones who are in favor of reform still have a bit of fear regarding blood.

Here in Hungary a large majority of friends do not have access to the Internet, do not speak English or both. So many who feel similar to us are isolated and thereby might feel that there is something wrong with them, they are not "normal". But even here more and more sense that something is wrong, that the Society is no longer about brotherhood and love, it is becoming to be frighteningly similar to multilevel marketing organizations. And the requirements, you simply can not serve enough, give enough, etc. You know immediately before the fall of communism we experienced a similar trend, everyone was expected to work at 120-140%, everyone knew it was crazy, you were doing more harm than good, since for example by driving the machine at a rate to be able to deliver the required norm you would have to overload it and thereby cause excessive wear, but no one cared. This same thing is taking place at the Society nowadays, and it seems the "marketing strategy" instructs not to care for the ones that have been serving for a couple of decades, "there are too many problems with them" increase the preaching work instead and many new ones will come and take their place and it will take some time before they figure out what is going on actually.

You know, I spent three difficult years in prison for my faith, after coming out I could not find a decent job, and for five additional years could not even get a passport. But now the teaching has changed, that is OK, I would not want anyone to go to prison needlessly, but this whole thing seems so inhuman. And when I do go to meetings I no longer enjoy myself, all I hear is unpleasant remarks from the brothers "your kinds are so big I can hardly recognize them" and yet its been only a week, four meetings that is, that they have been absent.

This truly is an advantage of the net that you can communicate to people who you are isolated from in a geographical sense.

I think the friends who are hit the hardest nowadays and are perhaps loosing their hope and faith are the ones who were doing this wholeheartedly, who were ready to die for the truth if required, and now they feel that the Society, who in some sense represents Christ, kicks them. This is sad.

The wife of an old friend of mine phoned the day before yesterday. We used to be in the same cell. A year and a half ago when I told him I resigned he did not understand me, now he had to resign too. Where is this going to lead?

It is a wonderful thing to have the Internet as an instrument of communication for people who would be geographically isolated. Would like to hear from you again.

J.

Lib,

I am really struggling with ....the 'New Light on Blood'. My conscience is really struggling with this, and in line with what Paul said about doing something out of faith that it is not improper, I am going to have to pass for now. I intend over the next couple of weeks to research what you have brought out about blood and look at what the WTS has said, and reach some kind of conclusion. I feel right now that you are probably correct.

M.

Just received your email, and wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that I am willing to contribute to your endeavor.

We (my spouse and I) have a law office that is dedicated to individual rights, and what is for the best interest of children. We believe that a precedent can be set, to help set free thousands, even millions, of individuals from the oppression they experience. We have come to this understanding by our experience in the organization and testimonies of others, that the friends are being forces emotionally and deceptively to submit to this totalitarian doctrine that puts many at risk, and has caused needless and countless deaths.

Individual rights, and our God-given free will, to use our conscience is denied to the flock. "Accurate knowledge" is not supplied to the congregations. Full disclosure is not presented so that the average follower can make a fully informed, educated decision.

For many, once they are given a balanced historical, scriptural, and medical view, confess that they would never have come to the conclusions they had previously if the whole story had been fully disclosed, and they had not been deceived (whether the deception has been intentional or unintentional, the truth must continue to be exposed for everyone's sake).

There are legal theories that we are exploring at this time, that may prove to shed "new light" in this particular area of law.

We will be in touch when my spouse, who has been an Attorney for twenty years, (and occasionally Judge pro tempore ), can set aside time to respond to your request.

We have been praying that our heavenly Father Jehovah, through Jesus Christ, will grant us wisdom, insight and opportunity by His Holy Spirit to fulfill this vision that many of the reformers have, TO BE SET FREE FROM THE OPPRESSIVE THOUGHT CONTROL, from this particular organization that we, and our families have known as "truth", but have since found out to our joy that "Jesus" is the way, the truth, and the life, but to our horror that we promoted falsehood.

It is time to start righting the wrongs we, as a religion, have done to our fellow servants. Since the organization, as an entity, refuses to speak the truth about this life-threatening matter (at this point), then we who have been members of it can "speak the truth with love", "For we can do nothing against the truth, only for the truth".

For "if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us of all unrighteousness". -1 John 1:9

And if we will humble ourselves, and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways, God will hear us from heaven and forgive us, and heal our land ! - 2 Chronicles

And if we don't humble ourselves he will allow us to fall, for "PRIDE IS BEFORE A FALL". I pray God's will be done.

I continue to offer my service, my hands and time for His will. We will be in touch, and feel free to send any questions our way.

Your friend in Christ,

Child Advocate

Sir,

I stumbled upon your site and the thought of your questioning JEHOVAH'S CHOSEN REPRESENTATIVES makes me sick to my stomach! I have no desire to even read your information....If you were truly faithful to Jehovah, you would not even question his light, but you would have the unmistakable faith in a quick resurrection that our Brothers and Sisters showed in times such as the holocaust. May Jehovah repay you for unfaithfulness when his time comes! The thought of you even including links to apostate sites, shows that you are a representative of Satan! I hope you display this letter with all your fan mail, although I'm sure you won't! And please send me no response! I have no desire to even acknowledge your site exists!

Please note: "NEW LIGHT ON BLOOD CONTAINS NO LINKS TO APOSTATE SITES"

Dear Liberal Elder,

I apologize for the delay in my response. I have been out of town for one week and I was not able to check my e-mails.

I wonder how many JW's consider your mail genuine and believe that it truly came from a current, active JW of good standing.

It is a very interesting coincidence that one of the Japanese readers of my web pages also wrote to me with the same advice to publish in my web site a physician's view on the blood issue. I was thinking about writing something in that line, when I read your e-mail. I will be happy to write something on that issue, which is addressed mainly to my fellow physicians. I have several subjects I would like to cover in that writing.

1) What JW's are REALLY believing in the blood doctrine. (I will address the Fundamental nature of the doctrine, which is not based on the Bible but is purely a top-down, organizational policy. I would like to use your materials.)

2) What JW's are taught by the organization regarding blood treatment and medical science in general (I will address the inconsistent and grossly unscientific nature of their teaching. I will also use your materials, and also discuss some of my own perspectives. )

3) How to deal with each case, adult and minor (I will address this issue from the view point of medical ethics and legal medicine.)

The fundamental issue I have, as a physician, is whether the decision on blood treatment JW's are making is fully informed one based on independent opinion and advice, or poorly informed one based on skewed advice coming only from the organization. I agree with you that I would encourage fellow physicians to challenge those JW patients by asking various questions you and others prepared.

With regard to minors, I entirely agree with AAP's guideline. I will also discuss the issue with the doctors in the ethics committee of my hospital for this writing. I need some time to do research before writing up this short article. I am a neurologist and have limited experiences with regard to blood treatment. (We neurologists also use several blood treatments for neurologic disorders and I have had many interactions with JW patients.)

Please also understand that physicians these days are extremely busy in our schedule; I have very limited amount of free time which I can spend for this activity.

I decided to adapt some of your pages .... into Japanese. The end product is not a literal translation of these pages, but the materials and arguments are quite similar. I also added several discussions from my own view point. The work is in progress. I acknowledged you as as a collaborating author. I was hoping that including an active elder among the authors can increase the readership among the current Witnesses. I was describing you as "an anonymous third generation Jehovah's Witness from U.S., who is an elder with 30 plus year of experience as an active JW with many responsibilities etc..." Am I correct by saying you are from U.S.?

Your role and very existence are very intriguing to me... I wonder ifyou are one of those Witnesses David Reed mentioned in his book "Blood on the Altar" page 11 and 12. David described those Witnesses as "closet freethinker" and leading "a double life as Jehovah's Witnesses". If I am indeed writing to one of such Witnesses David mentions, you are one of the rare persons I have been looking for for years. I feel really fortunate that I get to know you. You are indeed a precious person for me.

I have a few questions for you as an "insider" of the organization. Do you know how many MDs (medical doctors) exist who are active Jehovah's Witnesses? Do you know of any MD Witness personally? I would love to discuss many medical issues with such an MD, if he/she is available on e-mail. I have heard from different sources that WTS holds a yearly conference in Chicago or somewhere for only JW professionals, doctors, psychologists, lawyers etc. Is that true, and is there any way I can get more information on this meeting, who are the participants and how many of them, what topics are discussed and so forth.

With Christian sincerity,

S.

Dear Liberal Elder,

First of all, let me introduce myself. I'm L.G. - T. G. (wireless) is my husband. I read your post regarding the addresses of elders, etc. that you need for a Press Release mailing and I would like to contribute the following list. I wanted to let you know that I have reviewed your website and feel it is excellent! It is well researched and presented in an easy to read format.

T.G. tells me you have had some comments regarding the content, some saying it's to in depth, etc. I don't agree. As an R.N. I especially felt the information you provided in the medical section was accurate and well presented. I don't think you should change a thing, particularly since you are adding the "for people who don't like to read" section.

There was a time when I was in complete disagreement with T.G. views in this issue. I'm not really sure what made me change my mind. Over the years I've heard more than my share of sad stories. Each and every one of them literally made my heart ache. I don't know if T.G. finally figured out exactly the right thing to say or if I was just ready to hear it. But I listened, and now thanks to your efforts others are listening.

We are still working on getting out the news release to the media.

T.G. sends his greetings and says he'll be in touch. You are certainly in our thoughts and prayers.

May Jehovah's blessing be with you,

L. G.

Dear Liberal Elder,

Does the WTS allow the reception of the following products:

Hepatitis B Immune Globulin (HBIG)-Used to treat and prevent Hepatitis B

Tetanus Immune Globulin (Tetanus Shot)

Rabies Immune Globulin(RIG)- Used to treat and prevent rabies.

RhO Immune Globulin (RhoGam)-Given to Rh negative mothers to prevent

Hemolytic Disease of the newborn in future pregnancies.

Antithrombin III-Used to treat Antithrombin III deficiency.

Human Immune Globulin (HIG)-Used to treat and prevent, among other things, Hepatitis A.

If they do allow these products, which I believe they probably do, then they should be added to your list of Allowed Blood Components, since they all are made from and contain human serum.

Tetanus Immune Globulin - PDR, pg 621

Rabies Immune Globulin - PDR, pg 618

RhO Immune Globulin - PDR, pg 622

Antithrombin III - PDR, pg 631

Human Immune Globulin - PDR, pg 612, 615

References:

HBIG - Physician's Desk Reference, pg 619, 1706

A.

God Bless your precious heart...

HC

Hi LE. I just had a most interesting conversation here on AOL with an elder who says the next District Convention will have "new light" on the blood issue. He did not know all the details, but I found it most exciting. I have him the address to AJWR, h2o, your site of course, and your E-mail. He has the name XXXXXXX.

If he Emails you, I told him to mentioned that XXXXXXXXX sent him. He said he will visit the sites tomorrow, and I told him to keep in touch with me.

I am not sure he is completely legit, but he gave me no reason not to believe he is who he says he is. Perhaps he does not know much, but he could be an asset.

J.

Hi, L.E

This last message "morally sitting posture" on H2O struck my conscience. I will give you an address to an elder, x missionary, stand in circuit overseer and he might be kind of pro reform (my impression) He is also involved in XXXXX when it comes to blood issues.

This is a little risk for me since not so many have Internet here as in U.S. So please handle it with care. Thanks for your research

You are serving your purpose quite well. You realize, of course, that ultimately all you'll succeed in doing is closing the door to God's kingdom for only a FEW easily swayed individuals. Still, I pray for your failure in that respect, and quietly hope you turn things around for yourself. Hope to see you in the new order.

Incidentally, all of your "findings" are superficial and nothing more than an attempt to loop-hole the issue. Personally, I feel that, if you truly are what you say you are (an elder...which I have my doubts about), then perhaps you should step down, and join, say, the catholic church...they hold very liberal views on Godly matters and you would probably fit in quite well with them.

In any case, continually pray to Jehovah for guidance. If you are in error, he will lovingly show you. Good luck to you.

Sir,

I associated with JWs for over 10 years, and I had had enough of their hypocrisy, but I never let my individual congregation turn me away from what I knew to be the Truth. One of these areas was blood. I found your page to be very informative, and I wish that all JWs were as good at explaining their beliefs as you are. Continued success!

D.

Hello!

Just saw your site about blood...You said that you are an elder? How can you be that, if you are against the bible says that we must not take any blood in no circumstances? Are you an opposer? Are you in the society anymore? If you are not, then you are NOT an elder!

T.

A friend who was interviewed as a good example at the local district convention was asked about his kidney transplant operation. They forgot to mention that the transplanted kidney was full of IT .) (Or am I wrong, they can't empty organs???)

I am not sure, but I think we as brothers should use our names and arrange for a long, long named list to the GB.

Contact me if you would like more contact. Keep up the reform work.

T.S.

Dear Liberal Elder,

Thank you for your thoughts, love and support. It really helps. I will respond in more detail later this week.

M.

I am writing to you with regards to a recent article I read in the American Association of Blood Banks Weekly, which described the Jehovah's Witnesses need for different alternatives to blood reinfusion. I am the Associate Product Manager for all Blood Systems at Stryker Instruments and feel that one of our blood reinfusion systems, which is accepted among the Jehovah's Witness Community, should be brought to your attention and the attention of the community at large for the benefits it can provide.

The system is used post-operatively in hip, knee, and spinal orthopedic procedures, where there is heavy blood lose. The system is connected to a drain leading out of the wound site which relieves the enormous pressure building up on the knee from blood pooling and collected the blood in a reservoir attached to the drain. From there, the blood is filtered, the fat is separated out, and the blood is reinfused back into the patient. The shed blood is actually collected, filtered, and reinfused back to the SAME patient. This system maintains the patients blood level by replacing every drop of blood the patient bleeds, which allows the patient to stay clear of banked blood. The blood collected and reinfused never comes into contact with the outside air, nor does it leave the side of the patients bed. This eliminates any potential for a mix up of predonated blood.

I thought that this information would be excellent for your religious community to better explain their options. If you would like to speak to me direct, please feel free to call me anytime here at the corporate office. My direct number is (800)253-3210 ext. 3204

John Lauria

Good luck in trying to reform the JW Organization.

B.

My Child Advocacy site will be on line this week. I had to take a break from putting it on line so I could to attend to our family business. It will still be under construction, but I believe it will be an effective networking site.

I am committed to the reform effort, for the sake of the children, and adult children of the organization. I am involve in Child advocacy in our community, regarding many different abuse issues, and educational needs.

I am so very pleased with most of your site, and I would be happy to link it to and from my site.

If you need anonymous legal advise, we would be happy to try and answer any questions that you might need to look at now or in the future.

May our heavenly Father continue to bless you in your truth seeking, and knowing Him more fully through Jesus Christ our Lord, and the counsel of the holy spirit.

Your friend in Christ,

Child Advocate

Dear Elder,

I am not nor have ever been a J.W. but I married into a family that is and messed up their party.I love them very much and have a great burden for them.How do I help with this reform? Who do I write to and how do put it? Tell me what to do and I, plus a few of my friends will do it......Are you born again?

A.

Dear Liberal Elder:

Thank you for your response to my message. I believe it gave me some insight into your dilemma. You state:

>I love my friends and family members, as well as the flock of which I am a shepherd.

I can certainly identify with that. I continue to love my former friends and family members, even though they are told that they must not love me anymore.

>As for the organization it certainly has some serious problems. Then again most organizations do. In fact, when carefully scrutinized, most actually look as bad or worse than the Watchtower society, which for all it's bad points, has many good ones as well.

Very true. But most Christian organizations do not claim to be the "faithful and discreet slave", the only channel of communication between God and man. They do not make up their own doctrine and cast any who would question or doubt as apostate worshipers of Satan, worthy of disfellowshipping. You know that Jesus said, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:6 (NWT)

>For the time being, I have chose to stay and work as an advocate of positive reforms. If I and others are successful, millions of people will benefit. I believe that this is a noble and humanitarian effort, and my calling.

Hmm. Well, you may have me on that one, though I find it hard to believe that you and others at a "grass roots" level could possibly succeed where Ray Franz and others in the Governing Body failed back in the 80's.

Still, as one who feels very strongly the call of God on my life, I would not presume to suggest that He is not calling you to a different course of action. And, if you do succeed, some people that I love dearly will be among those who benefit.

>I am sure that your new found freedom in Christ is a wonderful blessing, and I wish that I was able to associate with others like myself.

Amen! A greater blessing than I could adequately describe. In a way, I'm sure, you are associating with many others like yourself, through correspondence of this kind. Of course, you realize that this association could result in your being disfellowshipped. That is, unless you first choose to disassociate yourself, as I did. But then, the result is the same. I hope that you are able to maintain your anonymity as long as you need to. I'm sure that your work is already benefiting many.

>This is a difficult time for my family and myself. I am unclear about what the future holds for us, we are simply taking things one day at a time, and trusting in Jehovah. Life certainly has some interesting twists and turns.

Ain't it the truth?! <g> I would never have imagined the journey that Jehovah has taken me on, not in a million years!

God bless you and your family. I will pray daily for you that you receive the wisdom and strength that the Holy Spirit supplies as you seek God's will for your lives. If I can ever be of support or encouragement to you in any way, I would feel it a privilege.

Yours in Christ,

V.

Hello, Liberal Elder...

I have been engaging in some discussion on AOL with Witnesses about blood, and have had mixed reactions. Usually, I get called APOSTATE and other nasty words, but a few have taken the time to listen. I think AOL could be a powerful tool for reform. Have you ever tried it?

I have to say it hurt me to have my brothers and sisters calling me apostate. Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think that would happen. I understand now the things you yourself are experiencing, especially as an elder.

You saw my anonymous post on my talk with the HLC brother. He has yet to get back to me on those and other questions. I found his statement that the US military is actively looking for red cell replacements interesting. The Society has been looking forward to that, and maybe it is now near reality.

Do you have any information on that? Do you talk with a brother on your local HLC at all?

AOL has free trial memberships available. You may want to take advantage of one and see for yourself whether we can make a difference there. Often there are two or three JW rooms.

Goodbye for now.

J.

Thank you for all the information.You have really done your homework and it is great stuff. People are dying for no reason what-so-ever.I pray to GOD they get "new light" soon. THANKS.

A.

Dear Liberal Elder:

I am trying to understand how you can feel so strongly about the blood issue, yet remain anonymous. How can you Shepherd the Flock, when you have such an internal battle going on with the Society and its teachings on the Blood Issue? I understand your fear of being disfellowshipped, as I am a baptized witness myself, but if you feel so strongly about this issue, why not be the Martyr? (Jesus was) Is it because you enjoy the STATUS that comes with being an Elder of the Congregation?

Just a question or two, that I had. Looking forward to your response.

Yours in Jehovah & Christ,

A.

Dear Liberal Elder:

After reading your well researched and documented treatise, I have really only one question. Why would you want to remain in association with an organization that deliberately twists scripture and deceives its members, even heartlessly condemning many to death because of refusal to set aside an erroneous doctrine? Is it not obvious that an organization that fails to reflect Jehovah's love can not truly be His chosen servant, the channel of communication between God and man?

You noted examples of mistranslation in the NWT that are deliberate attempts to make God's word fit Watchtower doctrine on the use of blood. Surely you are aware that there are many other verses that have suffered the same fate at the hands of NWT translators; all to substantiate false doctrine on many subjects.

Staying in an organization that one knows is not following the lead of Christ is pointless. I know. For thirty years, I was one of Jehovah's Witnesses. When God reached my heart with the real light of truth about salvation by grace and a personal relationship with Him, I too was afraid of the consequences. Could I forsake this faith, leaving behind my family and friends? I wouldn't have thought so, but God gave me the strength to put Him above a man-made organization and follow His lead for my life. The consequences of my disassociating myself from the congregation have been every bit as severe as I knew they would be. I am viewed as an apostate in my home, among my husband and children. I am not even able to see my grandson. But for the first time in my life, I know what it means to have a relationship with Jehovah and Jesus and the Holy Spirit. There is nothing greater in life!

If you find the Watchtower Society repressive and doctrinally incorrect, what gain is there in staying there? Let God lead you to Him and take your place in the Christian community, where you can use your years of study and the talents you have acquired to truly serve God's Kingdom. I am now a very active member of a Bible-believing

Christian church. Rather than spend my days in frustration over the wrongs of an organized religion that I had been indoctrinated to believe was "the truth", I am spending my time serving the Lord among Christians who know what it is to be born-again by the Holy Spirit and experience the joy of having Christ live in me. I have never regretted my decision to leave the Watchtower Society, in spite of the pain that has been caused by their heartless policies toward those who leave. I pray that my family and friends will one day see the true light as well.

Mister "elder"

Sorry for my english..I am very amazed to read your long debate about blood, transfusions et, and specially how you can support that blood is so useful ? What about all the illnesses that blood can bring ? Aids, Kreuzfeld-Jakob, hepatitis from A to nearly Z (sorry, I don't know the names in English) etc. etc. etc.

It is not for nothing that our Creator has given us this law but for our benefit. Besides, don't you believe in resurrection ? Is this life for you more important than the real life the apostle Paul spoke about ? How many people have died of blood transfusions do you know ? How many suffer from not obeying God's wise law's ? Can you also explain that to all the people who read your letters ?

Think about Gamaliel that you would not be in a position of opposition to your creator to whom every person on this earth will render accounts...I for myself have confidence in the faithful and discreet slave who is giving the spiritual food all over the earth in nearly every language for all mankind. Nobody else is doing that ( giving healthy spiritual food) but many distribute poisoned food...Is it wise to think that you should be "alone" the faithful and discreet slave..???

May be you will not read this letter or even not let it see, but think that you have a terrible responsibility in the eyes of your creator.

Note : what are you afraid of ?If you do not agree anymore with the witnesses, just leave instead of telling that you are an elder in Jehovah's organization...

A.P.

Hi Liberal Elder:

You wont last long with the title :) I visited your site a couple of times and the information seemed fine to me. I have had others comment that it was good.

In my view the bleeding header lines are tacky. Since people die over this issue, having dripping blood is too much for my taste.

I doubt that anyone is going to send this information to their local elders. This would make them an automatic candidate for being DF'd. And as for reform on blood, I can't see how major changes will come. Once people have died over this insanity, like they have, and have been paraded on the front cover of JW literature like heroes, there is no major change coming. Sure JWs may fiddle with the fractions and all. But blood transfusions will never be allowed in my lifetime.

Now for my questions to you. How did you get my email address? And who are you and what is your story?

Sincerely,

P.

Dear Liberal Elder-

I just wanted to tell you how much I appreciate your site re: the blood issue. I am a former witness, so my opinion may not count for much with you, but I am hoping that another policy of the WTS will also change someday, that being the shunning of people like myself by family members still in the organization. I have three children, ages 13, 20, and 21. The two oldest ones have been shunning me since they each turned 15. (My oldest son graduates from college in May, and is a little more liberal about this, but my daughter, the 20 year old, is a regular pioneer, and very hard nosed about this.) For example, I wrote her this note last week:

<<Dear XXXXX,

I am not sure why you choose to treat me as cruelly as you do, and since you don't have any personal reasons, I will assume that you are using the society's reasons instead. However, I refuse to believe that you hate me as much as you try to make me think. I guess that being involved as long as you have (your whole life) has made you this way. I apologize for any share that I had in that. It's the old "if I knew then what I know now" situation.

The best I could come up with is 1 Cor. 5:11. However, I don't see how I fit into any of those categories.

You once said to me that the reason you left me was that I had left Jehovah. This was a presumption, as I have not left Jehovah, only the watchtower society. Yes, your mother and I left for various periods, but I now feel that I can finally have a personal relationship with Him based, not on man's doctrines, but on the Bible.

You will always be my "punkin", and, even though you are a grown woman, I still think of you as my little girl. I love you very much, and hope that somehow Jehovah's spirit will someday enable you to show some "natural affection" again. I miss you.

You are always welcome here. Whether or not you are a witness, you are still my daughter, as I will always be your dad, no matter what.

All my love, Dad>>

I got absolutely no reply whatsoever!!! This shunning is what finally put me over the top in deciding that I could not in good conscience go back to the WTS. There are too many things, (blood, the 1914 generation issue) that I cannot live with as someone who believes in Bible teachings and in Jehovah's loving kindness. Sometimes I think that the society tries to find new ways to suck all the real joy and love out of people by their "policies".

They have made the word of God invalid because of their tradition. Anyway, sorry to rant. I just wanted to commend you on your efforts, and hope that all these areas will see reform in the coming years.

Hurting in NY,

R.

Hello, brother. I have just returned from your website. As you requested, I took the time to look over the information with particular regard to the way the material is presented. Here are my general observations:

I had my notebook and pencil out to note any phrases or terms that could have a negative effect on a reader who is familiar with JW doctrine and the WT Society publishers. I scanned the information, and while doing so I neglected my original purpose as the information was sinking deeper into my brain. That may sound corny, but it is true. I am becoming more convinced that our blood doctrine is completely out of line.

When I came across "damning" phrases and terms, they did not sound hostile or irreverent (is that a word, irreverent? Note: not "irrelevant"), rather they were frank and honest appraisals of the situation. Much more tame than the expressions the Society itself uses to degrade "false religion."

It occurred to me that any who read into your material an "I can prove you wrong" attitude is missing the entire point of the website. The Society has such an attitude. The Wormwood page in the Revelation Climax book (pg. 139) is an example. Nonetheless, you ARE proving them wrong, abundantly so.

One area I would like to address is the methods you suggest to arrange for a blood transfusion behind the brother's backs, as it were. You sort of assume that the reader is in full agreement with your material. Perhaps I am wrong about that, but thinking upon it now, that is the impression I got.

I understand your concern for fellow JWs, that you do not want to see anyone get disfellowshipped for nothing. But to some who need further persuasion, your suggesting sneaky ways around getting caught may seem disingenuous.

Again, maybe I'm wrong. But I am trying to look at it from a hard-core conservative point of view.

Why many can't leave:

The truth of the matter is that some must remain in the organization to be on the "inside" when our families and friends there need us most. For us there is no escape, we are prisoners of love of family, of friends, yes, of Jehovah who we love dearly.

Knowing full well God has turned his face against spiritual Israel due to the error of their ways, the folly of the doctrinal mistakes piling up clear to the heavens, many can never leave. We are the guardians of those we love, our "brother's keepers," and it is Jehovah God's will we stay and watch out for their welfare.

This is the secret burden we carry silently for the rest of our lives, as if it were a torture stake we drag behind ourselves with great pains. We have legitimate reasons to remain anonymous on the Internet and maintain good status in the congregation. The lives of those we cherish dearly depends upon our being there when they need us the most.

They will only allow us to help them and be supportive of their emotional needs if they trust us, and the price of trust is a flawless publisher record card sitting in a dusty file cabinet at the back of the 2nd school. May our file never be cracked open by a Judicial Committee. May our spiritual infidelity to Mother as truly independent thinkers never be exposed, for then those we cherish will shut us out of their lives.

We who dare to dream the dreams of a Watchtower reformation in this age of "enlightenment" must keep these dreams silent until we grow old and our spirit returns to Jehovah. Reformation can take centuries and we do our share as we look anxiously over our shoulders, for the lives of our loved ones who are "in the truth" hangs on our maintaining our exemplary reputation as fine Publishers.

A.

Hello Liberal Elder,

I just received a copy of the February 5, 1997 JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (JAMA) (Vol. 277, No. 5, p. 425) review of my book "BLOOD ON THE ALTAR: Confessions of a Jehovah's Witness Minister."

The highly favorable review is written by a medical doctor. Dr. Marianne Mann writes, "this book provides a valuable perspective on this unique faith, which may be helpful to health care providers who are confronted with the challenges of caring for Jehovah's Witnesses."

She adds, "From a clinical perspective, the most important information this book provides is an outline of the power structure within the church and how and why the ban on blood transfusions is upheld by its members."

She elaborates a bit on "chilling references to the Watchtower Society's level of control over members," and discusses court cases involving minors.

Dr. Mann warns her fellow physicians about the JW strategies to evade or violate court orders.

The JAMA review recommends "Blood on the Altar" as "a concise and well-written book, which would be most useful to clinicians who treat Jehovah's Witnesses and to emergency and critical care providers who must deal with a patient's refusal to accept a blood transfusion when death is otherwise imminent."

D.R.

Hello Liberal Elder,

I am a reformer who posts regularly at H2O. One of the primary topics of reform is the blood issue.

The medical use of blood, transfusions in particular were declared as pagan, God dishonoring, and a violation of the everlasting convenant that Jehovah made with Noah in the July 1 1945 issue of The Watchtower.

However, as many of the friends that have any medical training have noticed, the foundational cornerstone of this argument was a MISTAKEN understanding of the function that blood served in the body.

In the 1800's it was thought that your body turned the food you ate into blood and that blood ITSELF was the ultimate food upon which the body was sustained. This concept appears in the writings of Sir William Harvey, Jean Babtiste Denys and Richard Lower --early researchers into the field of transfusions.

It was not until the 20th century that it was realized that the body was nourished by specialized proteins in the plasma that serve only as the means of conveyance. Blood in and of itself is not a nutrient and hence a blood transfusion does not nourish the body, does not have as its design the nourishing of the body, and is not given because a patient needs nourishment.

Unfortunately, in 1945 the Society did not realize this. I am not fault-finding here, its just the unvarnished truth.

The Society explained their position in the 1958 volume of The Watchtower on page 575:

"Each time the prohibition against blood is mentioned in the Scriptures it is in connection with taking it as food, and so it is as a NUTRIENT that we are concerned with in its being forbidden." (caps added)

This is apparent in the evolution of the argument against transfusions.

W51 p415: Blood is 'nutrition'.

W61 p559: The food only turns to blood anyway.

W67 p720: The blood is not directly eaten but in the course of time it is broken down and this constitutes 'eating.'

In the Blood booklet (1977) on page 41 the Society recognized that a blood transfusion was essentially an organ transplant. We know today that a transfused blood product resumes its Divinely designed function in the body of the recipient and is not eaten.

From this time (1977) forward the arguments hinged upon saying a transfusion was the same in PRINCIPLE as the eating of blood. (Please note that this was NOT the original argument.)

In 1980 though, with the new light on organ transplants even this argument collapsed. After publicly saying that a donated organ taken into the body via transplant NEED NOT BE VIEWED AS EATEN IN PRINCIPLE the Society could not very well go back and say that donated blood taken into the body via transfusion WAS especially after having said just 3 years before this that a blood transfusion was essentially an organ transplant.

It can be seen that all ties to the scriptural prohibition against eating blood have gradually deteriorated beyond repair. Blood transfused is not eaten. Many today cannot understand how blood when it is performing the function that Jehovah designed it to do is being 'misused'.

What then are we left with? We are told to "Abstain" from blood at Acts 15:29 but in order to circumvent the argument that this was just a temporary measure to appease the Jewish Christians, the Society has said over and over this was purely in the context of the original command given to Noah, namely not to eat the blood.

For example:

W95 1/15 p.5

W91 6/15 p.9

G86 9/8 p.23

W78 6/15 p.23

G76 3/8 p.26

G74 5/22 p.20

You get the idea. Making Acts 15:29 an absolute with regard to blood, e.g. "Abstain from blood in any way, shape, or form" leads to problems with the other things we are to abstain from. We are not to abstain for sex in any way shape or form, just illicit sex. The first century Christians were not to abstain from things sacrificed to idols in any way shape or form, they were merely to abstain from idolatry.

No clear reason can be presented as to why the biblical context of Acts 15:29 should be enlarged ONLY when we are talking about blood, as it would be clearly ungrammatical to do this. Even the Trinity would be provable if it was ok to throw the grammatical rules of context out the window.

What else are we left with? Under the Mosaic Law, blood was to be poured out; but we are not under the Mosaic Law today, and the original context was with regard to the butchering of the animals for food and nothing else.

Blood as a symbol of life is sacred, but letting someone die in order to keep the symbol would be a contradiction in itself. How can the symbol be of greater worth than the reality? In the absence of a direct command from Jehovah, elevating a symbol, in this case blood, higher than that which it symbolizes, in this case life is sheer idolatry. Life, even the life of imperfect humans here in this old system is precious to Jehovah and it is a sheer perversion of the scriptures to use the resurrection hope to cheapen the value of what Jehovah considers to be precious.

Many people, including myself are terribly concerned, to the point of being physically sick, that the Society's stand against the medical use of blood (like the similar stand against vaccinations in the 20's and early 30's) has been a horrible mistake and that good people have died in vain.

Z.

I read your comments on H20 with appreciation. We have much in common. I have just chosen a different hill to die on . . . but we are in the same battle on the same side.

GB

Hello Dear Brother,

My name is T. G. (A.K.A "Wireless", "Wireless in Seattle", my wife is "Been There Done That"). I'm sorry that it has taken this long to get to you but I have recently been extremely busy with a new company that I am starting. Hopefully things will lighten up in a few months.

Anyway, I can't tell you how much I have appreciated your efforts for reform in the area of Blood. You've done a wonderful job getting this site up quickly and I have already written letters to brothers that I know, directing them here and to the Society's page as well. For a while there, it seemed I was the only one interested on H20 to discuss this issue and help drive this issue and one of my original white-papers sit on H20 without comments for several weeks. Then YOU responded and our debates with Methuselah followed and now thanks to your efforts the movement has grown, ZACK, BITT, and others are picking up the mission and assisting the spread of such vital news. THANKS! THANKS! THANKS!!

I have been associated with Jehovah's Witnesses for over 25 years. I have struggled with the knowledge that this was a harmful and inaccurate doctrine for 20yrs. When I stepped down as a Ministerial Servant due to conscience reasons this doctrine was a major determining factor along with the lack of Christian Freedom and the growing excessive legalism that currently prevails in the "organization".

My wife and I have had a personal experience with this issue. While I don't have time to go into all the details. We lost our xxxx year old son to cancer some xx yrs ago. While lack of blood transfusion was not the cause of his death our experience with the local elders was very upsetting. To make a long story short the hospital obtained a court order and our presiding overseer was extremely upset that we did not forcibly remove my son from the hospital despite his being on a ventilator. I was strongly rebuked but no judicial action occurred. This again was because I would not forcibly remove my son from the care of the hospital while he was on life support. Needless to say this experience has effected us greatly.

We would like to volunteer to assist with the press release and if you can email me a copy back with some directions my wife and I will get on with. Also recently, I came out of the closet as a reformer at one congregation I was at some 15 years ago. I have exchanged letters with some of the brothers there and I will share my results with you.

Yours In Christ,

T.G.

Hi Liberal elder,

....some people are just arrogant ....psychopaths that would be another place if they were not Watchtower drones. But most are just deceived - tricked, cheaten and lost. Their "hatred" isn't really that - but rather fear. Fear of being "caught", fear of the never ending crap-talk about Armageddon, of loosing their friends, family, children, wives and husbands. They are prisoners - in the "spiritual paradise". A paradise of small pills in all the colors of the rainbow. A friend of mine is working for a medical firm - and the JWs is on the VIP list due to their heavy use of prozac and stuff like that. In short - important customers!

Some people react to one stimuli - other people to different stuff. The point is that I do provoke a lot of people - but they also get some questions that they get huge problems trying to answer. A good example is all the people that honestly believe what I do tell is just lies. As the Watchtower tells them. They are in for quite a shock when they try to prove me wrong - and that MAKES them think. Doubt - and make them receptive for reason.

There will always be people willing to accept any kind of cultic leadership. If the GB ordered a massacre like Waco Texas, you should just see the scenes! But if I can slow them down, save some people from getting seriously hurt, it's worth the work. Bring them down? No, I don't think we will - but we can make lots of damage. The most important is to ridicule them - since THAT'S THE ONLY THING THEY HAVE NO DEFENSE FOR! And that does make the "brothers" feel uneasy. They don't understand why "Gods organization" can't get rid of the pain in the ass - and they can't....

.... I don't believe in any reform - since in my view it's all rotten. Like a rotten tree, burn it - and let new trees grow. Hmmmmmmm. I want to tell you that I do NOT tell people to get their ass out of the Watchtower as fast as possible. I do warn them about it - since the consequences are rather harsh. If they ARE prepared to take those - that's another story. On the other hand we need some people to inform us what's going on :-))) As you have seen on my website, I even carry the Branch Office Procedure - and we wouldn't have that kind of material without people on the "inside". We couldn't print the contents of the Watchtower article burying the 1914 generation 14 days before the Watchtower was on the streets without connections either :-)

So, I do not ASK people to leave - and I do NOT ask them to stay. I DO ASK them to think for themselves - and do what they do feel is right. But I can see the problems of being a hypocrite, pretending to be a JW - when you don't believe in the organization, the literature, or the teachings (the "most important" ones) any more.

Again, if you want some help to spread your press release - I'm willing to help. (Guess you know all about it - but just in case)

KS

Dear Brother, (?)

Genesis 9:4 and Acts 15:28, 29 seem clear enough to me.

I am very happy as one of Jehovah's Witnesses and I am not interested in hearing any more from you. Please do not send me any further e-mail.

D.K.

Hello Liberal Elder,

It is interesting that the "Reasoning from the Scriptures" book offers a comparison between abstaining from alcohol and abstaining from blood.

The only problem with the analogy is that alcohol is not a necessary component of one's veins or circulatory system. On the hand, blood is a necessary part of one's body and circulatory system (veins). If one does not have the right amount and kind of blood in their body, then one's health is threatened and their life may be lost. One is actually dealing with a blood to blood situation rather than an alcohol to blood situation since injecting alcohol would be placing a foreign substance in one's body that should not be there in the blood or else it causes problems. Originally, most sickness in ancient times were thought to be caused by too much or too bad blood. As a result, bloodletting (exfussion) of blood was believed to be beneficial and even leeches were used to do this. In the past, removing blood was thought to be helpful but over time it was found to be unnecessary. It should be noted that before any blood was injected into someone's vein's, there was already some blood in those veins before and one is just adding to what is already there that the body made before.

Z.

Hi Liberal Elder!

The press release was great - but I have to say one thing. Being a journalist/editor myself, I can tell you that anonymous postings will probably NOT be taken seriously. You DO NEED SOMEONE TO POST IT WITH FULL NAME!

I will be happy to help out if you want me to, but then I need a list of email addresses.

If you are a clever one on the net.... you do have my permission to use my name and email as sender!

BUT! I would want to know in advance TO WHOM you do send these mails.

Hope to hear from you. The press release was great!

K.

Hello, Liberal Elder:

Thank you for your kind invitation to visit your website addressing the Watchtower doctrine of prohibiting blood transfusions. I wish you success in your efforts to influence the leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses to reconsider the matter, although this suggests that you do not really buy that these changes come about by "Spirit direction." I will be more than happy to provide a link from BEACON web site to this very informative site. I would also invite your visitors to read the chapter on blood written by a former member of the Governing Body of

Jehovah's Witnesses at http://www.xjw.com

Blessings in Christ,

R.

Great research and thoughtful analysis.

I have a few comments on strategies to facilitate reform that you might find helpful....

Here's to your success!!

RB

Hello brother,

I'm just now asking myself if you're really an JW and elder too. If you are, how can you stand before your congregation with this kind of ideas, in good conscience?

I'm an elder too, and I now how difficult is to help to my brothers to keep away of this older system and to be hard in the truth.

Sincerely, I think you have a conscience problem.

Blessings in Christ,

Dear sir,

I am not a Jehovah Witness, but I have read your site with interest. I have one question, though: From what I understand, the Watchtower Society sees itself as the only representative of God on Earth and says that it cannot be wrong. Therefore your conclusion that the society is wrong on the blood issue strikes straight at the heart of Watchtower doctrine, and raises lots of other questions. With this in mind, how can you keep calling yourself a Jehovah Witness? I'm not trying to (de)convert you, but just curious.

Success with your actions,

J. Z.

Greetings from Hong Kong!

My husband and I just read some of the information on your site. We applaud the work that you have done to put together such insightful information. I guess the only thing that truly puzzles me is how you can remain a Jehovah's Witness. When our first child was born twenty years ago I was told within 15 minutes of the birth that she was seriously ill. My husband returned from telephoning family and the first thing we discussed was the blood issue as we were not clear on the nature of her illness. We secretly decided that our beautiful daughter would receive any help that was necessary for her to survive (including a blood transfusion should one be necessary). Our daughter survived without the aid of blood, but we then felt that we did not possess real faith in what JWs taught and we left the organization two years later.

Our daughter is now studying medicine and no doubt will perform many blood transfusions in her chosen career.

If the JWs can be wrong about one thing they can be wrong in any of their teachings - how do you feel about disfellowshipping and shunning - as clearly should your identity be discovered then you would be ousted from the organization. You must be aware of the great pain and suffering that many families are enduring because of narrow mindedness and ignorance within many congregations.

Many do not possess the mental agility to see that your work is intelligent and impelling - how can you stand up to the sea of ignorance that exists inside the Society?

Gone but have not forgotten!