| Jehovah is the Source of life. All living things owe their life to God. (Psalm 36:9) Life is sacred to God. Even the life of an unborn child inside its mother is precious to Jehovah. To kill such a developing baby on purpose is wrong in God's eyes. (Exodus 21:22, 23; Psalm 127:3) |
Psalm 36:9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. Exodus 21:22, 23 "If men who are fighting hit a pregnant woman and she gives birth prematurely but there is no serious injury, the offender must be fined whatever the woman's husband demands and the court allows. But if there is serious injury, you are to take life for life..." Psalm 127:3 Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. |
Jehovah is the Source of life. The scripture does not state this. A more appropriate quotation may be the first few chapters of Genesis for the creation story. |
| True Christians are safety conscious. They make sure that their cars and their homes are safe. (Deuteronomy 22:8) God's servants do not take unnecessary risks with their lives just for pleasure or excitement. So they do not share in violent sports that deliberately hurt other people. They avoid entertainment that encourages violence. (Psalm 11:5; John 13:35) |
Deuteronomy 22:8 When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof. Psalm 11:5 The LORD examines the righteous, but the wicked and those who love violence his soul hates. John 13:35 "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." |
How do Christians show that they are safety conscious? Who are we showing? For what purpose? Is this another rule for the sake of showing other people how good we are? God’s servants do not take unnecessary risks with their lives just for pleasure or excitement. Again, this is not supported with the scripture. The scripture says to avoid violence and to love each other, but does not speak to risks, pleasure or excitement. While I agree that God wants us to respect all life (including our own), I think there are times when He calls us to take risks by doing things that are dangerous for the sake of fulfilling a task for Him. The discernment between "unnecessary" risks and "necessary" risks is not taught here, however. A more appropriate way to approach this topic may be from the angle of expressing how God loves all life and our efforts should be aimed at caring for and tending life. |
| Animal life is also sacred to the Creator. A Christian may kill animals to provide food and clothing or to protect himself from sickness and danger. (Genesis 3:21; 9:3; Exodus 21:28) But it is wrong to mistreat animals or to kill them just for sport or pleasure. (Proverbs 12:10) |
Genesis 3:21; 9:3 The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. ... Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. Exodus 21:28 "If a bull gores a man or a woman to death, the bull must be stoned to death, and its meat must not be eaten. But the owner of the bull will not be held responsible." Proverbs 12:10 A righteous man cares for the needs of his animal, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel. |
...it is wrong to mistreat animals or to kill them just for sport or pleasure. Another assertion without basis in the scripture reference. The scripture does not say what sorts of acts are cruel, only that a righteous man will care correctly and a wicked man will care incorrectly. The point is that a righteous man will know what ought to be done - this knowledge comes from his "righteousness" (his "rightness with God"). This brings me to a major point about this lesson (as well as the previous 4 lessons or so): Instead of listing rules the way the Old Testament did or the way some religions and denominations currently do, we should be focusing on making our relationship with God right. If we are right with God - if we know Him personally and love Him with reckless abandon so that we are completely open to His will (whatever it may be at the moment), our behavior will follow up with good works and deeds. The more we know God, the more aware we are of what He cares about and what He wants us to do. If we really love God and seek to follow in His footsteps, we will be cautious with people’s lives and kind to animals. On the other hand, lists of rules do not bring us closer to God. Anyone can follow a list of rules. Love for God brings about good works, but good works do not bring about love for God. |
| Smoking, chewing betel nut, and taking drugs for pleasure are not for Christians. These practices are wrong because (1) they make us their slaves, (2) they harm our bodies, and (3) they are unclean. (Romans 6:19; 12:1; 2 Corinthians 7:1) It can be very hard to give up these habits. But we must do so to please Jehovah. |
Romans 6:19; 12:1 I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. ... Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. |
What are some practices that do not show respect for life? I’m glad that this question pivots on the word some, since the answer is so, so, so short and understated. I think, however, the answer should be more clear on the point that these are only examples of behaviors that are "unclean" or "harmful". Smoking, chewing betel nut, and taking drugs for pleasure... Someone could easily point out that this is not scripturally supported. Of course, I would guess that the reason for this is that such practices had not been invented at the time of the writing of the scripture. What the scripture does say, on the other hand, is to not offer parts of your body in slavery to impurity. Perhaps discourse on the term "impurity" may be more enlightening here - this is any behavior that either harms (or sickens or weakens) our bodies or uses our bodies for impure actions (such as sexual misconduct). The point is to think of our bodies as God’s temple or a worthy sacrifice. Worthy sacrifices are those that are most cared for and most loved - like Abel’s sacrifice of the choicest lambs as opposed to Cain’s thoughtless sacrifice of whatever he found on hand. But we must do so to please Jehovah. Again, the emphasis is on pleasing God - something we cannot do on our own. I think the better emphasis is the one in 2 Corinthians: out of reverence for God. We treat our bodies well not because we think we can make them good enough for God, but because God wants us to treat them well. |
| Blood is also sacred in God's eyes. God says that the soul, or life, is in the blood. So it is wrong to eat blood. It is also wrong to eat the meat of an animal that has not been properly bled. If an animal is strangled or dies in a trap, it should not be eaten. If it is speared or shot, it must be bled quickly if it is to be eaten. (Genesis 9:3, 4; Leviticus 17:13, 14; Acts 15:28, 29) |
Genesis 9:3, 4 Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything. But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it. Leviticus 17:13, 14 "'Any Israelite or any alien living among you who hunts any animal or bird that may be eaten must drain out the blood and cover it with earth, because the life of every creature is its blood. That is why I have said to the Israelites, "You must not eat the blood of any creature, because the life of every creature is its blood; anyone who eats it must be cut off."’" Acts 15:28, 29 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. Farewell. |
God says that the soul, or life, is in the blood. The soul is not the same as life. The term life is associated with blood because a creature whose blood is still flowing is still alive. A creature drained of blood is physically dead. There is no reference to the soul in any of these passages, though. If an animal ... dies in a trap, it should not be eaten. Where is this stated in the scripture? ...it must be bled quickly if it is to be eaten. Again, this is not mentioned in the presented scripture references. |
| Is it wrong to accept a blood transfusion? Remember, Jehovah requires that we abstain from blood. This means that we must not take into our bodies in any way at all other people's blood or even our own blood that has been stored. (Acts 21:25) So true Christians will not accept a blood transfusion. They will accept other kinds of medical treatment, such as transfusion of nonblood products. They want to live, but they will not try to save their life by breaking God's laws. (Matthew 16:25) |
Acts 21:25 "As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality." Matthew 16:25 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. |
Remember, Jehovah requires that we abstain from blood. What scripture reference states that we should abstain from anything other than eating and drinking blood? Wasn’t blood used on the doorframes of the Israelites to cause the Angel of Death to pass by (Exodus 12:22-23)? Doesn’t the Bible state that the blood of Jesus washes us (Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24, Luke 22:20, John 6:53-56, Acts 20:28, Romans 3:25, Romans 5:9, 1 Corinthians 10:16, Ephesians 1:7,Ephesians 2:13, Colossians 1:20, Hebrews 9:11-14, Hebrews 9:18, Hebrews 9:22, Hebrews 10:19, I could go on, but there are just so many references...)? For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. Perhaps the Jehovah’s Witnesses take this to mean the physical loss of life - in fact, if they believe that the soul is equivalent to life and life is equivalent to blood, then this passage would certainly mean that we should lose our blood. However, how does losing our blood save our life, then? Also, when it is stated, "Whoever loses his life for me," how does dying by refusal of a blood transfusion equal dying for God? If we really honor life and respect our bodies the way we are commanded, won’t we try to save our lives when there is an opportunity to do so? |
