All Or None

Charles Taze Russell - Sporting a 'God-fearing' beard.

The Jehovah's Witnesses are famous for not accepting blood even if it means they, or their children, may die. They will tell you that there are alternatives and these are safer than accepting blood. They constantly use a verse from Leviticus to support this:

"Ye shall not eat any thing with the blood:" (KJV, Lev 19:26)

"YOU must eat nothing along with blood." (NWT, Lev 19:26)

But why do they selectively choose what laws stated in Leviticus are followed?

"Ye shall not round the corners of your heads, neither shalt thou mar the corners of thy beard." (KJV, Lev 19:27)

"YOU must not cut YOUR sidelocks short around, and you must not destroy the extremity of your beard." (NWT, Lev 19:27)

You, according to the book of Leviticus, are not meant to shave your sideburns (sidelocks) or trim you your beard. So why do so many Jehovah's Witnesses not have a beard?

"And if a woman have an issue, and her issue in her flesh be blood, she shall be put apart seven days: and whosoever toucheth her shall be unclean until the even." (KJV, Lev 15:19)

"And in case a woman is having a running discharge, and her running discharge in her flesh proves to be blood, she should continue seven days in her menstrual impurity, and anyone touching her will be unclean until the evening." (NWT, Lev 15:19)

Now the King James version does not actually mention the 'menstrual cycle' and some biblical scholars feel that it may be concerning leprosy. But the New World Translation specifically mentions 'menstrual impurity'. In theory this would suggest that all women of the Jehovah's Witnesses should hide themselves away for 7 days during their period.

It is all a case of picking and choosing which bits to follow. Check out some of their literature, including the 2013 revision of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, the Jehovah's Witnesses always point to a certain verse to read, which fits their doctrine, hoping nobody will think to read the surrounding verses.

So, next time a couple of Jehovah's Witnesses come knocking on the door, ask the man where his beard is, and ask the woman when she had her last menstrual cycle.

---

Note: I use quotes from both the King James and the New World Translation Bibles purely because I don't agree with how the NWT Bible has translated certain things and omitted other things. I'm not saying the KJV Bible is 100% perfect but it has stood the test of time.