Jehovah's Witnesses and the issue of blood
By Roland Osawaru-Ogunmwonyi
I HAVE been reading Reuben Abati's articles/essays for the past 10 years. I must say that he belongs to the best crop of columnists that has passed through The Guardian Newspapers. His sound analysis of social/political issues stands him out. I do find it too difficult to miss a copy of the flagship every Friday/Sunday.
The saying that no one has a monopoly of knowledge is quite true in Abati's case when he wrote about "The Jehovah Witness" which featured in the opinion page of the Guardian of November 26, 2004. His grouse is about a witness member, Rotimi Omokunle, who is refusing to be transfused with blood after a terrible armed robbery attack involving him and his wife. Abati betrayed his complete lack of information about the Witnesses and their faith. I would recommend that he spares some time to ask them about the blood issue and other related matter from the scriptures whenever he encounters them as they normally preach from house to house in his neighbourhood.
As an active member of the organisation, I was not too pleased (although the article was not meant to please anyone) with the way Abati dismissed the witnesses as fanatics in the rank of some Osama Bin Laden and his group of suicide bombers who are promised 21 virgins (to massage their libido)? in the world beyond. He is not happy with the witnesses too for not celebrating Christmas, birthdays and funerals. Again, all these he would have answers to if and only if he would permit the Witnesses to have a scriptural discussion with him from the Bible.
Jehovah's Witnesses are by no means dogmatic in their adherence to true Christian teachings. I dare say that everyone of them is given the free opportunity to read and study the Bible with a view to understanding what they are taught. A programme of healthy and rich Bible discussion is drawn up in the hope of explaining the Bible and its prophetic messages and what they meant for our days. Such programmes run through the year - from January to December of every year through several media including The Watchtower and Awake! Magazine.
It will not be out of place to state too that the Witnesses are the only group all over the world that teaches people from the Bible about a world that will be free from situations like the one that put Rotimi Omokunle under such excruciating agony, a world that will be under the rulership of Jehovah God and his precious Son, Jesus Christ, a world that would be devoid of oppressive leadership and corruption, a world where peace and security would reign supreme, a world free of hunger, sickness, war, terrorism, armed robbery, strife and jealousy, and all such negative things that no human government can boast of eliminating. I do hope that these things are equally not dismissed as mere illusions and Utopian thoughts by Abati. But a close analysis of the Bible reveals that these are promises that God has made, and which he will fulfill very soon. Hence the intensity of the house to house preaching activity, which forms the basis of the worldwide proclamation of the Good News. (Matthew 25:14).
The use of blood transfusion to save life is part of modern day science and technology. But a true Christian who holds strongly to the Bible's promises on the resurrection hope for the dead would not circumvent the scriptural instruction to abstain from blood - (John 5: 28, 29, and Acts 15:29). We know that many lives have been saved today owing to the wonders of science, but science and technology itself has added to human woes than it was originally meant to solve.
Scientists know too well that to a certain level or degree, scientific exploits are based on faith. So why castigate a man for maintaining his faith that is incontrovertibly based on the Bible and whose conviction goes beyond mere life-saving measures that are only temporary and in the end forsake eternal life in an endless paradise earth later? Abati should not attempt to aggregate the whole matter to someone attempting to commit suicide.
The Bible is full of experiences of early apostles who stood on their faith in the face of damning situations that threatened their zeal for God and Christ even at the throes of death. As the constitution of true Christians, the Bible as the Word of God does not contradict itself despite the efforts of some to discredit it. It has been able to stand its own despite the efforts of some to ban its teachings in the past and present times. I dare add too that Rotimi Omokunle, who is not under any illusion or fanatical servitude understands the situation better than Abati would want him pitied for.
It was also not surprising too for Abati to claim that Awake! Magazine is fond of celebrating the faithful exploits of those witnesses who stood the horrors of persecution during the World War II and the Korean war. Such he claimed are tales and maybe highly exaggerated too because he can't understand why any homo sapien with his right consciousness could allow himself to be so brutalised in the name of Jehovah God and his teachings. I must reiterate that the witnesses are not blind fanatics that have little or no regard for their lives and that of others. But they strongly hold their allegiance to God and Christ. Anything that would deny them God's favour, not even something worse than non acceptance of blood transfusion can stand their way.
Even where state matters conflict with their Bible-based convictions and teachings, they would choose to obey God as ruler rather than men, not minding the consequences of such refusal; although they are law abiding people who pay their dues to secular authorities - (Acts 5: 28, 29). Their gatherings are usually very peaceful, despite the fact that we live in an unfriendly and insecure world. They try to demonstrate what would become the lots of obedient mankind when God's rulership finally envelops the entire world. But they too are fallible, and also sometimes fall to the whims of human sinful nature. But they also strive hard to fight against wicked and sinful tendencies that have become the lot of mortal man.
It is not for nothing that this worldwide organisation has survived the terror and attacks of some secular powers in some parts of the world. Just as Abati rightly mentioned, they were the target of the Nazi pogrom during World War II. Because they refused to bear arms to kill fellow humans and thereby not endorsing warfare, they were unjustly persecuted. Just as the Jewish holocaust of the same period cannot be dismissed as tales, several war museums and histories in Europe and elsewhere all over the world have documented facts and evidence of these wickedness.
Their activities have been banned and some of their members imprisoned and even killed outrightly for maintaining Christian neutrality by not supporting certain secular decrees and laws in some lands that are not in conformity with the Bible. But in all these, their activities have continued to spread in more than 225 lands with a membership of more than six million. They do not engage in miracle-for-sale or financial prosperity kind of evangelism. They have Jehovah God and Jesus Christ through the use of the Bible as their supreme guide rather than some saints.
They have an unwavering obligation to announce to the world the impending doom that would soon come upon this wicked world and its oppressive governments (Daniel 2:44), so that the yearning hearts of those who are feeling sad over the detestable things that are being done would have an opportunity of taking refuge now under an organisation that is doing a gathering work for their master, Jesus Christ.
I wish to implore Abati and others to avail themselves of granting the Witnesses a listening ear and allow them to reason with you from the Bible rather than dwell in some academic argument over faith and religion. I will not stop without thanking the likes of Mrs. Mfon Ekong Usoro for her philanthropic gesture and kindness. My thanks too to those doctors and matrons for their care and professional ability so far. If the hospital authority is actually convinced that Rotimi Omokunle is speaking from the point of view of his faith as a Jehovah's Witness, it would be healthy for his belief in this matter to be upheld and honoured. He should be allowed to speak for himself.
This explanation is inexhaustive, hence I sincerely recommend that readers should genuinely invite any member of Jehovah's Witness in their locality and such will be willing to offer free Bible-based education on this blood issue and several others.
- Osawaru-Ogunmwonyi lives in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
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