Sunday, March 1, 2009

E-mail campaign.

The recent decision by the Johannesburg High Court in South Africa to grant the 15 year old daughter of Jehovah’s Witness parents a life saving blood transfusion after they objected has sparked a major debate. The issue has been featured on SABC news and also discussed on SAFM Radio’s After Eight Debate.

No doubt this is nothing new as the blood issue constantly puts the Jehovah’s Witnesses in the spotlight because of their refusal to accept this life-saving medical procedure. This has been the third time in an 18 month period that the courts have stepped in here in South Africa to save children’s lives. It certainly seems that the arguments put forward by the Jehovah’s Witnesses to defend their dogma, do not hold much weight anymore.

It is with this story in mind that a group of former JWs here in South Africa we have decided that this issue should be the focus of a television expose over here. We have singled out a current affairs program called 3rd Degree which deals with stories like this. We feel that it is time that the blood issue, together with the paedophile cover-ups, should be brought to the fore.

In that regard we have decided to bombard the producers of the show with an e-mail campaign which we hope will get them to do an expose. That is why we would like you to send a little e-mail to the producers as well just to give the campaign a bit more clout. I know of paedophiles over here that are in good standing and continue to go door to door with free access to kids in the congregations.

The e-mail should be sent to info@etv.co.za. Your contribution to this campaign will be highly appreciated.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Court saves Jehovah's Witness girl's life.(South Africa)

It seems as if the courts in South Africa are taking a hard line stance on children of Jehovah’s Witnesses and blood transfusions.

Court saves Jehovah's Witness girl's life

20 February 2009, 06:13
By Kanina Foss

A 12-year-old Jehovah's Witness girl has received a life-saving blood transfusion that she did not want after a Johannesburg High Court order gave doctors the go-ahead.

The girl, who suffers from leukaemia, was admitted to Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital on Tuesday. Despite being told that a blood transfusion was needed to save her life, the girl and her parents refused to consent to the procedure.

Jehovah's Witnesses believe that it's against God's will to take other people's blood, or one's own blood that has been stored, into one's body.

The official website of Watchtower, a Jehovah's Witness organisation to which The Star was referred by the Jehovah's Witnesses of South Africa, says: "True Christians will not accept a blood transfusion. They want to live, but they will not try to save their life by breaking God's laws."The Gauteng Department of Health said doctors consulted the girl's parents and church elders to explain the need for the transfusion. When their explanations were rejected, they brought an urgent application before the High Court on Wednesday.

The court order was issued on the same day, and the girl was given a transfusion immediately.According to Department of Health spokesperson Phumelele Kaunda, the parents respected the court's decision.The girl is doing well.SA Human Rights Commission chairperson Jody Kollapen said that in such cases, the right to life took precedence over the right to religion.He said adults were regarded as fit to make informed decisions about their own bodies, but in the case of a child, state intervention was sometimes necessary.

Jehovah's Witnesses argue that there are often alternatives to a blood transfusion, and they want to be allowed to consider other options.They base their beliefs on biblical text such as Acts 21, verse 25: "As for the believers from among the nations, we have sent out, rendering our decision that they should keep themselves from what is sacrificed to idols as well as from blood and what is strangled and from fornication."In November, the Pietermaritzburg High Court granted an urgent order authorising a blood transfusion for a four-day-old baby boy who was born 15 weeks premature. His Jehovah's Witness parents had refused to give their consent, despite a prognosis from the doctor involved.

This article was originally published on page 2 of The Star on February 20, 2009

http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=vn20090220054001117C891248

Sunday, January 11, 2009

Jehovah's Witnesses, blood and South Africa

The refusal by Jehovah’s Witnesses to accept life-saving blood transfusions is one issue that constantly throws the organisation into the spotlight. Blood transfusions have been banned by the Jehovah’s Witnesses, whether it be whole or fractional, since 1945. The technicalities surrounding this issue even confuse many die-hard Witnesses as this doctrine is in a constant state of flux. Many are not sure what is acceptable practice and what not.

This is how the doctrine has changed over the years.

1940 Blood transfusions are acceptable
1945 Blood transfusion are not acceptable
1956 Blood serums should be treated as blood and are banned
1958 Blood serums and fractions acceptable
1959 Storage of own blood unacceptable
1961 Blood fractions are not acceptable
1964 Blood fractions are acceptable
1974 Blood serums are personal choice
1975 Hemophilia treatments (Factor VII & IX) are not acceptable
1978 Hemophilia treatments (Factor VII & IX) are acceptable
1982 Albumin is acceptable
1983 Hemodilution is acceptable
1990 Hemodilution is not acceptable (From the Blood brochure)
1995 Hemodilution is acceptable

Let’s not concentrate on the technicalities surrounding many of the blood fractions that are banned and those that are not. Let’s just concentrate on the logic. How many faithful JWs lost their lives during the period when blood fractions and whole blood were banned? Now it is a matter of personal conscience and certain blood fractions are permitted. However, logic goes out the window when talking to Jehovah’s Witnesses.

What kind of God allows parents to deny their dying child a lifesaving blood transfusion? The Jehovah’s Witness God does.

Last year (2008) two cases made headlines here in South Africa. In both these cases the parents refused blood transfusions for their babies. The courts eventually stepped in and ordered the transfusions to be administered. Both babies’ lives were saved.

And when that child brings them so much joy do the parents resent the child or do they secretly say in their hearts; “I’m glad the blood transfusion saved his/her life!”

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Preface to my book Cults:How they Work

We live in a society where people are free to follow and adhere to the religious belief of their choice. I have no quarrel with this. It is possible to disagree with a person’s beliefs and yet love the person holding those beliefs. What I oppose are some of the teachings and overbearing influence of some of these groups, not the people in the groups or their right to believe whatever they want.

I also acknowledge that many of the founders of some of these groups do not deceive their followers intentionally. Some of them may have begun a sincere search for truth, but ended up with a warped sense of reality and truth. Likewise, the followers of many of these cults also set out on their journeys to search for truth, but fell captive to unscrupulous deceivers out to fleece and control them. Case in point is the statement allegedly made by the founder of the Church of Scientology, Lafayette Ron Hubbard, who spoke before a science fiction writer’s convention and said, “Writing for a penny a word is ridiculous. If a man really wanted to make a million dollars, the best way would be to start his own religion.”

Furthermore, labelling a certain group a cult can be controversial and some people may disagree with me in labelling some groups as such. This in part is due to the fact that some of these groups have received mainstream religious status because of the immense number of followers they command. Others prefer to label these as high control groups or new religious movements. However, I do not differentiate between these terms in this book because the mode of operation of these groups, regardless of what you may call them, is similar. Therefore, I label them all cults.

As a former cult member, I have witnessed first hand the inner workings of these groups and how similar their methods of recruitment and control are. My first book, Losing The Faith: Truth under Scrutiny is the account of my journey through one of the largest cults in the world today, namely, the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Since the publication of that very same book the consequences that I, as well as my immediate family, have experienced only reiterates how destructive cults can be. Loss of friends and family are just two of the results that members who eventually leave a cult must face and endure. Many come to the realization that love and friendships in cults are conditional. In addition, some cults are just plain deadly.

My desire is for this work to serve as a reference and a guide; one that will assist people to recognise the dangers and pitfalls of becoming involved with cults. An appendix is provided at the end of this book from which readers can explore the writings and research of former cult members. This book is not intended to promote or endorse a particular religion or belief structure.