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About Ben Erdman
Expertise
I will attempt to answer any questions that have to do with major Jehovah’s Witness doctrine. I will also try to give an accurate and honest explanation from the "Truth" (the Word of God). I am not a Jehovah’s Witness. I was never baptized. I am a "witness" for Christ. I love talking about God and the piercing Word that He has provided for us. If I don't know the answer to a question I will be more than happy to research it and get an answer. So, let’s talk.

Experience
I have grown up in the religion known as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Nearly all of my family (immediate and extended) are Jehovah’s Witnesses. I have been to probably hundreds of meetings, several assemblies and have had many in-depth bible studies with Witnesses. I love these people and admire their great zeal to do what they believe is truth. I have done extensive research into this area. I have a great passion in Jehovah’s Witness doctrine and beliefs.

Education/Credentials
I do not have any particular educational credentials that affect this field. I believe that I have been very educated in this field of Jehovah’s Witness doctrine by my own experience and extensive studies. I also believe in my heart that the Spirit of God has educated me in this area and will continue to do so.

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Jehovah`s Witness - Healthcare

Expert: Ben Erdman - 11/1/2009

Question
Hi, I am a RN working on my Bachelor's degree. We were recently assigned a cultural encounter presentation. I have chosen to do my presentation on the Jehovah's Witness religion. My question is, are there any major traditions that have an impact on health care practices? For example, factors related to time/space, communication, nutrition, relationships, health beliefs, or environmental control factors. Any assistance with this would be greatly appreciated.

Answer
Hello Cristy and thanks for the question.

There is one major belief of a Jehovah's Witness that will most certainly affect an encounter with one if you were a nurse or doctor treating one. A Jehovah's Witness is taught to abstain completely from blood transfusions. Even if it is a life or death situation, they would rather hold to their convictions of what they believe God commands of them, even though it is not biblical, rather than accept the transfusion and live. They are very convicted or should I say "brainwashed" into thinking that receiving a transfusion could cost them eternal life. There has been many many cases of JW's dying because they refused a blood transfusion. And yes, there have been cases of children dying because the parents will not allow their child to receive a blood transfusion. You can probably google this and you will see an abundance of occurrences of this.

I must tell you that in every case, they will, correctly, ask for an alternative. If you would like to learn about these alternates I would like to refer you to Brenda Martin on this site for a whole list of these alternatives. She is a volunteer on this forum. She is a JW who has looked into this sort of thing extensively.

That being said. The only other thing I would like to make mention is that by personal experience with family members who are JW's, they try to avoid medications. I know that this is not the case with all JW's but with some it is. They try to keep good health by diet and natural supplements.

Other than that, this is not really an area that I could give you very much detail in. Therefore, I would like to recommend Robert Jones to you. He is a volunteer on this site who was in the organization for over 30 yrs and I trust that he can answer all of your questions and be a great help to you.

Other than that, if you have any further questions, please let me know and I will do my best to help you. If you ever have ANY questions for yourself, your own spirituality or religious questions, I would be honored to give you some insights that could benefit you greatly.

Thanks again and God bless,
Ben

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