General Chat

Yes Maz, that is exactly it! Btw, can I point out that I am speaking purely from my own experience, and am by no means an expert lol. Liz x

Hi Brenda, you are entitled to your beliefs of course, but I think you have been misinformed on this issue. From what Liz says there is no substitute for severe blood loss, ie from an accident, stabbing, bomb blast etc. Have a good evening. Maz. XX

Thanks Liz, good to see there are some ways to cope if blood itself cannot be used. It seems from what you say though that they are only usable if blood loss can be controlled. Maz. XX

I am sorry Brends, I disagree. Blood is a scarce and costly resource - the medical staff would far rather get a unit of colloid from a cupboard to replace blood loss, far easier and cheaper. But in a lot of cases only blood will do, IF it is available, which it frequently isn't. Liz

Purely on the use of blood subtitutes in surgery - speaking as a Nurse who until recently worked for many years in a busy Multiple Injuries Unit, there are 2 types of blood substitutes which can be used to repalce blood loss to a certain degree, but neither can replace the use of blood entirely. Volume expanders do just that - they replace blood volume without any of the constituents of blood, but are very useful in the short term. If the body continues to lose blood, the volume expander will eventually dilute the oxygen carrying ability of the blood to such an extent, the cells will start to die. Oxygen therapeutics mimic the oxygen carrying capacity of the blood, but again their use is limited as the blood has many more functions than just carrying oxygen. I hope this helps, Liz :-)

My Father in law's life was saved by having a blood transfusion 40 years ago, he had a burst ulcer, and it was touch and go. Had he not of had that transfusion, that would be 40 years we wouldn't of had him. Nobody died by giving him there blood, no side effects, just my lovely Father in Law, fit and healthy for 40 extra years, GIVE BLOOD Lynda

Brenda,I respect your beliefs,but I could not stand by and see a child die if I knew there was a way of saving that childs life, If that offends God then so be it! But I honestly dont think it would.to me it would be against God to allow the child to die. The Bible has many things in it that to be honest Conflict,thats where each persons Interpretation comes In. With respect Roxanne

Hi Brenda, no falling out intended, just stating my own strongly held opinion. I would be interested to know what the substitutes are that you mention, for someone who has lost a lot of blood in an accident. I find these sort of medical advances totally inspiring - such as those working on the Genome project to try and beat terrible diseases and those working to find prevention and cure for cancer. The bible, like ANY book (fact or fiction, written by one person and read by numerous others) can be interpreted in many different ways, or can be taken completely at face value. We are all different (or it would be a very boring world!) so we will all see things differently and have to decide for ourselves what we do or don't believe. Maz. XX

Maz,My feelings too.

Sorry Brenda, but I disagree with your take on blood transfusion. It's all very well to do an operation without losing blood - using the tool you mention, sounds brilliant - but what about someone who loses a lot of blood in an accident - or for instance the victims of the London bombings? I cannot see that God would provide the means to save a life (ie the knowledge and skills) and then not expect us to use it. Can you honestly say that you would let your child die rather than allow a life-saving blood transfusion? I could not even consider it and I'm afraid I cannot understand how anyone can. It runs contrary to everything I feel Jesus' teachings represent. Maz. XX

Brenda,I had visits from them often and we had some good debates,but thet still said I was wrong and misinformed in my beliefs. i asked about blood transfusions, organ donations e.t.c, and why if it was wrong then why did God give certain people the ability to do these operations,because I believe all talents come from a higher authority. My real point is that even in Christianity there are so many branches off, not all christians believe the same each Interprets the Bible In a different way, and thats fine In my opinion, everyone Is different and I dont think God would mind that as long as the basics are the same, we all teach ' love thy neighbour,as yourself' E.t.C.

i strongly feel my son in gods heavenly garden God has a lovely garden In his mansion up above He tends the garden every day With tenderness and love The flowers that are in it Are the sweetest and the best To get into god garden They have to pass a test He goes around them every day Treating them with care You're really very lucky you have a flower there And when you reach that garden You'll look at it with pride Knowing god, He'll probably put you At your loved ones side on his head stone it say 'a little flower in heavens garden' Carolinexxxxx

I think that as long someone who remembers us is still alive then we are not dead brenda

I remember having a conversation with some Jehovahs witnesses, They came to my house and I invited them in, they were nice people and obviously very sure of their faith,but I have to say would not listen to my beliefs,I found this rather rude to be honest. They told me that only the righteous would be reborn, I still wonder what the mean,I have an idea and I dont think it would include me because of my beliefs, they couldent answer some of the questions I asked them instead the would go round it!lol I have no problem with others faiths,its a very personal thing,I just find it Ignorant if people think theirs is the only path to god, Its not!!

At least there is still 'free will' - I do not want to be 'perfect'. Why did God tempt Adam in the first place?

Is the devil a wicked spirit or a quality of evil inside all of us.? Jesus the son of God was tempted by the devil in the wilderness .As Gods son he knew no evil. Is Hell hot? The misunderstanding about Hell can be attributed to a place in the bible called Gehenna. . Gehenna was the rubbish dump outside Jerusalems walls where rubbish,carcasses of animals and those thought by the Jews to be unfit for burial such as murderers were thrown there. The fire was kept burning by adding sulphur and anything on the edge of the fire was consumed by maggots. When Jesus spoke of the fiery Gehenna he was talking about total destruction with no hope of a resurrection. Why would a God of love torment people for ever and ever in a fiery Hell its unthinkable and does God an injustice. As for life after we die . There is going to be a resurrection of the righteous and unrighteous. Many unrighteous people havnt had an opportunity to learn about God. We are told in Revelation there is to be a thousand year reign of Christ during which time those brought back from the dead will be taught Gods righteous standards. They will be judged not on past deeds but on what they do after they are made perfect.At present we sin because we inherited this from Adam just as a mold with a defect cannot produce a perfect pot we are dented so to speak. It will reflect their true heart condition whether they want to serve a loving Creator or not in a perfect state. There will be some who will not get a resurrection but only God knows who they are as he can read hearts.. Wouldnt it be lovely to have the earth restored to Paradise as it was in the beginning before Adam and Eve lost it for us. Margaret

Think I said it on here before Margaret St Peters Rome, oozes gold and treasures, and as beautiful as it is, I found it obscene, so much wealth in one place, and for what purpose? Lynda

'The Devil' is an invention of the church, to scare the wits out of ignoramuses to bring them into line. There is such a thing as evil. I have met up with it. Is the likes of Osama bin Laden more evil than the RC church as personified by the Spanish Inquisition ? Len

Ah, here's the thread I was looking for, Thanks Lynda! I agree with Len. I am sure there are other 'beings' on other planets and that God won't banish them and only look after the human race. Why should we be superior? I feel sorry for people like William in Gateshead who think they are not worthy. We humans are not perfect beings and God accepts us the way we are. He knows what brought us to think, do or say the 'wrong' thing sometimes. As regards the Devil - I'm not sure. As a child, we learned about the Devil tempting us, in catechism class. I rather think as some have already said, that we all have the devil in us and it is up to us to 'chase' him from our minds and do what we believe is the right thing. I do find reconciliation and peacefulness whenever I am in a church. On the other hand, it does revolt me to see such riches in some churches when there's such poverty in the world outside. I know that certain people/nations give the Vatican extremely valuable presents, but I don't know why the Vatican cannot be in a position to 'broadcast' that they are not in a position to accept such wealthy gifts. I'm sure Jesus' robes and ustensils (chalice, etc) were very modest comodities, so why on earth does the Church continue using golden objects, vestments, statues and why do they continue to build such luxurious churches when there is such poverty in the world? There now, there's a few more things I wanted to get off my chest. Thanks for listening. Thanks again for this very interesting forum, Lynda. Take care everybody. Margaret

Not sure I believe in evil - I don't think I believe that anyone is born evil but that people are affected by different things differently and some people are less able to help themselves against their demons or are less balanced than others. I definitely don't believe in the Devil but see it more like Roxanne does (again lol) - like the temptation within us. I suppose religions are like cults but I tend to think of cults as organisations(?) where free thinking isn't encouraged. I realise that could apply to a lot of religions but the Protestant religion was founded by people who wanted to think for themselves and to be able to read the Bible in their native tongue etc.