Why Do Jehovah's Witnesses "Abstain From Blood"?

A close examination of the wording used at Acts 15:28, 29 shows how important it is for Christians to "abstain from blood":

"For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these ESSENTIALS ['these necessary things' - RSV]: that you abstain from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication; if you keep yourselves free from such things, you will do well. Farewell." -Acts 15:28, 29 (NASB)

The wording of the scriptures here does not indicate that this is a relatively unimportant commandment. It says it is "ESSENTIAL".

This command went as far back as Noah:

God said: "Only you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood." (Gen. 9:4) RSV; Moffatt

Andrew Fuller, viewed as "perhaps the most eminent and influential of Baptist theologians," wrote:

"This, being forbidden to Noah, appears also to have been forbidden to all mankind; nor ought this prohibition to be treated as belonging to the ceremonies of the Jewish dispensation. It was not only enjoined before that dispensation existed, but was enforced upon the Gentile Christians by the decrees of the apostles, Acts XV. 20. . . . Blood is the life, and God seems to claim it as sacred to himself." - The Complete Works of the Rev. Andrew Fuller (1836), p. 751.

Learn More

Links to Information About Bloodless Medicine

Click on any of the following links to view:

No Blood

Bloodless Medicine and Sugery Hospitals Directory

Network for the Advancement of Transfusion Alternatives

From the Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site: "Medical care and Blood" Section.

From the Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site: "Bloodless Medicine and Surgery—The Growing Demand"

The University Hospital

Transfusion-Free Cardiothoracic Surgery - University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine

Transfusion-free Surgery is a Treatment Plan for All Patients

Swedish Services Bloodless Programs

Video - No Blood - Medicine Meets the Challenge

Video: Transfusion-Alternative Health Care - Meeting Patient Needs and Rights

Video: Transfusion-Alternative Strategies - Simple, Safe, Effective

Blood-Related Articles From The WBTS

Blood-Related Articles From The Jehovah's Witnesses Official Web Site:

Blood Transfusions - A Long History of Controversy

Bloodless Medicine and Surgery - Pioneers in Medicine

Bloodless Medicine and Surgery - Some of the Methods

Bloodless Medicine and Surgery - The Growing Demand

Bloodless Medicine and Surgery - The New "Standard of Care"?

Bloodless Surgery-Its Benefits Gain Recognition

How Can Blood Save Your Life?

I Accepted God's View of Blood

Is HIV-Screened Blood Safe?

Jehovah's Witnesses and the Medical Profession Cooperate

Medical Care and Blood

Nonblood Treatment - What Experts Say

Outstanding Conference on Bloodless Surgery in Moscow

SHOWING RESPECT FOR BLOOD; THE ONLY PROPER USE OF BLOOD

Showing Respect for Life and Blood

The Real Value of Blood

Transfusion Medicine—Is Its Future Secure?

What Is the Most Precious Fluid of All?

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Search For Blood-Related Documents From The Official Website of Jehovah's Witnesses

Search For Blood-Related Documents From Jehovah's Witnesses United

FAQs about the Sanctity of Blood

Click on any of the following to view):

Why Does God Regard Blood as so Important?

Why Do Jehovah's Witnesses "Abstain From Blood"?

How Important is it for Christains to Abstain From Blood?

Were the commands concerning blood only meant for the Mosaic law?

Does God's Moral Principle Concerning Blood Also Apply to Human Blood?

Could a Christian Have Any Grounds to Ignore The Prohibition on Blood?

Was The Decree to "Abstain From Blood" Only a Temporary Requirement or
Obligation to Christians?

Is the Eating or Drinking of Blood Fundamentally Different From Accepting a Blood Transfusion?

Should Christians eat red meat since it may contain a trace of blood?

Is Refusal of Blood a Form of Suicide?

Should Christians Donate Blood?

Could God's Moral Principle on Blood be Set Aside in Times of Emergency?

Why did the Israelites use blood in sacrifices?

Blood as Medicine And The Role of Your Conscience

Do Jehovah’s Witnesses allow the use of autologous blood (autotransfusion), such as by having their own blood stored and later put back into them?

Other Pages in Defense of Jehovah's Witnesses' Stand on Blood

Search For Bible Truths (Blood Category)

Jehovah's Witnesses - Setting the Record Straight

jwitness Forum - JWs and Blood (JWitness Forum)

Legal and Medical Resources Concerning Blood Transfusions (Jehovah's Witnesses United)

Blood Transfusion And Outcomes (Medical News Today)