African Pastor preaches 'Jesus had HIV'

posted: 26/08/2010

A pastor led 100 in his congregation to take HIV tests and preached a sermon called "Jesus was HIV-positive," in an attempt to break the conspiracy of silence by the South African church.     
 

Xola Skosana said that HIV is stigmatised as evil and a sin in the country that has the world's largest number of people with HIV. Pastor Skosana, 43, took a HIV test in front of his congregation last Sunday at the non-denominational Way of Life church in Khayelitsha, Cape Town. The test was also taken by 100 young people from the township.
 

The pastor said he chose the title "Jesus was HIV-positive" for his sermon to draw attention to "a very serious issue". “In many parts of the Bible, God put himself in the position of the destitute, the sick, the marginalised," he said. "When we attend to those who are sick, we are attending to Him. When we ignore people who are sick, we are ignoring Him."
 

Jesus’s words
Skosana cited a passage in the Bible where Jesus says: "I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me." But he has had a hostile reaction in some quarters.
"The scathing attacks I've received from Christians are unbelievable," he said. "They're saying you can't reconcile Jesus and AIDS. They assume it means Jesus was promiscuous and had a louche lifestyle with many sexual partners."
 

Skosana has two sisters died from HIV. One died last month at the age of 44. The other died in 2003 in her early 20s.
 

South African church condemned
He condemned the national church for failing to tackle the issue when nearly 1,000 people are dying from HIV-related causes every day. The South African government had been accused of AIDS "denialism" but has more recently been praised for its prevention and treatment programmes.
"It baffles me why in the church this is the most untalked-about subject," Skosana said. "If I went to church and never heard the pastor talk about this, I would assume I must go home and die in silence. The message is that it's an unpardonable sin and we must just forget about HIV/AIDS.
 

God cares
"My responsibility as a pastor is to open a Bible and paint a picture of a God who cares for people and wants the best for them, not who judges them and is ashamed of them."
He called on other churches to be more open about the subject. "I hope this will change the paradigm, especially in the Pentecostal background. I come from the Pentecostal background and I know this discussion is totally alien there."
 

HIV information and advice
Skosana will not disclose the result of his public HIV test in case it puts pressure on the churchgoers who followed his example. They had heard him explain the virus, possible treatments and the importance of knowing their status and were given professional counselling.
 

Praise for example
Skosana's stance was praised by South Africa's National AIDS Council. Mark Heywood, its deputy chairperson, said: "I applaud his actions. It's very important that church leaders set an example, destigmatising HIV and encouraging testing so people know their status. There are many churches that have done a lot to combat HIV. The problem is that the church as a whole has not been vocal enough. It's often been left to individual church leaders and organisations. We would like to hear a clearer message."
 

Source
YouTube

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Pastors guide to HIV ministry
Other Religions and HIV guides in our Information Bank 
 

Fitter with Outdoor Lads

posted: 24/05/2010

Fancy doing something different with other gay and bi lads away from the normal gay scene? OutdoorLads brings together guys of all ages doing just that. They run exciting events right across the UK for a growing community of over 13,000 guys like you. Guys living with HIV are already part of OutdoorLads.
 

Exciting and new horizons

OutdoorLads run exciting events right across the UK for a growing community of over 13,000 guys like you. Members are doing fantastic new sports, meeting varied new people, learning useful new skills and visiting stunning new places close to home and further afield. They are challenging their own and other peoples' beliefs about what gay men can achieve, pushing themselves to go further and higher than they thought they could possibly go, becoming physically and mentally stronger, as well as making new mates for life and having a lot of fun along the way.

OutdoorLads run regular events including hiking, weekends away, caving, camping, climbing, kayaking, mountain biking and much, much more, with over 350 events in the North-West of England every year - almost all being suitable for beginners!
 

4 - 6 June - Try Out at the Introduction Weekend

Interested, but not sure where to start? Check out their National Introduction Weekend on 4 to 6 June when they will have a whole host of day activities aimed directly at guys who've never been on one of our events before. To join for free and to find out more please visit OutdoorLads
 

Wanted - Positive Youth Camp Leaders

posted: 23/04/2010

Are you HIV+? Are you aged 18 - 24 on August 23 2010? Want to help run the first ever UK summer camp for HIV+ young people?

CHIVA (Childrens HIV Association) is recruiting fifteen Camp Leaders to help run the first ever CHIVA Summer Camp for HIV+ children and young people, in the last week of August 2010.

Along with staff and volunteers, Camp Leaders will help to run the Summer Camp. They will offer support to participants, organise events and activities and keep the camp running smoothly.

Training and Expenses Included
All Camp Leaders will need to attend a four day training session from Thursday 10th - Monday 14th June 2010. Alongside fun activities, Camp Leaders will receive accredited training from Youthforce on the 'Essentials of working with young people'. All expenses will be paid.

Over 25? - volunteer instead
If you are HIV+ and aged 25 or over in late August, consider becoming a CHIVA camp volunteer instead. Visit the Summer Camp webpage and download volunteering details and an application form - righthand column of web page.

Becoming a Camp Leader - apply before 30 April
For more information download the information pack and application form. The application form must be completed and returned by 5pm April 30 2010.

If you know or work with HIV+ young people please print off the advert about becoming a Camp Leader and pass this on to them.

If you would like any more information about being a Camp Leader please email Tom Burke.
 

Election gay HIV ‘risk’

posted: 22/04/2010

David Cameron was urged by the Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, to sack one of his Conservative frontbench team, for claiming that the age of consent for gay / bisexual males should not have been lowered to 16, because it put teenage youth at "serious physical risk" and in danger of catching HIV.
 

Julian Lewis, the shadow minister for Defence, and Conservative parliamentary candidate for the Hampshire seat of New Forest East, wrote to a constituent last week saying he had been "very strongly against" lowering the age of consent for gays from 18 to 16 because of the "seriously increased risk of HIV". He appeared to compare it with the decision to prevent service personnel aged under 18 from fighting on frontlines. Last night, Dr Lewis repeated this, telling The Independent that anyone aged 16 to 18 who had unprotected gay sex was "at risk, and potentially at risk of their lives".
 

George House Trust comment

George House Trust is mystified about what he means by ‘seriously increased risk of HIV.’ Risky sex is risky sex whatever your age. Being 16 or 17 doesn’t make the risk of infection any better or worse. Going back to criminalising 16 and 17 year old gay youth for having a sexual life would probably worsen their risks of HIV infection. Importantly, the age of consent is all about the equality and human rights of his young gay constituents, rights he appears to ignore. And does he really mean to suggest that unprotected gay sex is equivalent to fighting in Afghanistan?
 

‘I’m no expert’ admission
Challenged about his views on the dangers of homosexual sex, he said: "I do not hold myself up as any kind of expert in this and I am willing to be shown I'm wrong if I am wrong, but I honestly don't think I am wrong." George House Trust suggests that when you don't know it makes sense to ask before mouthing off nonsense that reinforces HIV stigma and homophobia.

Conservative gay disarray
His outspoken views have reopened debate about the Conservative party's stance on gay and lesbian rights. Two weeks ago, the shadow Home Secretary, Chris Grayling, suggested that owners of bed-and-breakfast hotels should have the right to turn away gay couples.
 

Seriously increased risk 
The age of consent for gay men was lowered from 18 to 16 in 2000. Dr Lewis wrote last week: "There is a seriously increased risk of HIV infection from male homosexual activity. When it comes to legalising practices that involve serious risk, I believe the higher limit should apply. This is the reason we no longer allow 16- and 17-year-olds into frontline situations in the armed forces, for example."
Dr Lewis, 58, has a history of voting against legal equality for gay people. He opposed adoptions by gay couples and the repeal of Section 28 – a law enacted by Margaret Thatcher's Tory government in 1988 to prevent schools from "promoting" homosexuality.
 

Defending his comments last night, Dr Lewis said he would have supported keeping the age of consent for gay men at 18. He said he had not intended to make the "preposterous suggestion" that gay sex was as dangerous as fighting on the frontline. However, he went on to say that engaging in unprotected gay sex put teenagers "at risk, and potentially at risk of their lives". Dr Lewis added: "It is nevertheless true that someone is just as much dead if they are among one of the much smaller percentage of people who would be unfortunate enough to contract a deadly disease through a form of sexual activity as they are if they are in the frontline and they find themselves being injured or killed."
 

Sacking Call

The Home Secretary, Alan Johnson, urged the Conservative leader to sack Dr Lewis from his shadow cabinet. He said: "[Mr Cameron has] been seeking the votes of gay people ... but [his] frontbench team includes people who are against any notion of homosexual equality. [He needs] to show some leadership and sack Mr Lewis."
 

Last night, the Conservative leadership distanced itself from Dr Lewis' remarks, but allowed him to keep his job as shadow defence minister. " These are Dr Lewis' long held and personal views," a spokesman said. "They are not the view of the Conservative Party and the terms in which he expressed them is wrong. Under this Labour government we have seen a massive increase in HIV infections and STDs across all the population – straight and gay."

Source The Independent

Source Pink News

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More details in PinkNews

The letter, which Dr Lewis' office faxed to PinkNews said:

"I was very strongly against lowering the age of consent from 18 to 16. My reasoning was that there is a seriously increased risk of HIV infection arising from male homosexual activity. When it comes to legalising practices that involve serious risk, I believe the higher limit should apply. This is the reason we no longer allow 16 and 17-year-old into front-line situations in the Armed Forces, for example."

HIV Transmission – All the Facts

posted: 14/04/2010

Clear, full, accurate information about HIV transmission can be hard to find. Even recent ‘official’ sources may mislead. For example, one NW England council’s HIV guide for schools suggests HIV transmission could happen at school.

While almost anything could happen at any school, HIV transmission is exceptionally unlikely, without risky sex - and that is not part of the curriculum. Suggesting HIV transmission could happen at school is unhelpful and tends to increase anxiety and feed HIV stigma.
 

HIV transmission without sex, without injecting drug use, or without mother to baby transmission is exceptionally rare. Of over 34,000 HIV diagnoses in the UK from the beginning of the epidemic to 1997, only 19 happened in non-sexual 'unusual circumstances' . Most of these ‘unusual’ transmissions were at clinics abroad, where infection control procedures were slack.

Everything you ever wanted to know about HIV transmission but were afraid to ask

Visit the HIV transmission section of the NAM / aidsmap website for detailed information on subjects including co-factors that affect transmission, viral load and risk of transmission, and protective measures.

NAM also produce a comprehensive book, HIV Transmission & Testing, available from their online bookshop.