Should Christians Rethink the AIDS fight?

By Adam C. Parker

In a recent article for Q magazine, Bono (vocalist for the musical group U2) was discussing his efforts to gain economic worldwide support for fighting the AIDS virus and its rampage through South Africa. Bono says in the article that he came to America to gain support from “Christian fundamentalist groups,” and said that, “it was like trying to draw blood from a stone.” As a Christian, I am both angered and also deeply convicted by this sentence. I am angered, because I am one of those “Christian fundamentalists” (though I care too much about my theology to be a “fundamentalist”) who thinks that evangelism is more important than fighting AIDS, but I have to ask myself, what is the real place of the church in this world, and is its sole purpose to be the bastion of eternal life? Perhaps many of us do, to some degree, minimize (overlook, diminish, curtail, ignore, de-emphasize, moderate, whatever word you like) James’ words: “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world”(James 1:27).

Consider also, the law of gleaning in the Old Testament, “When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest…Leave them for the poor and the alien. I am [Yahweh] your god” (Leviticus 19:9-10). Here, God mandated that when a person had harvested their field of crops, they must leave the edges and corners of the field untouched, so that the poor and the immigrant would be able to eat what he needed in order to survive. This is an important reminder to those of us who are American Christians, that God Himself has historically displayed a concern for the needy and the poor.

Though the AIDS crisis in Africa is not mentioned (It didn’t exist!), these verses demonstrate that God has a special concern for those in need. Some additional demonstrations of this truth won’t hurt a bit. Jesus was eating dinner with a rich man, when he said this:

When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers, or relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous. (Luke 14:12-14)

God, Himself, spoke to the prophet Zechariah, and here is something that he said:

This is what [Yahweh] Almighty says: “Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other. (Zechariah 7:9-10)

This is, again, a text which demonstrates that God is not indifferent to the plight of the widow, or the needy. As Christians, is it possible that God would command us to be compassionate to the needs of others in the Old Testament and yet revoke those commands in the New Testament? Of course not, because the God who was Jehovah in the Old Testament is the same Christ of the New Testament. My concordance records Jesus being moved with “compassion” on people 14 times. Granted that some of these are the same events recorded by different authors, it is remarkable the love the Jesus had for the needy, but especially (in these texts), for the sick. Furthermore, the New Testament in many places commands Christians to place the poor in esteem, not showing contempt towards them (Rom. 15:26; 2 Cor. 8:1-7; 9:1-15; James 2:1-13).

But this leads us back to the whole point of this paper: should Christians rethink the way they approach the suffering people of Africa? I was going to offer a critique of the American church when I first started writing this, but such a critique would be somewhat unfair, since American Christianity is hardly a monolithic institution. The diversity in American churches makes such a critique impossible, not to mention the fact that it ignores the important truth that there are a multitude of churches which do recognize the problem of suffering and pain for those in Africa and all over the globe.

Instead, I decided to critique the one person I am most absolutely qualified to criticize, and that is myself. For the entirety of my life as a Christian (almost six years and counting) I have been opposed (or at least I lent no support) to the type of work that Bono is speaking of. My reasons for rejecting this “social approach” to the work of Christians was primarily motivated by my own commitment to the Gospel as an intellectual pursuit, or perhaps as a solely spiritual matter. At its most basic level, all suffering is a sin problem, and the ultimate solution to all problems is spiritual in nature; I still acknowledge this truth. The mistake that I believe I have made is to so distinguish the spiritual needs of people from the physical needs of people that I have lost the compassion Jesus challenges us to have.

My thought on the matter has been simply that we should send missionaries to preach the Gospel to the peoples of the world. This simplistic approach seems to be so blatantly Scriptural, but one should keep in mind that through lip-service I commended those who fed the hungry, cared for the orphan, etc., but in truth I believed this dimension to be so unimportant that it would have been extraordinary to hear me preach a sermon commending such compassion on others. I have long believed that the soul, which does not die, is the first thing that must be ministered to.

In addition, particularly with regard to the AIDS crisis, when I heard of the suffering of those with AIDS, I would consider to myself Paul’s verse in Romans 1:27, saying that those dying of AIDS were receiving “in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.” To many Christians, AIDS is only something that immoral and sexually promiscuous people (who do not have even the sensibility to utilize condoms or to practice abstinence) suffer from.

It would seem, however, that though this is true in some degree in Africa, the epidemic status of AIDS yields tremendous difficulties for even the most simple person to find a husband or wife who may not be infected. In Africa, the AIDS infection rate is nearly 9%, whereas the rest of the world has about a 1.1% infection rate. It is also remarkable to consider that masses of children are born annually in Africa with the HIV virus, simply due to the mistakes of their parents. These children, especially, are in need of great compassion and love. They may live to a marriageable age carrying the HIV virus, never knowing that they have always carried the dormant virus in their bodies.

Many, even still, die in childhood as a result of the virus’ destruction of the infant’s immune system. According to World Vision, more than a million children in Africa (under 15) are infected with the HIV/AIDS virus. Of the children who die under five years of age, 25% of those are due to HIV/AIDS. Even more saddening, 13 million children in Africa are orphans due to AIDS, and World Vision estimates that by 2010, that number will reach 40 million. In families where both parents die from AIDS, the eldest child in the family becomes responsible to raise his/her siblings. All the while, the children who remain very likely bear the same disease that killed their parents.

We must consider, furthermore, that Scripture tells Christians to visit those who are in prison and demonstrate compassion: “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick, and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me” (Matthew 25:35-36). This is an incredible response to my old way of thinking, for it says many things. 1) Even those who are suffering from the wages of their sin deserve compassion. 2) Those who are in need, regardless of the reason for their plight, need the love and dignity, which come through the love of God in his saints. 3) We are indirectly exhorted to care for the sick here; this especially applies to my overall point. Even if one isn’t willing to grant that this verse implores us to care for the sick, many other verses do directly charge us in this way.

These Scriptural imperatives are opposed to my old way of thinking. I have been such a staunch self-centered capitalist that I have regarded the plight of no one but myself. No longer am I permitted to have this selfishly influenced thought process, whereby every man who is responsible for his mistakes deserves to suffer for his mistakes. Scripture commends every man as responsible for his mistakes and says that he suffers because of sin, but Christians are to do more than observe and take notes so that their theology can be further sharpened. We are to do something, to reverse the results of the pains that sin brings into the world.

As Christians, what are we to do? First, we have a responsibility to represent the love of Christ, and not a commitment to a political way of thinking. Many including myself, have been so committed to a particular political party, that we have stopped thinking of social issues or paying attention to things that are important to the other party. This partisan way of thinking by Christians represents a higher commitment to an institution than to the raw commands of Jesus.

Second, a Christian has a responsibility to care for the orphans and widows, as James tells us to do. This is both simple and complex, in that a Christian may feel compelled to become deeply involved in organizations who go directly to these countries where the suffering is very great. A Christian may also, however (given that he recognizes the Scriptural imperative of compassion for the suffering), do nothing more than sending monthly support to an organization like World Vision, for example, who cares for the suffering and the orphans. In addition, these organizations also educate those in the hardest-hit areas. This is important, because (for example) in some African countries, the men believe that they will be cured of sexually transmitted diseases, if they have sex with a virgin. The result is an atrocious abuse of power, whereby child molestation and rape are not at all unusual. Education is but one really important thing that these organizations do to limit the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Third, Christians should pray for the suffering in Africa, as well as those who provide relief to them. Their mission to the suffering is complicated by the resistance of many people in these countries who do not understand what is being done. In addition, Muslim militants who are opposed to any Christian presence in their countries often lash out violently against relief organizations in their countries, believing them to be a political threat to their own survival. This is but a further reason for why Christianity must not be tied to a political, national, or ethnic institution. The last thing that Christians want to convey is that becoming a Christian also means becoming, thinking, and acting like an American. As Christians, we believe that prayer is effective, and that our God is a prayer-hearing God, and this should encourage us all the more to both pray and also act, for we know that our actions will never be in vain if they are done with the glory of God in mind. Also, we know that God is fully capable and willing to answer any prayer which is asked according to God’s will.

Fourth, Christians should thank God for the prosperous position that God has placed them in which enables them to help the hurting and suffering of the world. For many, the type of money that American Christians make in a week or month is equivalent to what many of them make in a year. We live in abundance and prosperity, and very often take our possessions for granted, but we can and should thank God Almighty for what we have.

I think that it is important to note that the people of Africa are not the only citizens of the world who endure hardship and pain. There are many in our own nation who suffer daily, and who have great needs, and I do not wish to encourage readers to neglect those, but it seems possible for the church to walk and chew gum at the same time. There is no reason why we cannot care for our own sick and dying, yet at the same time care for populations with the greatest proportions of suffering.

We should make it our prayer that God would be glorified in his people, and that He would use us to do mighty deeds in His name. If Christians would take up the mantle and the challenge that Scripture presents to them, they would be the bearers of mighty deeds who reflect God’s greatness and love to a dying world.