THE RESPONSE TO A JEHOVAH'S WITNESS.

This is an epistle that sent some days ago to http:m-t-i.blogspot.com. by a Jehovah's witness.





“I'm one of Jehovah's Witnesses. When I read some of your statements on the website, it made me upset to think that there are really people out there like all of you who talk bad about us. Jehovah's organization is the Truth, and some of you know that deep down in your hearts. But if this is your choice, I know it certainly will never be my choice. I will always praise and love Jehovah. I would never turn my back on Him and leave. Do you believe you are the true religion? How can you believe you are in the truth if you do not go door-to-door preaching the Kingdom?(ΑΚΟΥ ΤΙ ΛΕΕΙ ΤΟ ΑΤΟΜΟ) Are you just a bunch of ‘apostates’ who left the Watchtower because you don’t want to adhere to Bible standards? Do you celebrate pagan holidays, believe in war and the Trinity?”

.:OUR RESPONSE

Dear Jehovah's Witness friend,

We want to thank you for taking the time to write to us and express your concerns over our website. It is very commendable that you love Jehovah the way that you do and that you will never leave Jehovah. It is this devotion to HIM that is SO important in seeking Truth, and we find it admirable that you have such a heart to seek and serve Him.

We too strongly believe in being loyal to Jehovah and to His Son Jesus Christ. And this is the very reason we do what we are doing. It is because Jehovah God is a God of truth. Truth does not fear examination. If an organization cannot stand up under examination, it is not the truth but is rather a counterfeit and loyalty to a counterfeit is disloyalty to Jehovah God.

WHAT DECISION DID JESUS’ DISCIPLES MAKE?

We are reminded about the disciples in Jesus’ day and how they were pressured by the Pharisees to return to what was at that time “Jehovah's Organization” (also known as the Jewish “priestly” arrangement). The disciples were faced with the choice of whether to continue their association in an organization that had become corrupt or whether to turn away from this “channel” that Jehovah had been using in order to recognize the new arrangement in His Son Jesus Christ. Were they going to remain loyal to an earthly organization? Or were they going to be loyal to Jehovah God and go where His “new light” was leading them? Rather than following the earthly organization God had setup through Moses in previous years, Jesus disciples placed their loyalty completely in the hands of Jehovah God and embraced His new heavenly arrangement through Jesus Christ— the REAL “Truth!”

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.’”—John 14:6

Indeed, the question facing the disciples in Jesus’ day is not much unlike the question facing us today. When we consider the fact that the Watchtower organization is guilty of violating God’s Word (the Bible) in the following ways, one has to ask, “How can this organization truly qualify to be God’s representative on earth?”

1. DISTORTING GOD’S WORD (Proverbs 30:6): The Watchtower claims that the translators of their New World Translation remained anonymous, but when research uncovered who the translators were, it was discovered that most of the translators were on the Watchtower Governing Body and all of them lacked the necessary education needed to produce an accurate translation. Greek Scholars have consistently found it to be a biased translation by distorting verses to fit Watchtower doctrine and adding to God’s Word by inserting “Jehovah” in the Christian Greek Scriptures against all Christian Greek manuscripts. Would Jehovah be behind an organization that “adds” and “takes away” from His Word? Click HERE for more information and supporting documentation regarding this.
2. LYING IN ITS LITERATURE (Titus 1:2): The Watchtower denied that they published Russell’s Biography because they did not want people to know that early Jehovah’s Witnesses “worshipped” Russell. They covered up with excuses their history of quoting books connected with the “spirit world” of Satan, and they lied about the true teachings of the early Church Fathers in order to support their belief that the Trinity doctrine was derived from paganism. Would Jehovah who is the God of “truth” be behind a dishonest organization? Click HERE for more information and supporting documentation.

3. VIOLATING THE PRINCIPLES OF NEUTRALITY (John 18:36): While claiming that the United Nations represents the “Wild Beast” of Revelation 17, the Watchtower associated with the United Nations for 10-years. They also claim that they were “neutral” during World War II, but in a letter to Hitler in 1933, they admitted to him that they supported the “principles” of his regime. Is this true neutrality or compromise? Click HERE for more information and supporting documentation.

4. FALSE PROPHECYING (Deuteronomy 18:20-22): While proclaiming to be “God’s Prophet” and speaking “in the name of Jehovah,” the Watchtower announced several false dates for the end of the world and even proclaimed that Christ’s presence had began in 1874. This false proclamation of Christ’s presence is the precise warning that Jesus gave to His followers when He said that “false prophets” would proclaim this in the last days! (See Matthew 24:11, 23-24) Why would Jehovah appoint a group to represent Him that was doing the very thing Jesus warned “false prophets” would do in the last days? Click HERE for more information and supporting documentation.

5. BLOOD GUILTY ACTIONS (Jeremiah 22:17): The Watchtower has misinterpreted God’s Law on Blood and this misinterpretation of God’s Word has lead to the innocent deaths of countless children. Jehovah’s Witnesses have perished, not only by the Watchtower Society’s current rejection of all blood transfusions, but by its earlier rejection of hemophiliac preparations, vaccinations and organ transplants — all of which it now accepts as no longer violating God’s Blood Law! Did the people who died under the Watchtower’s misapplication of God’s Blood Law, die in vain? Click HERE for more information and supporting documentation.

Having reviewed the evidence that convicts the Watchtower organization of failing the test to be God’s “channel” of communication to mankind, we will now turn our attention to your questions regarding what we believe concerning “the truth.”

WHO IS “THE TRUTH”?

You asked whether we believe we are “the true religion.” In answer, we do not believe we are “the true religion,” but we do believe we are “in the Truth.” This is because we do not believe “truth” is a religion, but rather a Person — Jesus Christ Himself! At John 14:6, Jesus proclaimed, “I am …the truth,” and in His prayer to the Father, He said, “Sanctify them by means of the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17, NWT) Who is the living “Word” who is “Truth”? John 1:14 tells us, “…the Word became flesh and resided among us, and we had a view of his glory, a glory such as belongs to an only-begotten son from a father.” (John 1:14, NWT) Not only do we see Jesus being identified in Scripture as “the Truth,” but He proclaims at John 5:39-40 that all of Scripture was written to “bear witness” about Him!

The apostle Peter did not say “to what” shall we go away to. No! He said, “Lord, whom shall we go away to? You [Jesus] have sayings of everlasting life.” (John 6:68, NWT) He recognized that with the coming of Christ, God’s arrangement changed from operating through an organization (Jewish system), to operating directly through His Son Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:1-2) and the guidance of His Holy Spirit (John 16:13). No longer do we need a priestly organization to bring us to Jehovah God. We now have direct access through Jesus Christ as our only “High Priest” and “Mediator” between us and God (Hebrew 7:25-26; 2 Timothy 2:5).

DOES THE WATCHTOWER LEAD PEOPLE TO “THE TRUTH”?

Instead of leading people to “the Truth,” the Watchtower sets itself up in the place of Christ by proclaiming, “Jesus Christ, is not the Mediator between Jehovah God and all mankind. He is the Mediator between his heavenly Father, Jehovah God, and the nation of spiritual Israel, which is limited to only 144,000 members.” (Worldwide Security Under the “Prince of Peace,” 1986, p. 10) Rather than to encourage Jehovah’s Witnesses to go to Jesus alone for “the Truth” and “eternal life” (John 10:28; 14:6), the Watchtower proclaims that its organization is “the Truth” and tells Jehovah’s Witnesses that one must “come to” it “for salvation.” (The Watchtower, November 15, 1981, p. 21). The Watchtower claims “there is nowhere else to go for divine favor and life eternal,” (The Watchtower, November 15, 1992, p. 21), but nothing could be farther from the truth.

Not only does the Watchtower exclude Jehovah’s Witnesses from eternal life by preventing them from coming to Jesus as their “mediator,” but the Watchtower cuts them short of Jehovah’s approval when it tells Jehovah’s Witnesses that the “New Covenant” does not apply to them and that they are not permitted to be “adopted” into God’s spiritual family (The Watchtower, February 1, 1998, pp. 19-20). Romans 8:8-9, proclaims that unless one has God’s Spirit which one receives only through “adoption” (Romans 8:14-16), one cannot “please God,” nor does he “belong to Christ.” Thus, Watchtower teaching leaves every Jehovah’s Witness with no hope for divine favor or eternal life!

DOES GOD ALWAYS LEAD THROUGH AN ORGANIZATION?

A common trait of false religions is to set themselves up as “mediator” between their followers and God. Whether we’re talking about Mormonism with its prophet Joseph Smith and subsequent prophets, Islam with its prophet Mohammed, New Age with its gurus and spirit-guides, or Jehovah’s Witnesses with the so-called “Faithful and Discreet Slave” organization, Satan’s tactic is always the same: Convince people that they cannot receive communication directly from God and require them to look to human leaders for spiritual guidance and support. But the Bible says, “As for you, the anointing that you received from him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to be teaching you; but, as the anointing from him is teaching you about all things, and is true and is no lie, and just as it has taught you, remain in union with him.” (1 John 2:27, NWT). We do not need an organization to “teach” us spiritual truth for we have Christ and the “anointing” of His Spirit to lead us. Just like first-century Christians, God’s Holy Spirit is the one who “guides” us into “all truth” (John 16:13).

Contrary to the claims of the Watchtower organization, when we look at Scripture, we see that no “governing body” in Jerusalem existed to lead first-century followers of Jesus. Congregations and individuals were led directly through the guidance of the Holy Spirit as the following Scriptures illustrate:

At Acts 13:2-4, we see the Holy Spirit directing the congregation at Antioch to send Paul and Barnabas out on their first missionary journey without any approval from a “governing body” in Jerusalem.


When they returned from their missionary journey at Acts 14:26-28, they did not report to a “governing body” in Jerusalem, but rather, to the congregation at Antioch which had sent them out.


In the same way, at Acts 18:22, we see Paul and Silas returning from Paul’s second missionary journey—not to a “governing body” in Jerusalem—but to the congregation at Antioch. At Acts 18:23 Paul went out again on his third missionary journey from this same congregation. If a “governing body” in Jerusalem existed, where was its leadership in all of this?


Who commissioned Philip at Acts 8:5 to preach to the city of Samaria? It wasn’t until verse 14, that the “apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God.” At Acts 8:26, 29, and 40, we read that the Holy Spirit is the One who directed Philip to the territories he preached in.


Who prevented Paul and Silas from preaching in Asia at Acts 16:6-7? Was it a “governing body” in Jerusalem or was it the “Spirit of Jesus”?
As can be seen by the above passages, it was Christ’s Spirit (the Holy Spirit) who directed the preaching work of first-century Christians, but what about the passages that the Watchtower appeals to for support of their view of a “governing body” in Jerusalem? At Acts 15, Paul and Barnabas went up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem to settle a dispute involving the circumcision of Christian non-Jews, and at Acts 16:4, Paul and Silas delivered the “decrees” that the apostles and elders in Jerusalem had determined. Does this prove that a “governing body” in Jerusalem existed? No, it does not.

If we look carefully at Acts 15:1-2, we see that the dispute had arisen when men from the area of Jerusalem (i.e., Judea) had come down to the congregation at Antioch and proclaimed that these believers needed to be circumcised according to Jewish custom. Is it any wonder they went to Jerusalem to settle the dispute that had been caused by men from that area? At Acts 16, these “decrees” that Paul and Silas were delivering had to do with the decision that had just been reached concerning circumcision. There is no indication that these “decrees” involved any other issue. Thus, we see that there is no basis for the claim that an “organization” is needed to lead God’s people today.

WHO THEN IS THE “FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE”?

At Matthew 24:45-51, Jesus describes two types of slaves (or servants) who were put in charge of their master’s belongings while their master was away. Upon his master’s return, one slave was found “faithful” and rewarded by being appointed over “all” of his master’s possessions. The other slave proved unfaithful in his tasks and when his master arrived, he was thrown out with the hypocrites. The point of Jesus’ parable is that we all are to strive to be a “faithful” to our Lord so that when our King Jesus comes for His people, He will find us “faithful” and reward us with more authority and responsibility. Nothing in this passage indicates that the faithful “slave” is speaking prophetically of an organization that would be “appointed” over Jehovah’s belongings. On the contrary, just as any individual can become part of the evil “slave” group by being unfaithful to God, so anyone can become part of the faithful “slave” group by being faithful in the tasks given by the Holy Spirit.

Indeed, we place our souls in great peril if we entrust our eternal destiny to the hands of human leaders for spiritual security. The Bible says, “Cursed is the man who trusts in mankind and makes flesh his strength.” (Jeremiah 17:5). The only One we are to look to for eternal life and spiritual Truth is Jesus Christ. He declares, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” (John 14:6)

ARE WE “APOSTATES” THAT ARE AGAINST BIBLE TEACHINGS?

We would now like to address your concern over us being “apostates” because we “do not want to adhere to Bible teachings.” Your accusation is inaccurate. On the contrary, it is because of our loyalty to Jehovah God and His Bible teachings that we cannot support an organization that falsely represents Jehovah and His Truth. For a list of Watchtower doctrines that are incompatible with Scripture, we encourage you to check out our “What Does God Require? - Biblical Answers to Questions Jehovah's Witnesses Ask” series and our “Watchtower Doctrine Exposed” (www.4witness.org) reference chart, but for now we will address the specific concerns you mentioned.

DOOR-TO-DOOR KINGDOM PREACHING:

You asked how we could be in the Truth if we do not go “door-to-door preaching the Kingdom.” We would answer that nowhere in Scripture is “door to door” preaching specifically mentioned. The few verses that the Watchtower points to for its “door to door” activity (Acts 2:46; 5:42 and 20:20), discuss how believers met publicly in the temple and privately from “house to house” for sharing meals and teaching. This is no different from mid-week Jehovah’s Witness book studies that are often held in various private homes of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Just because mid-week Jehovah’s Witness meetings vary “from house to house,” does not mean that they actually meet in every house of the neighborhood. And we would argue that if they attempted to do so, there would be many non-Jehovah’s Witness neighbors who would object to their homes being used in such a way.

In the same way, first-century believers met for public preaching at the temple, and privately “from house to house” for sharing meals and intimate teaching and fellowship time afterward. Just as Acts 2:46 notes, “day after day they were in constant attendance at the temple with one accord, and they took their meals in private homes and partook of food with great rejoicing and sincerity of heart.” (NWT)

Furthermore, as we examine the book of Acts, we see that most of the converts to the early congregation came not from “house to house” meetings, but from public preaching in the temple and market place. At Acts 17:1-4, we see the apostle Paul preaching publicly in the Jewish synagogue in Thessalonica and then publicly in the market place of Athens at Acts 17:16-34. No mention is made of Paul ever preaching in any of the homes of these cities. Are we to argue that Paul was not engaged in “Kingdom preaching” because he did not preach door to door in these cities? I’m sure you can see the fallacy of such reasoning. In the same way, we are involved in kingdom preaching through personal friendships with unbelievers, church-led public activities and our online website ministry.

For more information on this subject, see the subject, “Door to Door Preaching” in our Jehovah’s Witness Topics Index

HOLIDAYS:

It is true that many celebrations people engage in today have their origin in pagan, occult activities. Such is true of the Roman festival Saturnalia, which lasted from December 17-24 and was later converted to the “Christmas” celebration of Jesus’ birth on December 25th. Another pagan celebration converted to a Christian holiday is “Easter,” a celebration of Christ’s resurrection from the dead. It has its origin in the “Ostara” celebration of fertility on March 20-21st.

We admit that there is no historic support for the celebration of Christ’s birth in December as it most likely occurred in the spring or the fall. Christ’s resurrection occurred during the time of the Jewish Passover, celebrated on the fourteenth day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of the Jewish religious calendar. Due to the difficulty of correlating the Jewish calendar with the Julian and Gregorian Calendars over the centuries, Christians adopted the Sunday closest to the “Ostara” celebration or “Easter” as the date to celebrate Christ’s resurrection. Thus, in both cases, Christians took dates that were purportedly used for “pagan” celebrations and claimed them for Christ, turning them into holidays that few today recognize as having any connection with their former “pagan” roots.

The Society said it best in their Awake! of January 8, 2000. In the article entitled, “A Balanced View of Popular Customs,” they noted on pages 26-27, “Customs have been profoundly influenced by religion. Many, in fact, arose from old superstitions and non-Biblical religious ideas… But what about customs that may once have been linked to questionable practices but that today are primarily viewed as social etiquette? …Does this mean that Christians are forbidden to observe such customs? …Although there may be reason to examine the origin of a particular custom, in some cases it is more important to consider what the custom means to people at the time and in the place where one now lives.”

We think this is good advice that every Christian should apply in determining if conscience will allow one to celebrate Christian holidays that have lost their pagan significance. When we consider that Christianity is all about how God transformed our lives from “pagan” anti-God actions and attitudes, we can appreciate what Christianity has done in transforming “pagan” dates that Satan had claimed, into days to glorify God. In Christ, there is no requirement to either celebrate or not celebrate holidays. Every Christian can have the freedom to decide, as Paul admits in Romans 14:5-6, “One [man] judges one day as above another; another [man] judges one day as all others; let each [man] be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day observes it to Jehovah.”

For more information on common customs with pagan origin that Jehovah’s Witnesses see no problem engaging in, see our What Does God Require dialogue on “Holiday and Birthday Celebrations.”

WAR:

A lot of controversy surrounds the subject of “war” and Christian involvement in it. How does the Bible’s justification of self-defense at Exodus 22:2 play into the defense of a nation during war? To aid in evaluating the moral ethnicity of a given war, in the 13th century, Saint Thomas Aquinas formulated an outline of principles that eventually became known as the “Just War Theory.” The principles have been used by nations with Judeo-Christian based values to determine when and how a righteous war could be waged. Because these principles can be applied at any time to national wars, our position is that Christians who evaluate which side of a particular battle falls under the principles of a righteous war and only serve on that side of the battle would not end up killing their Christian “brothers” in war.

Furthermore, there is no clear injunction in Scripture against Christian involvement in war. At Acts 10, Cornelius, a Christian centurion (captain of 100 Roman soldiers) was commended as a “righteous and God-fearing man,” and at Luke 3:14, John the Baptist’s advice to the soldiers of his day was to “be content” with their wages. They could only be “content” if they remained soldiers! Ecclesiastes 3:1,3, and 8 states, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven....A time to kill, and a time to heal; A time to tear down, and a time to build up....A time to love, and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace.”

For more information on this subject, see our article on “War and Neutrality—Should Christians Remain Neutral During War?” (www.4witness.org)

TRINITY:

The Trinity is the view that the three persons mentioned in the Bible: Father, Son (i.e., Jesus) and Holy Spirit are one God. They are distinct in their Personhoods, yet they maintain unity of substance as one God. The Watchtower correctly defines the “Trinity” doctrine in some of its statements regarding it, but in many other statements, the way it is presented often leads people to believe that the Trinity consists of three persons (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) in one person, but such is an inaccurate concept of the doctrine. The following examples demonstrate some of the ways the Watchtower misrepresents this doctrine in its literature:

“Here Jesus shows that he and the Father, that is, Almighty God, must be two distinct entities, for how else could there truly be two witnesses? …Was God saying that he was his own son, that he approved himself, that he sent himself? No.…To whom was he praying? To a part of himself? No....To whom was Jesus crying out? To himself or to part of himself? …If you appear in someone else’s presence, how can you be that person? You cannot. You must be different and separate.…Someone who is ‘with’ another person cannot also be that other person.” —Should You Believe in the Trinity?, pp. 17-19, 27

We would agree that several passages demonstrate the distinction between the Person of the Father and the Person of the Son, but such arguments have no bearing against the Trinity doctrine because it teaches, “there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost… For, like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by Himself to be God and Lord, so are we forbidden by the Catholic [Christian] Religion to say, there be Three Gods or Three Lords.” (The Creed of Athanasius) Since the Trinity teaches the distinction of each of the “Persons” of the Godhead, all arguments demonstrating this are invalid.

Another argument proposed by the Watchtower that becomes inconsequential when the Trinity doctrine is accurately defined is the claim that Jesus cannot be “equal” to the Father if He is in subjection to Him. The Watchtower asserts, “The Bible’s position is clear. Not only is Almighty God, Jehovah, a personality separate from Jesus but He is at all times his superior….And this is why Jesus himself said: ‘The Father is greater than I.’—John 14:28” (Should You Believe in the Trinity?, p. 20)

Here again, the Watchtower arguments fail when the Trinity doctrine is accurately defined. Concerning the nature of Jesus Christ, the Creed of Athanasius notes, “Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead, and inferior to the Father as touching His manhood; Who, although He be God and Man, yet He is not two, but one Christ.” When Jesus made the claim that “the Father is greater than I” (John 14:28), was He here on earth operating under the limitations of His “manhood”? Or was He in Heaven operating in His divine essence? Context reveals that Jesus was speaking of His human nature when He claimed that the Father was in a “greater” position than He.

Furthermore, the fact that Jesus is “subject” to God, His Father, does not indicate that He is any less “God” than His Father is. At Luke 2:51, Jesus was “subject” to Mary and Joseph. Are we to argue that Jesus is “inferior” in nature to Mary and Joseph because He was “subject” to them? Of course not! We believe that just as a “son” is no less human than his father is, so Jesus being “God’s Son” is no less “God” than His Father is.

“On this account, indeed, the Jews began seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath but he was also calling God his own Father, making himself equal to God.” (John 5:18, NWT)
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Ένοχοι Αίματος (2)

BLOOD
By Shaun
The quotes in RED are from me, the quotes in BLUE are from the Society.


Blood transfusions spoken of favorably in 1940.

Consolation 12/25/1940 page 19
In New York city a house wife in moving a boarder's things accidentally shot herself through the heart with his revolver. She was rushed to a hospital, her left breast was cut around, four ribs were cut away, the heart was lifted out, three stitches were taken, one of the attending physicians in the great emergency gave a quart of his blood for transfusion, and today the woman lives and smiles gaily over what happened to her in the busiest 23 minutes of her life.

Blood officially banned in 1945.
Watchtower 7/1/1945, page 201
See, then, that the Most High and Holy God gave plain instructions as to the disposition of blood, in harmony with his everlasting covenant made with Noah and all of his descendants; and see that the only use of blood that he authorized in order to furnish life to humankind was the use of it as a propitiation or atonement for sin; and seeing that it was to be done upon his holy altar or at his mercy seat, and not by taking such blood directly into the human body; therefore it behooves all worshipers of Jehovah who seek eternal life in his new world of righteousness to respect the sanctity of blood and to confirm themselves to God's righteous ruling concerning this vital matter.

The Society disallowed the use of "blood fractions".
Awake! 01/08/1954 page 24
We are told that it takes one and a third pints of whole blood to get enough of the blood protein or "fraction" known as gamma globulin for one injection. And since from the foregoing it must be admitted that such use of human blood is highly questionable, what justification can there be for the use of gamma globulin? Further, those interested in the Scriptural aspect will note that its being made of whole blood places it in the same category as blood transfusions as far as Jehovah's prohibition of taking blood into the system is concerned. - See Leviticus 17:10 - 14; Acts 15:20, 28, 29.
Awake 9/8/1956 page 20
While this physician argues for the use of certain blood fractions, particularly albumin, such also come under the Scriptural ban. In fact, these fractions are being used not only by physicians but also by food processors, and so it would be well to note the labels on such products to see if they contain any blood substances or fractions. When in doubt, it would be best to do without.

The Society changed and allowed "blood fractions" in 1958.
Watchtower 9/15/1958 page 575
Are we to consider the injection of serums such as diphtheria toxin antitoxin and blood fractions such as gamma globulin into the blood stream, for the purpose of building up resistance to disease by means of antibodies, the same as the drinking of blood or the taking of blood or blood plasma by means of transfusions? - N.P., United States.
No, it does not seem necessary that we put the two in the same category, although we have done so in times past. While God did not intend for man to contaminate his blood stream by vaccines, serums or blood fractions, doing so does not seem to be included in God's expressed will forbidding blood as food. It would therefore be a matter of individual judgment whether one accepted such types of medication or not.


The Society changed again, and disallowed "blood fractions" in 1961.
Watchtower 9/15/1961 pages 558-599 Respect for the Sanctity of Blood
But regardless of whether it is whole blood or a blood fraction, whether it is blood taken from one’s own body or that taken from someone else, whether it is administered as a transfusion or as an injection, the divine law applies. God has not given man blood to use as he might use other
substances; he requires respect for the sanctity of blood.

The Society changes again, and now allows "blood fractions" in 1964
Watchtower 11/15/1964 pages 680, 681, 682, 683
The Society does not endorse any of the modern medical uses of blood, such as the uses of blood in connection with inoculations. Inoculation is, however, a virtually unavoidable circumstance in some segments of society, and so we leave it up to the conscience of the individual to determine whether to submit to inoculation with a serum containing blood fractions for the purpose of building up antibodies to fight against disease. If a person did this, he may derive comfort under the circumstances from the fact that he is not directly eating blood, which is expressly forbidden in God's Word. It is not used for food or to replace lost blood. Here the Christian must make his own decision based on conscience. Therefore, whether a Christian will submit to inoculation with a serum, or whether doctors or nurses who are Christians will administer such, is for personal decision. Christians in the medical profession are individually responsible for employment decisions....In harmony with Deuteronomy 14:21, the administering of blood upon request to worldly persons is left to the Christian doctor's own conscience. This is similar to the situation facing a Christian butcher or grocer who must decide whether he can conscientiously sell blood sausage to a worldly person.
Awake 08/22/1965 page 18
The fact that serums are prepared from blood makes them undesirable to
Christians because of the Biblical law against the use of blood. However, since they do not involve the use of blood as a food to nourish the body, which the Bible directly forbids, their use is a matter that must be decided by each person according to his conscience.

Watchtower 6/1/1974 pages 351, 352
Serums or antitoxins are used. These are obtained from the blood of humans or animals that have already developed the antibodies for fighting the disease. Usually the blood is processed and the blood fraction (gamma globulin) containing the antibodies is separated and made into a serum. When this is injected into the patient it gives him temporary passive immunity. This is temporary, for the antibodies do not become a permanent part of his blood; when these pass out of his body he is no longer immune to the disease. It can thus be seen that serums (unlike vaccines) contain a blood fraction, though minute....What, then, of the use of a serum containing only a minute fraction of blood and employed to supply an auxiliary defense against some infection and not employed to perform the life - sustaining function that blood normally carries out? We believe that here the conscience of each Christian must decide.


Parent's must not allow children to have blood transfusions.
Watchtower 12/01/1967 page 724
Whereas the Mosaic law with its provisions about fat was abolished when Christ died as a sacrifice, the Apostolic Christian Council of Jerusalem reaffirmed God's law to Noah and applied it to the true Christian congregation. Christian fathers are obliged to teach this law and enforce it with regard to their minor children, for by God's law the fathers are the spiritual, religious guardians as well as the domestic parental caretakers of their underage children. The Christian witnesses of Jehovah today recognize that fact and follow the divine rule of conduct. They endeavor to keep their children from violating God's law to Noah and also the Jerusalem Council's decree.
(Eph. 6:4) Rightly they try to protect their children from taking foreign blood into them.
Watchtower 6/15/1991 page 18
If you have children, are you sure that they agree with and can explain the Bible - based stand on transfusions? Do they truly believe this stand to be God's will? Are they convinced that to violate God's law would be so serious that it could put at risk a Christian's prospect for everlasting life? Wise parents will review these matters with their children, whether they be very young or almost adults. Parents may hold practice sessions in which each youth faces questions that might be posed by a judge or a hospital official. The goal is not to have a youth repeat by rote selected facts or answers. It is more important that they know what they believe, and why. Of course, at a court hearing, the parents or others might present information about the risks of blood and the availability of alternative therapies. But what a judge or an official would likely seek to learn from speaking with our children is whether they maturely understand their situation and options and also whether they have their own values and firm convictions.


Hemophilia treatments are wrong.
Awake 2/22/1975 page 30
Hemophilia Treatment Hazard
Certain clotting "factors" derived from blood are now in wide use for the
treatment of hemophilia, a disorder causing uncontrollable bleeding. However, those given this treatment face another deadly hazard: the Swiss medical weekly Schweizer Med Wochenschrift reports that almost 40 percent of 113 hemophiliacs studied had cases of hepatitis. "All these patients had received whole blood, plasma, or blood derivatives containing [the factors]," notes the report. Of course, true Christians do not use this potentially dangerous treatment, heeding the Bible's command to 'abstain from blood.'

Hemophilia treatments are allowed now.
Watchtower 06/15/1978 pages 29 thru 31
What, however, about accepting serum injections to fight against disease, such as are employed for diphtheria, tetanus, viral hepatitis, rabies, hemophilia and Rh incompatibility? ...This seems to fall into a 'gray area.'... Hence, we have taken the position that this question must be resolved by each individual on a personal basis....How concerned should a Christian be about blood in food products? ...This may call for a degree of care.... Christians, individually, must decide what to do.

The Society published what is the main components of blood:

Awake 10/22/1990 page 4
The Main Components of Blood
Plasma: about 55 percent of the blood. It is 92 percent water; the rest is made up of complex proteins, such as globulins, fibrinogens, and albumin
Platelets: about 0.17 percent of the blood
White Cells: about 0.1 percent
Red Cells: about 45 percent




The Society now allows these parts of blood, and most Jehovah's Witnesses are unaware of this. Where in the Bible is this written?

Awake 6/22/1982 page 25
While these verses are not stated in medical terms, Witnesses view them as ruling out transfusion of whole blood, packed RBCs, and plasma, as well as WBC and platelet administration. However, Witnesses religious understanding does not absolutely prohibit the use of components such as albumin, immune globulins, and hemophiliac preparations; each Witness must decide individually if he can accept these.
Watchtower 6/1/1990 page 31 Questions From Readers
Others have felt that a serum (antitoxin) such as immune globulin containing only a tiny fraction of a donor’s blood plasma and used to bolster their defense against disease is not the same as a life-sustaining blood transfusion. So their consciences may not forbid them to take immune globulin or similar fractions.* They may conclude that for them the decision will rest primarily on whether they are willing to accept any health risks involved in an injection made from others’ blood.

That some protein fractions from the plasma do move naturally into the blood system of another individual (the fetus) may be another consideration when a Christian is deciding whether he will accept immune globulin albumin or similar injections of plasma fractions. One person may feel that he in good conscience can; another may conclude that he cannot. Each must resolve the matter personally before God.
*One example is Rh immune globulin which doctors may recommend when there is Rh incompatibility between a woman and her fetus. Another is Factor VIII which is given to hemophiliacs.

Watchtower 10/1/1994 page 31
Currently a small amount of albumin is also used in injections of the synthetic hormone EPO (erythropoietin). Some Witnesses have accepted injections of EPO because it can hasten red blood cell production and so may relieve a physician of a feeling that a blood transfusion might be needed....As noted, many Witnesses have not objected to accepting an injection that contains a small quantity of albumin.

Awake 2/22/1995 page 21
The doctors decided to provide alternative treatment. Plasma was extracted from the blood, and thus antibodies attacking my blood cells and kidney tissues were removed. I was then given injections of Ringer's solution together with albumin. I had discussed this treatment with the doctors and gave them written permission to administer it.


The Society does not let an individual store their own blood before an operation.
Watchtower 10/15/1959, page 640
Consequently, the removal of one's blood, storing it and later putting it back into the same person would be a violation of the Scriptural principles that govern the handling of blood....if the blood were stored, even for a brief period of time, this would be a violation of the Scriptures...Again, if one's own blood would have to be withdrawn at intervals and stored until a sufficient amount had accumulated to set a machine in operation, this too would fall under Scriptural prohibition.
Awake 4/8/1972 29-30
Men of science are constantly developing new methods for performing surgical operations. The Journal of the American Medical Association, dated November 15, 1971, described a procedure for open-heart surgery that employs sever hemodilution. Early in the operation a large quantity of blood is drawn off into a plastic blood bag. Though the bag is left connected to the patient by a tube, the removed and stored blood is no longer circulating in the patient's system. It is replaced with a plasma volume expander, which dilutes the blood remaining in the veins and which gradually dissipates during the operative procedure. Near the conclusion of the operation the blood storage bag is elevated, and the stored blood is reinfused into the patient..... These techniques are noteworthy to Christians, since they run counter to God's Word. The Bible shows that blood is not to be taken out of a body, stored and then later reused.


Blood outside the body is now permitted as long as it is flowing continuously, and so is Hemodilution.
Watchtower 3/1/1989 pages 30 & 31
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?
This clearly rules out one common use of autologous blood - preoperative collection, storage, and later infusion of a patient's own blood....Jehovah's Witnesses, though, DO NOT accept this procedure....In a somewhat different process, autologous blood can be diverted from a patient to a hemodialysis device (artificial kidney) or a heart - lung pump. The blood flows out through a tube to the artificial organ that pumps and filters (or oxygenates) it, and then it returns to the patient's circulatory system . Some Christians have permitted this if the equipment is not primed with stored blood....What, though, if the flow of such autologous blood stopped briefly, such as if a heart - lung machine is shut down while the surgeon checks the integrity of coronary - bypass grafts?...a Christian having to decide whether to permit his blood to be diverted through some external device ought to focus, not primarily on whether a brief interruption in flow might occur, but on whether he conscientiously felt that the diverted blood would still be part of his circulatory system.

Galatians 6:5. What about induced Hemodilution?...Some Christians have accepted this, others have refused. Again, each individual must decide whether he would consider the blood diverted in such a Hemodilution circuit to be similar to that flowing through a heart/lung machine, or he would think of it as blood that left him and therefore should be disposed of. A final example of autologous blood use involves recovering and reusing blood during surgery. Equipment is used to aspirate blood from the wound, pump it out through a filter (to remove clots or debris) or a centrifuge (to eliminate fluids), and then direct it back into the patient. Many Christians have been very concerned whether in such salvage there might be any brief interruption of blood flow. Yet, as mentioned, a more Biblical concern is whether the blood escaping into a surgical wound is still part of the person. Does the fact that the blood has flowed from his circulatory system into the wound mean that it should be 'poured out,' like the blood mentioned at Leviticus 17:13? If an individual believes so, he would probably refuse to permit such blood salvage. Yet, another Christian (who also would not let blood flow from him, be stored for some time, and later be put back into him) might conclude that a circuit with recovery from a surgical site and ongoing reinfusion. would not violate his trained conscience....When faced with a question in this area, each Christian is responsible to obtain details from medical personnel and then make a personal decision....While modern medicine might be able to help us extend our lives for a time, we certainly would not want to extend our present life by doing anything that would violate our Christian conscience or would displease our Life - Giver.

The writer/editer of the blood brochure seems to not be aware that intraopertive collection and induced hemodilution is now allowed.
How Can Blood Save Your Life?, 1990, page 27 brochure
Witnesses believe that blood removed from the body should be disposed of, so they do not accept autotransfusion of predeposited blood. Techniques for intraoperative collection or hemodilution that involve blood storage are objectionable to them.

As mentioned above, the Society does allow the use of these blood components such as: "gamma globulin" and "Factor VIII" which is from stored blood. The Society even acknowledges these components come from donors.

Awake! 1/8/1954 page 24
We are told that it takes one and a third pints of whole blood to get enough of the blood protein or "fraction" known as gamma globulin for one injection.
Watchtower 6/15/1985 page 30
Each batch of Factor VIII is made from plasma that is pooled from as many as 2 500 blood donors. It seems that by importing this blood product the AIDS virus was transferred to the British supply.


The Society threatens its members if they take a blood transfusion.
Watchtower 1/15/1961 63-4 Questions from Readers
• In view of the seriousness of taking blood into the human system by a transfusion, would violation of the Holy Scriptures in this regard subject the dedicated, baptized receiver of blood transfusion to being disfellowshiped from the Christian congregation?
If, however, he refuses to acknowledge his nonconformity to the required Christian standard and makes the matter an issue in the Christian congregation and endeavors to influence others therein to his support; or, if in the future he persists in accepting blood transfusions or in donating blood toward the carrying out of this medical practice upon others, he shows that he has really not repented, but is deliberately opposed to God’s requirements. As a rebellious opposer and unfaithful example to fellow members of the Christian congregation he must be cut off therefrom by disfellowshiping.

The Society allows Jehovah's Witness Doctors to give blood transfusions to "worldly people"
Watchtower 11/15/1964 pages 682-683 Employment and Your Conscience
Christians in the medical profession are individually responsible for employment decisions. They must bear the consequences of decisions made, in keeping with the principle at Galatians 6:5. Some doctors who are Jehovah’s witnesses have administered blood transfusions to persons of the world upon request. However, they do not do so in the case of one of Jehovah’s dedicated witnesses. In harmony with Deuteronomy 14:21, the administering of blood upon request to worldly persons is left to the Christian doctor’s own conscience. This is similar to the situation facing a Christian butcher or grocer who must decide whether he can conscientiously sell blood sausage to a worldly person.


Who is blood guilty before Jehovah God? If the Society believes you should not have blood according to the Bible, then where in the Bible does it allow certain parts of blood? What about all of the followers of the Society that needed a blood fraction when they where in there "not allowed mode"? Did any of these die needlessly? Does Jehovah give "new light blinking back and forth" to the Governing Body so they can keep adjusting their stand on parts of blood?
Prepared by Shaun

RUTHERFORD SAIS.....

Please watch the follow video...


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zxb-acIOt04&eurl=http://m-t-i.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post_27.html

By http://m-t-i.blogspot.com

THE MIRACLES OF VIRGIN MARY-PANAGIA

Please read this REAL STORY,this GREAT MIRACLE OF PANAGIA IN SYRIA.

From the GREAT SITE OF EASTERN ORTHODOXY.

The following incredible story you are about to read, dear reader, is a true and undisputed event that constitutes a great blessing from our Panagia (the All-Holy Virgin Mary). Before we begin, we should perhaps point out that the miracles that we, like many other Orthodox Christians, have lived in our own lives can fill a thick tome, and if we also include the personal stories of our neighbours alone, we reach the size of two large books. However, the Orthodox do not need miracles but place them inside their heart to help them in their struggle, because the faith is pre-determined by the Chief Cornerstone and not by miracles. Thus we base miracles upon the faith and not the other way around. Thus, if the reader disbelieves, we do not aim here to try to convince them, for the Truth of Christ shines through Orthodoxy without a single event.
Nevertheless, as we have said in the past, many official miracles in Orthodox countries like Greece, for example, are usually not disputed even by atheists! For instance, the Holy Myrrh-Gusher Saint and protector of Thessalonica, Demetrius, oozes miraculously myrrh all the time. This has been certified even by scientists as a true miracle. Not even atheists dare deny this, for they are all welcome to go to Thessalonica to the temple of the Saint and see for themselves and try as hard as they like to find if there is a trick! The number of continuous miracles, constant impossibilities either of myrrh-gushing or of nature (e.g. in the village of Vasta in Peloponnese) are so numerous that one really needs to be blind to continue being an atheist (at least in Greece).
And millions of these events, dear reader, most of which you will never hear of because they do not always become known everywhere, and sometimes they are personal events (for example, we know of three great miracles that have happened to three Orthodox members of our Announcement List in the past few years!) are blessings from Christ Who acts in His Church, that is also particularly blessed in this way to be able to produce miracles catholically whereas no other Christian confession can. With the exception of special events in the lives of individual people, who still call upon His name and Christ helps them, the "churches" have no grace in their totality. If the Papics or Protestants try to bring the Holy Light in Jerusalem during one Pascha, they will not be able to. The Papics in fact tried in the past and failed; as did the Monophysites, of course, who, despite the constant signs from God against their heresy since the Synod at Chalcedon, insist on their heresy due to unrepentance and are now in "discussion" with some pseudo-Ecumenists, who are of course oblivious to all but their rationalism.
At the same time, well-meaning Protestants, Papics, but even Allodox who ask for the help of Christ and His Saints, can receive help. Thus, we know of a personal miracle that happened to an Evangelical family, who were healed of cancer by praying to Christ. But we also know of many miracles that happened to Turks who ask for the help of St. George or St. Anna. They all prove that Christ is God, yet do not proclaim the faith of the heterodox or of the allodox: the Evangelicals do not pray to Saints, who evidently do miracles through Christ, and the Turks are Moslems to begin with. Christ's compassion and love for all people does not however mean that the Truth lies everywhere. Christ helps individual people but catholic miracles happen only to the Orthodox Church, in order to profess the Truth of the Ecclesia.
Thus, even though individual Papics can be saved because they had been well-meaning in their lives and yet did not meet the fullness of Christ in Orthodoxy, they do not reach the ranks of the Saints, being outside the Church. Thus, Roman Catholic "Saints" (after the Schism) will never show any miraculous signs in their relics (incorruptible remains, golden colour, miracles even after death etc.) This is because the congregation of Papics in the Latin "church" is not the Church. Similarly, neither are Evangelicals the Church nor is the congregation of the Moslem Turks in the Church. And, while sporadic miraculous events given by God outside Orthodoxy reflect His love and compassion to all mankind, within His Body the miracles (individual and catholic) are literally countless, including resurrections, healings (by Saints who make it clear that they did these miracles to help those weak in faith), repetitive catholic miracles (that cannot be done by non-Orthodox "churches"), constant miracles (not only in relics but natural "impossibilities" too), going "back in time" (one of Elder Porphyrios' miracles) and many other wondrous events. All need to be examined within the prism of Holy Tradition to make sense, and to give us their message. This way, we are also safe against the presence of demonic "miracles" like those of the Fatima Cult or of the Toronto blessings: both events, examined through the life of Orthodoxy, can be easily seen to be for what they are, viz. demonic manifestations based upon "secret teachings" and demonic ecstasy, respectively.
And yet, all miraculous events can strengthen our faith at times but, as Orthodox, we look first and foremost at the teachings and the life of the Church, in order to stay inside the Ark of Christ's Body and enjoy the difficult but blessed life in His Truth. The miracles are not events we pay particular attention to, as if they were cut-off events; but when these have been examined and certified by the Church, we place them inside Her Mystical Body and "venerate" them with piety, for they are the expressions of love from our beloved Virgin Mary, the Saints and the Martyrs of the Church, through Christ's Grace that allows all these miracles to happen and remind to us that the death is abolished, that the Ecclesia is One and Indivisible and not a religious humanist organisation run by a pope or council of pastors.
We do not believe because of the miracles, for our faith is not so cheap as to require miracles ("blessed are they who did not see and believed"), neither do we get alarmed if some deviant priest was found in a church concocting a fake miracle to grab some fast cash (we have also heard of such stories too, on rare occasions). We place the miracles within the Church, and not the other way around. We never seek miracles; but when we witness them, we thank God and His Saints for their kindness and help to the suffering Church Militant, events that also show that the Church is One and Indivisible, and that the Church Triumphant is indivisibly connected with the Church Militant. Thus, while we do not seek or expect miracles, we are not surprised that the "centre" of what for most people would be considered miraculous events is the One Church: acts of love of the Church Triumphant's Saints to the pious members of the suffering Church Militant, and sometimes even to suffering people outside Her realm, for God's love knows no boundaries.
This particular event however is particularly astonishing, especially because we live in times of apostasy and we can only marvel at the mercy of God upon us, despite all the sins we do; despite, in other words, of the fact that we dare call ourselves "Orthodox Christians", us with no understanding of what that truly entails, of how priviliged and blessed we are to have found the Truth of Christ when many others work hard to find even a few things about Christ. A few weeks ago a couple came to a local Orthodox parish where I was chanting. I saw that they waited patiently until Matins was over and then came inside the church, and were running their hands over the frescoes, over the icons, over the ornamental art. They looked serious and hungry, for something. They had not arrived here at random but after a long search. A few weeks later I noticed that after a service, as I was leaving, it was them, and they had stayed in the temple till the end and were still inside the church, kneeling by a chair, praying fervently to God. I was greatly touched, and tears ran down my cheeks as I mentally said to them "welcome Home". I will probably never know what miracles were worked inside their hearts to get them Home to Orthodoxy. In this sense, dear reader, miraculous events warm our hearts and act in our soul like the reading of the various Saintly works and lives also works, by warming our heart and preparing it for prayer, the greatest privilege and miracle of God to man.
The name of the main protagonist of the following story has not been revealed to this day because he does not wish to draw attention to himself, his wife and his child. But even if you do not believe, dear reader, that family, until their end, will continue to be a living witness of Christ now, and many people near them will believe and change. Christ works all the time in areas where His gospel was reduced through fake religions. There are clearly parts of the story that will always remain hidden because they would disrupt a lot of the status quo. While this event circulated in the Hellenic Orthodox magazines, on the internet, and some radio stations, I wanted more detailed information, so I decided to speak directly to the source. Thus, dear reader, we spoke personally to fr. Ignatius who was the main elder, among other fathers, that made the story known to us.
Fr. Ignatius is the Canon (Protosygkelos) of the Holy Monastery of the Poemenon (Shepherds) <> in Bet Sachur, Bethlehem, which is part of the Holy Hagiotaphite Brotherhood. Hagiotaphite means of the Holy Tomb. In other words, he is a monk who spends his life protecting the Orthodox areas in the Holy Lands and watches every year the Holy Light come to the Orthodox during Pascha, lives near the place where our Lord was born, and participates in the services that take place inside the Cave of Bethlehem, one of the holiest places on earth, and has obviously witnessed himself countless of miracles (in fact he talked about some of these on a radio programme that also discussed the event below and we will include some extracts at a later stage of this page).
He defends the rights of the Orthodox, and as we spoke to him, we can assure the reader that he is a holy man, very pious, and his blessed innocence left us with a great happiness, similar to the one we feel when we witness many charismatic Holy Elders on Athos when they bless us. There are many wild stories I would never believe in my life, of course. The wildest of all would be that this holy elder lied about any of this information. The number of miracles close relatives and people of our website have witnessed in the Holy Lands, present there for the unrepentant atheists first and then the pilgrims (e.g. the Burning Bush of Moses), render the need for someone as holy as fr. Ignatius to present a wild story even wilder, especially as it is in fact not impossible to confirm the actual story.
And of course, if this story were a lie then Syria and Saudi Arabia would most certainly have complained to his Brotherhood in Bethlehem, because the event took place more than two years ago in Syria and the sussurus has not quieted. At the same time, because I am by nature very cynical and careful when dealing with such issues, I also came in contact with a Saudi Arab friend of mine who affirms the story and is carefully investigating further details in the hope of finding further information. Of course, this friend wishes to remain anonymous so please do not ask for any information on him.
<>, you may say, <>
A good question. This is one of the reasons we wanted to talk to him directly on the phone. Indeed, that could be a possibility, not knowing further facts we unearthed. However, we found out that he received this information directly from people who worked at the national Syriac television network, and this story was also confirmed to him by other elders in other monasteries, so it becomes extremely difficult to see how he could have been tricked.
To claim that other elders conspired to create a fake miracle is one thing -- something the Orthodox reader can easily dismiss, but the other readers may not; so they will have to ask themselves if these people need to advertise miracles in a hostile environment (when we have valid information that they have often silenced many personal events except to those who actually visit them), when thousands of miracles happen in the Holy Lands all the time anyway, apart from the great miracle of the Holy Light that happens every Pascha. Not only is there no need for them to create a story, but one has to also realise that, these men decided to spend their lives to Christ and His Truth. The hypocritical motto "end justifies the means" of the Jesuits is not something Orthodox monks believe in. On the contrary, they believe this motto to be anti-Christian. Therefore it becomes very difficult to accept that someone lied about this. And OK, one lied; did the rest also lie as well? No one who has lived Orthodox Monasticism would bring this absurdity in their mind. Of course, deviant monks might exist, at times. but these are the rare exception, not the norm. And especially in the Holy Land, where we know personally most of the Hagiotaphite brotherhoods due to charities that connect us to them, we can assure the reader that that is not the case. When someone becomes deviant, it shows in their actions sooner or later, and if not, Christ unmasks them to protect His Church.
To claim that the Syriac network that attends to the needs of the almost entirely Moslem public, and is entirely staffed by Moslems, and that it would present something like this in favour of us and against their faith is another; and I think would not stand much to reason! It should also be realised that the overwhelming majority in Syria is Moslem and the Arab Orthodox are very small in number (60,000).
We also have other reasons to doubt any foul play here. We first heard of this story in one of our recent visits to the Holy Mountain, where Holy Elders confirmed the truth of these events to us, in one of our conversations. Pretty much anything that happens around the world, sooner or later passes from the Holy Mountain, which for this reason is also informally known as a "heart of Orthodoxy": the blood will soon have to pass from the heart. It was there that I first wished for more information on this, and a pious Elder in one of the Sketes promised to send me a leaflet with basic information, as soon as he found a photocopy he had received from the Patriarchate, that circulated copies of the original, because he had run out of photocopies.
Feeling sad that I would have to get him to spend so much time to labour to send me this information, especially as he would have to walk some distance to arrange for it to be sent by post (there is no post office up there!) and thinking that these people have so many more important things to do, especially during the harsh winter we had when a lot of extra work was required, I deeply wished in my heart that this were not the case. While I was thinking these thoughts, the miracle happened. On the boat from Daphne back to Ouranoupolis, where I was at the time on my way back, I met two pious pilgrims from a village that would come on Athos once every year. As it happened, for some obscure reason they happened to have three photocopies of this document on them, and gave me one! So the problem was taken care of, and with great joy I informed the Elders when I returned home that I had received a copy and they would not need to send me one. Blessed be the name of the Lord in His infinite providence!
Because of the potential repercussions that this story may have, it is important for the reader to understand that the protagonist of the story he or she is about to read, kept his name secret, even though he appeared on television (not showing his face fully from what I surmised), on the radio and in magazines, spreading this story as far as he could. If the reader wonders why all these people agreed to show the story so quickly, the reader needs to know three things: one, this man was a young Saudi Arab who was extremely rich and therefore able to ensure anonymity; two, Syria, where the event took place, does have a Christian population, albeit tiny, and the Syrians themselves mention that there are monasteries of the Christians where miracles happen. In fact, there are many miracles that happen to them by Christ so they respect the Orthodox Church. Many elders live there at peace with the Moslems and help them but do not convert them when many ask to become Orthodox because they are afraid. Those Moslems who want to become Orthodox end up going to the United States or to Greece to get baptised and chrismated. Three, Orthodox miracles are not considered impossible, for the Moslems do accept Christ as a prophet and most Moslems love Panagia and cherish her, for she was the mother of one their Prophets.
In fact, they cherish her a lot more than they cherish Mohammed's own mother, especially as she often does miracles for them, individually, to help them come to the truth, but also so that they form some piety for the Orthodox and accept them as part of their country. It is therefore not strange that this event was mentioned at the time (although now there is a lot more silence about the event for obvious reasons). Of course, the implications for the political scene in these areas make it clear to the reader why this man would want to keep his name and that of his family hidden. It is also possible the God informed him also, in some way, who knows. But the obvious thing to notice here is that when the false prophet remains silent in signs, when the human religion of Islam fails to spark the ability to come close to God, for it is a falsehood, whereas the Christ of the Orthodox on the other hand keeps performing miracles, with hundreds of Moslems wanting to convert (as we shall see later), things can get a little touchy with the authorities if one is not careful. Fr. Ignatius sounded quite scared when we first called him, because they live under constant fear from the various enemies of Christianity.
Christ though is at the helm of History. Small events like these appear, and suddenly the course of History flows in a different direction than the one the enemies of Christ expected it to go, despite their Satanic theosophical motto of "the end justifies the means".
We end these preliminary notes by telling the reader that this event took place in Syria about a year before it came out in the media in Syria (and soon thereafter in the neighbouring countries), in other words around December of 2003, a few days before Christmas (with the Old Calendar, i.e. before January 7 with the Papic Calendar).
The following is a very close translation of the original document, and more information will be provided at the end, through extra information provided at the recording of the radio programme the elder appeared on (where he discussed this event in more detail) and certain clarifications we asked for when we talked to him directly on the phone.
A small excerpt from the radio programme, the full document written by his own hands, part of the following document we translated (a photocopy of the document he circulated through the Patriarchate) and other information about this story in Greek, can be found on a website of the Holy Monastery of the Source of Life in Varia of the Greek island of Mytilene. The radio programme is not a rogue "independent" one, but working under the aegis of the Metropolis with Her blessings. The website can be found here and is not only in Greek but also has English entries. We did an almost word-for-word translation, making one or two additions that we were told through the clarifications of the elder. Another translation of the event can also be seen at the above website at this link. Please visit these links in order to see some photographs of fr. Ignatius, the All-Holy Virgin Mary's miraculous icon and pictures of the monastery of Saydnaya in Syria.
Finally, we wish to inform the reader that the only material that was added by us in the translation appears below in italics. In particular, the information in parenthesis was mentioned by fr. Ignatius in his talk on the radio programme, whereas the fact that the passing driver pulled back on the road follows from the fact that he had moved off the highway before this and is thus the only possible "logical" outcome, added for continuity's sake (as word-for-word translation has its limitations).
<< href="http://patristic.eastern-orthodoxy.com/saydnaya.htm#tama">tama he had promised. He called that driver that had shown him around before, in order for him to wait for him at the airport of Damascus. The driver, though, turned out to be cunning and evil, and informed another two of his friends in order for them to go to the airport with him to receive the rich man, and then cunningly kill him and take all the money he would carry on his person. Indeed, that is how it happened. They picked him up at the airport. On the way, the unfortunate man, without knowing what awaited him, told them that because of his joy, he would give 10,000 dollars to each of the driver's friends (on top of the 20,000 dollars he had promised to give to the driver). These however simply changed course and instead of going to the Monastery, went to a secluded area, and butchered him, first cutting off his head and then the rest of his body, hands and feet, in small pieces. Their rage from this criminal activity blinded them, however, and instead of throwing him there and then, put him instead in the boot at the back of the car and started for another secluded spot to throw him there instead.
At some point after they got on the highway, however, the car broke down and they got out to see what had happened, why the engine was not working. A passing driver saw them, and stopped to help them. However, being afraid he might realise the terrible crime they had committed, they pretended they did not need any help. The passing driver though, while he was pulling back on to the road, realised that blood was dripping underneath the lower part of the boot, and when he got a little further down the road, informed the police to go and examine what was going on because these three had seemed suspicious to him.
The police soon got there, and seeing the blood on the road surface ordered them to open the boot immediately. As soon as they opened the boot, the Saudi Arab gets up and comes out, healthy, alive, bleeding of course, but stitched!!! "Just now", he told them, "Panagia did the final stitches, and sutures around my neck, right here ...", at this point he showed the mark in front of his Adam's apple on his neck, "... after having first stitched the rest of my body together".
The criminal driver and his companions lost their reason, went crazy, and after they were cuffed they were led to the psychiatric prisons. On the way, they would shout like possessed "we killed you, we chopped you into pieces, we cut your head off, how do you live?"!!!
The Saudi Arab went for authentication of the incredible miracle. He was seen by forensic surgeons, experts, policemen and they all testified for the authenticity of the miracle by signing ... The stitches were and still are evident. He looked newly-assembled! He would preach and confess at large that "Panagia stitched me, and resurrected me with the power of her Son". Afterwards, the resurrected called on the phone all his family and they came to Syria. They went to the Monastery, thanked the Theotokos and offered entreaties and doxologies, and instead of the amount of 80,000 dollars that the tama was before, they offered to the Monastery the amount of 800,000 dollars for the great benefaction that Panagia had offered him. He continually repeats today this shocking miracle that happened to him and always begins by saying: "When I was a Moslem, the following happened to me ...", confessing that he is not any more a Moslem, neither himself, nor his family ...
The miracle shook the Arab Moslem countries and the whole of the Middle East, and created a stir as it annoyed some very much.
<>
Fr. Ignatius -- Abbot
Holy Monastery of the Shepherds
Bet Sachur -- Bethlehem
>>
We would like to add a few things.
The Saudi Arab was not old but quite young, which is not surprising because they tend to get married at a very young age (16 or 17). Also, his wife had been barren for a period of approximately 10 years before they took this trip in Syria in 2003.
We see how well-meaning he was and how he did not care for the money he had but wanted to share with the others. We also see how much man can become blinded by the passion of money. Former Patriarch Irinaeus was deposed from Jerusalem because sadly he became a lover of money. Judas the Iscariote fell into the same deception and stayed unrepentant until the end, losing his soul. The worst crime in many ways is the love of money. For the flesh fights us, especially when we are young, and we have some excuse when we fall into pornic sins, i.e. of the flesh. But there is no excuse to love dead money, that only lead to a spiritual death. These people lost their reason and ended up in psychiatric prisons in Syria. Was it worth it? But the Devil blinds us. And what is particularly touching is how the Saudi returned the first time to offer his tama, whereas there are many that would not thank the Lord for the "cleansing of their leprosy". The other parts, while shocking to some, are not what we concentrate upon. Elder Paisios talks of a spiritual child of his that with his prayer raised his deceased uncle, because he had been saddenned that his uncle who used to swear and blaspheme, had died unrepentant. And yet, St. Isaac the Syrian reminds us that "the one who cries one hour for his sins, is spiritually higher than the one who can raise the dead with their prayer".
What matters, dear reader, is for us to understand our nothingness, to thank God for all we have, to begin our ascetic struggle in this life, and to taste the beautiful life in Christ within His Body from this life. Paradise begins here and now. Then and only then will we realise that everything is miraculous, one Continuous Miracle that exists in our lives, so that individual events like these will not make the impression that they would make to unbelievers, for to us, all this is normal, as nothing is impossible to God. But these stories are given so we see how much Panagia cares for those who want to come to her, in other words, how much she is like our own mother, how much she loves all people, and does miracles even for Moslems.
And of course, there are thousands of well-established unquestionable miracles all over the Orthodox world, that happen all the time, even though the media often try to silence these.
As we write these notes, the Greek anti-Christian media froth with wrath and a dogmatist hysteria because yet another elder (the late fr. Vilarion of St. Agathon Monastery in Fthiotida, Greece) was taken out of his grave 15 years after his repose, as is customary, and his body has remained incorrupt, whereas he never took any chemical pills during his life, for he was always healthy. Of course, this does not make him a Saint, for this can also be a sign sometimes for the exact opposite; but in his case, it seems he was a holy elder as a multitude of clergy and laity that knew him came forward and spoke in favour of him, and of his secret charismatic presence in their lives while the blessed monk was alive. The matter, as always, will be discussed by the Holy Synod who convenes and decides in the Spirit that guides Her, and her flock, through the ages. The point, however, is that the media hated the fact that (irrespective as to whether this was a sign of his holiness or unholiness) this was a sign that certain pious and serious scientists agreed was inexplicable to science as it goes beyond the scientific laws. There is a particular "straw" the atheists are trying to hold on to, and that is that due to the cold he was mummified. Of course, if that is the case his body will eventually now dissolve. Thus it was decided to have his casket open and to let him be. Time will show. It is a surprising thing to some people who will read these notes, but this action (a very honest one by the monastery) made the atheists froth even more. Satan knows that this man is holy and that this is a miracle. And right at the point when he had prepared the Greek anti-Christian government with the minority of frothing Greek atheists, pseudo-scientists and idolaters who always seem to appear on the television channels, to help ease the new anti-Christian law of cremation, suddenly a miracle that reminds us how the uncreated grace of God can be imbued on to the body of holy men of virtue reminds us also that cremation is a God-despised act.
May these articles be in the memory of St. Anna and her Skete on Athos, where we often go to, and who has protected and helped us greatly during our life. Her Skete on Athos has a miraculous icon of hers holding Virgin Mary as a baby, and incorruptible remains that have stayed incorruptible for the past 2100 years now. Her icon, as many of you know well, is a great comfort to barren women too.
Even Moslem Turks come there and follow what the monastics tell them, and, if they have faith and good intentions, always according to what St. Anna is willing to give of course, through God's mysterious Will (we can only accept the gifts not enforce them through techniques), their wives become pregnant. One doctor we knew of became a fervent Orthodox again after realising that one of his patients who was barren beyond any doubt became pregnant after her husband went to Athos to pray for this at St. Anna's icon. And we have personally witnessed a great number of pious miraculous events and situations in the Holy Garden of Panagia, the Athos, events that we keep silently to ourselves, and simply thank the Mother of Panagia for her help and we wish for her blessings to be bestowed upon all the well-meaning readers of our website, that they may come close to the Orthodox Church where Christ reigns.
We will include additional information from the radio programme at a later stage, when notes are complete.
To be continued.

FOOTNOTES
tama = offering that has been promised when one first asks something from God that is later on granted. This offering can take many forms. Thus, many miraculous icons around the world (this one included) have various little golden watches, small pictures of the babies that were born healthy in a miraculous manner, and so forth around them, to indicate the symbolic offerings of various people, as part of their tama. At other times, people promise to give monetary help to the monastery or provide some other help. Other people provide something simple. Thus, when I was a young boy, my late grandfather, a holy man, had suddenly said one day that I and him will go to Athos together after I return with my bachelor's degree from a country abroad. My parents and other relatives were all mystified, when they heard this, because I was in fact ... one year's old at the time! And yet, the circumstances came such that my grandfather's prophetic words, that came out of his mouth without him knowing why, came true! And, indeed, he went to thank the Panagia with me, on Athos, fulfilling with a mere lampad as a tama a secret desire he had inside him (to see me graduate), through God's blessing who knew what he wanted to ask for, and even happen, before he asked for it! All these are examples of tamata, pious expressions of an offering, often also symbolic, and remind us of the one leper who returned to thank Christ. On some other occasions, pious people with great faith, who have been secretly notified they will be healed by God, apply a tama of their own thoughts there and then, even before they are healed, for their faith is great, and thus so is their trust in Christ. A touching example is a recent story in Cyprus we discussed last year on our Announcement List, when a former paralytic that had been informed in his dream by a Saint that he would be healed when he would go to a certain temple, crawled a large part of the distance, for he could not walk yet. The miracle did happen, but the example of his philotimo greatly warmed their hearts and made them glorify God for His wonders. Glory be to Him! Glory to His name!

READ THE ARTICLE ON http://patristic.eastern-orthodoxy.com/saydnaya.htm

SAINT PANTELEIMON

TODAY IS THE HOLY FEAST OS SAINT PANTELEIMON.

THE LIFE OF SAINT PANTELEIMON ON WIKIPEDIAShttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Pantaleon

THE LIFE OF RUSSELL...

Russell was the founder of the heresy of Jehovah's Witnesses...

Just read this:
''Russell,the founder of Jehovah's witnesses, used to call himself an apostle of God and the torchbearer of the World!!!(...)As for his virtue(...)he was a frustrated paterfamilias,defalcator,charlatan,libidinous,cheapskate...His personality...egoistic,beskerk,changefull and uneducated.

His wife divorced him because of adulterous intercourse(!!!).Russell stant convicted of confidence trick by Brooklyn Courthouse because he was selling a simple wheat as miraculous!(...)he manipulated men with psychological wounds and he persuaded them to give him their fortunes...!!!!''

Behold the founder of Watchtower.....

From the book of Mr. Demetrios Papanikolaou ''Christianity and heresies'' ''Hristianismos kai aireseis'' ''Χριστιανισμός και αιρέσεις''

WATCHTOWER AND FYR(OM)

Could you want to know how Watchtower loves Greece?

If yes...watch this:http://youtube.com/watch?v=0JsmUlStHtwif you dont speak Greek ignore the greek text and watch carefully...

Furthermore ''Military servise is compulsory in Greece'' Watchtower.

GRACIAS PANAMA!

The Ambassador of Panama in Greece announced today that his country,democracy of Panama,reviews its first decision to acknowledge FYROM as MACEDONIA and that Panama will accept only the name FYROM for this Balcan country!THANKS PANAMA

GRACIAS PANAMA!!!!

THREE JOKES ABOUT JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES!

With respect to other's beliefs.

1.The end of the times comes.The fairs came into the Heaven.

An Angel orientates a Christian Orthodox to the Heaven features.The happiness, the blessness,the good men are everywhere.

But,the Christian notes a strange enclose space.As the Angel shows him the beauty of the Heavens the Christian wonders silently what is this pound?

As the time passes the Christian has ''cought fire'' by his puzzlement.

Then he decides to speak to the Angel:''Sorry,Angel of the God, what is this ''pound''?
And the Angel replays:''Oh!Here are the Jehovah's witnesses!They believe that they are the unique persons to be in Heaven!

2.Which is the speech of a moribund ''Witness'' to a person who knows the Holy bible?

-I have a jod.See you later!

3.What a ''Witness'' waits to watch on cinema?

-''The End''

MACEDONIA IS GREECE.MACEDONIA IS HELLAS.

Strabo:''So,Macedonia is Greek too''(Estin men oun Ellas kai i Makedonia)(Έστιν μεν ουν Ελλάς και η Μακεδονία).

Watch this amazing video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBOQ8427FUk&feature=related

BY MACEDONIAisHELLAS

The answer to the propagandas of FYR(OM).The real name of FYROM is VARDARSKA.

Please take a look to this postage stamp that names FYROM as VARDARSKA!And then they adduce the ''History'' and they believe in their fictional ''genocide''by the Greeks...

MACEDONIA IS HELLAS.

A USEFUL LINK ABOUT ORTHODOXY AND CHRISTIANITY

This is a site of the holy Monastery of Lesvos of Zoodohos Pigi-Life-Giving Spring-with some useful answers about the Christian Dogmas.

English(Click ''in English'')
http://www.aegeantimes.gr/pigizois/index.htm

LOCALS FROM THE GREEK ISLAND LESVOS PROTESTS ABOUT THE NAME OF ''LESBIAN''(HOMOSEXUALITY)

Habitants of the Greek island Lesvos (Mitilini) protests about the name ''lesbian'' which is the main characterization of LGBT women.They are right!!!The name ''lesbian'' is the name of the citizens of Lesvos island.

The use of ''lesbian'' as the homosexual woman is just an urban legend that is based on the ancient Greek Writer Sappho.According to the false myth Sappho falls in love with her female students.But this is a lie. Sappho cherises very much her young students and because of that the Attics comedians ''misconceive'' this regand. And the myth is ''ready''.Actually Sappho suicided for the love of a man named Phaon!!!

This is the BBC report entitled ''Lesbos locals lose lesbian appeal'':

''Three residents of the Greek island of Lesbos have lost an attempt to ban the use of the word "lesbian" to describe gay women.
The residents argued that using the term in reference to gay women insulted their identity.
But an Athens court ruled there was no justification for their contention that they felt slighted, saying the word did not define the islanders' identity.
Greeks often refer to the island as Mytilene, after its capital.
"This is a good decision for lesbians everywhere," Vassilis Chirdaris, lawyer for the Gay and Lesbian Union of Greece, told Reuters news agency.
Court expenses
The island's name was applied to gay women in acknowledgement of the female poet Sappho, who wrote love poems about both women and men in about 600 BC.
The man spearheading the case, publisher Dimitris Lambrou, had claimed that international dominance of the word in its sexual context violated the human rights of the islanders - who call themselves Lesbians - and disgraces them around the world.
He argued it caused daily problems to the social life of Lesbos's inhabitants.
But the court disagreed, ordering the plaintiffs to pay court expenses of 230 euros ($366), although they could appeal against the decision''.

From B.B.C

Please watch the video on YouTube in English language named ''H ομοφυλοφιλία στην Αρχαία Ελλάδα Ο μύθος καταρρέει'' (Homosexuality in the ancient Greece The myth breaks down) here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHk9JoXoBMY&feature=related

THE HOLY AGIA SOFIA IN CONSTANTINOPLE TURNED INTO A BAZAAR BY TURKS!

The Holy Monument of Christianity Agia Sofia in Constanoupoli has turned into a bazaar by Turks.

Agia Sofia,the uppermost temple of the Byzantine art, has turned into bird's nest...

555 years after the fall of Constantinople (now named Instambul from gr.eis tin poli=in Poli) the Holy Temple of the Sappience of the God is still defilling by Muslims...

At First without respect they built minarets.

Then they turned the Orthodox Temple into a mosque.

Recently they mounted a fashion parade into Agia Sofia.

Now they organise an oriental bazaar.

REACT NOW!STOP THE AGIA SOFIA'S DEFILEMENT.

BEHOLD THE SCIENTOLOGY!

Scientology is a heresy which created by Lafeyet Ron Habart .Habart named himself as nuclear physisist but nobody knows if he realy has graduated from any university!

This heresy promises to the humanity that the ''basic science'' will reform the health,the mind,the bahavior,the strength and the power!

But the Scientology methods are inefectives and dangerous according to the real scientists.

Read this:
The each new adherant of Scientology has to pay for passing the every ''holy'' level of this heresy...
And...
Ron Habart has a cory right of the publish products of Scientology and he assert the account of 8-10% of each product price!


So before you affiliate to Scientology you have to know that Scientology is a commercial character heresy which aims to take money of its members and to keep away them from the path of JESUS.


From mr.Demetrios Papanikolaou book ''Christianism and Heresies''(Gr.Hristianismos kai aireseis-Χριστιανισμός και αιρέσεις)

THE BELIEFS OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES

What the Jehovah's witnesses wouldnt tell you while they are standing on your home's door.

1.That all the religions in the world belong to the devil and that your neibourghoods priest is under demon influence.

2.that the Watchtower is the unique source of Truth in the world and that all the religions will get destroyed by the Armagedon!

3.That the holy Cros of JESUS CHRIST is a pagan and sexual(!) symbol.

4.That only 144.000 Witnesses will go to the Heaven and that your soul will go to the hell in the case of refusal of Watchtower!

5.That Abraam,Isaac, Jacob and other biblical patriarchs came as ezcellent humans in 1925.

6. That Watchtower has as members blessed prophets and that the Angels are leading them!!!

7.That the Watchtower members will be in The Heavens by their good actions and by the conversion!

8.That the GOD is not everywhere bou he has all the Power!

9.That they have their own guns to rebel!

Watch on Youtube:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=vISWAgy_emg
http://youtube.com/watch?v=P8ji-L9aYcw
http://youtube.com/watch?v=CppijrqHSMU&feature=related

DONT MISS IT!

DONT MISS THE EXCELLENT BOOK OF MR.HARRY C. SKARLAKIDIS THE FORERUNNERS OF JESUS CHRIST APOLLO & THE SIBYLS.THE BOOK WILL BE SOON AVAILABLE IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE.

FEAST DAY OF PROPHET ELIJAH.THE PROPHET ELIJAH

20 of July Feast Day of Prophet Elias.

Saint Elias was born in the 9th century B.C when the king of Israel was Ahab.His father was Shovak.

Christians are calling him as the embodied angel.His name means my God is the Lord(according the 70')and he is a thaumatourge prophet.

Some of the greatests miracles of Saint Elias is the Ressurection of the son of Zarepthas widow,the Sacrifice Celestial Fire,the Burn of 100 Ahaziahs men e.t.c

He was the prophet who saw the God at Horeb mountain.He was the prophet who was Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ.AMEN