Afrol News - Believers Detained in Eritrea
June 19, 2008 | Filed Under Recommended Reading | Leave a Comment
Well, Eritrea is certainly one country I wouldn’t want to visit! Many of my brothers there are suffering terribly. Here is a recent news report from afrol News:
A US government report on “International Religious Freedom” reflects that citizens generally were tolerant of one another in the practice of their religion, with the exception of societal attitudes toward Jehovah’s Witnesses and Pentecostal groups. The government requires citizens to perform national service in the military or face incarceration, but it had no programmes for alternative national service that would permit Jehovah’s Witnesses and others whose faith precludes military service to satisfy the requirement. Some individuals who viewed failure to perform military service as a sign of disloyalty encouraged harassment of these religious groups and therefore reported their activities to the government.
Older articles on Afrol news include:
Torture fears for Eritrean Jehovah’s Witnesses
Amnesty says it has information that three Jehovah’s Witnesses “have been detained incommunicado in Sawa military training centre in western Eritrea since 1994, without charge or trial, for refusing to bear arms.”
Eritrea dismisses US report on religious freedom
Some Jehovah’s Witnesses members were said by the US report to have been detained for more than eight years, although the maximum penalty for refusing to perform national service is three years. Further, members had been evicted from government-owned housing and denied passports, identity cards and exit visas, according to the US report.
Your Body, Your Choice
February 13, 2008 | Filed Under Recommended Reading | Leave a Comment
Around the globe, Jehovah’s Witnesses are recognised for their stand on blood. That is, they refuse to eat blood, to drink blood and to have blood pumped into their bodies. In recognition of their Creator’s authority and His commands given in the Holy Scriptures, they “abstain from blood.”
Whilst many of the general public assume that this is a naive decision on the part of Jehovah’s Witnesses, what they don’t realize is that modern medical practice is beginning to harmonize with the wisdom in God’s Word. Hardly a surprise, but interesting none the less!
As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses myself, I like to assure those who ask me that my decision is a sound one. I make it not because of medical reasons, but because of my firm faith in the saving power of blood. But that discussion is for another time and place. I also feel it is important to be well informed regarding my choice as far as medical matters are concerned. In recent years it has become clear that there is more to my decision than simply saying “no blood.”
It saddens me greatly when people cruelly say that I would rather watch my children die than give them blood. I want the very best medical care for myself, my children and everyone. I wonder whether people who say such things are really aware of the rapidly expanding field of bloodless medicine and surgery.
Therefore, I highly recommend the following title:
Your Body, Your Choice - The Layman’s Guide to Bloodless Medicine and Surgery
- Shannon Farmer and David Webb
This book gives an excellent but fairly brief history of the use of blood in medicine. Then it shows you clearly what blood is, how it works, why it is so vital and what blood is actually made up of. Also detailed are a whole host of facts, figures, statistics and case studies showing the dangers of using blood and how advantageous bloodless medicine and surgery has been, is and will yet be. Really, this book highlights so well that bloodless medicine and surgery is not an “alternative” but rather an informed choice. And when it comes to medical treatment the title is true, it is your body, your choice. Make it well!
Crucible of Terror - A Story of Survival Through the Nazi Storm
June 4, 2007 | Filed Under Recommended Reading | 1 Comment
Max Liebster’s Autobiography “Crucible of Terror” is essential reading. Max was a Jew who survived the horrors of the Nazi holocaust and was deeply moved and impressed by one particular group of people - the Bibelforscher; the Bible Students who wore the Purple Triangle. As one of Jehovah’s Witnesses my heart swells when reading this account, with joy and pride at how my brothers were united by faith and supported by Jehovah, but my heart also breaks when reading of all the terrible things they and many other innocent ones had to endure. What is it that marked those Bibelforscher as so different? Read Liebster’s account to find out. I have pasted here the excerpt found on the official website.
Three years had elapsed since “Crystal Night.” I stood stripped of my rights and my dignity, exposed to the whim of the “Master Race.” On the main gate of Sachsenhausen, one could read the mocking words forged in iron, “ARBEIT MACHT FREI” (work makes you free). Other young Jews had also been summoned on this cold November day. An SS officer told us that we had been chosen to go to a work camp called Neuengamme. Read more
