Why don't non-νegetarian Јehovah's Witnesses have a problem with eating meat with blood?
Јewish people have very specific and elaborate procedures to remove as much of the blood as possible from the meat - but ЈWs do not follow such procedures.
Gen. 9:3, 4: “Every moving animal that is alive may serve as food for you. As in the case of green vegetation, I do give it all to you. Only flesh with its soul—its blood—you must not eat.”
Any animal used for food should be properly bled. One that is strangled or that dies in a trap or that is found after it has died is not suitable for food. (Acts 15:19, 20; compare Leviticus 17:13-16.) Similarly, any food to which whole blood or even some blood fraction has been added should not be eaten.
Is it possible to remove every possible drop of blood from properly killed animals prior to eating? No. So, what is reasonable from God's standpoint?
Deuteronomy 12:16, 16 provides the answer.
“Only whenever your soul craves it you may slaughter,+ and you must eat meat according to the blessing of Jehovah your God that he has given you, inside all your gates.* The unclean+ one and the clean one may eat it, like the gazelle and like the stag.+ 16 Only the blood YOU must not eat.+ On the earth you should pour it out as water."
This was the LAW for Jews. Does a person have to go to extremes to be compliant with this law? Just follow the law and pour out the blood. How about the Christian congregation? Same law.
Acts 15:20
"....abstain* from things polluted by idols+ and from fornication*+ and from what is strangled*+ and from blood."
How big a part should our conscience play? Two verses come to mind
1 Corinthians 10:25 "25 Everything that is sold in a meat market keep eating,+ making no inquiry on account of YOUR conscience;" In fact read the rest of this chapter.
Now go back and read 1 Corinthians the eighth chapter about conscience. Christians do not want to be a source of stumbling to anyone, thus the emphasis on conscience.
Bottom line. Being faithful to God comes first and is our primary concern. And showing love to our fellow man, even if that seems to restrict us from what is good in God's eyes. Balance.
Since no JW wants to explain, I'll have a go at helping. It depends on ones interpretation of the not taking blood. It seems to come down to transfusion for JW's. I would interpret it as meaning we must not take the life sustaining blood from living things.(In a blood transfusion, one is 'giving' and the other is 'receiving' which is not the same as 'taking'). There is something in the NT saying we should not fuss over whether a man eats only vegetables, perhaps that is why they allow the eating of meat?
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Gen. 9:3, 4: “Every moving animal that is alive may serve as food for you. As in the case of green vegetation, I do give it all to you. Only flesh with its soul—its blood—you must not eat.”
Any animal used for food should be properly bled. One that is strangled or that dies in a trap or that is found after it has died is not suitable for food. (Acts 15:19, 20; compare Leviticus 17:13-16.) Similarly, any food to which whole blood or even some blood fraction has been added should not be eaten.
Is it possible to remove every possible drop of blood from properly killed animals prior to eating? No. So, what is reasonable from God's standpoint?
Deuteronomy 12:16, 16 provides the answer.
“Only whenever your soul craves it you may slaughter,+ and you must eat meat according to the blessing of Jehovah your God that he has given you, inside all your gates.* The unclean+ one and the clean one may eat it, like the gazelle and like the stag.+ 16 Only the blood YOU must not eat.+ On the earth you should pour it out as water."
This was the LAW for Jews. Does a person have to go to extremes to be compliant with this law? Just follow the law and pour out the blood. How about the Christian congregation? Same law.
Acts 15:20
"....abstain* from things polluted by idols+ and from fornication*+ and from what is strangled*+ and from blood."
How big a part should our conscience play? Two verses come to mind
1 Corinthians 10:25 "25 Everything that is sold in a meat market keep eating,+ making no inquiry on account of YOUR conscience;" In fact read the rest of this chapter.
Now go back and read 1 Corinthians the eighth chapter about conscience. Christians do not want to be a source of stumbling to anyone, thus the emphasis on conscience.
Bottom line. Being faithful to God comes first and is our primary concern. And showing love to our fellow man, even if that seems to restrict us from what is good in God's eyes. Balance.
Since no JW wants to explain, I'll have a go at helping. It depends on ones interpretation of the not taking blood. It seems to come down to transfusion for JW's. I would interpret it as meaning we must not take the life sustaining blood from living things.(In a blood transfusion, one is 'giving' and the other is 'receiving' which is not the same as 'taking'). There is something in the NT saying we should not fuss over whether a man eats only vegetables, perhaps that is why they allow the eating of meat?