With the Holy Spirit

Monday, April 16, 2007

I'm struggling with my essay. I know I can come up with a thesis for it..but...how??

Religion Violence and AIDS in the Christianity Context

A prologue of my thoughts...

The Vatican has for centuries, opposed the use of contraceptives, particularly condoms, because it prevents the procreation of life. Notwithstanding, it is the theology of the body-chastity and abstinence that holds the prevention of use of condoms. However, controversies started, even within the Vatican and among church leaders when AIDS, a pandemic, widespread disease, became even more prevalent than ever in developed and developing countries.
Admittedly, developed countries such as the US, gain an advantage in education, and stability, especially in family units, hence, they have the incentive to advocate the abstinence of the use of condoms. But, in developing countries like Africa and India, children become a gift, a need, in order to drive the economy. Zambia's President Chiluba, who proclaimed Christianity as the state religion, publicly questioned his compatriots as to why they would buy condoms when they knew that it would lead them to risk HIV/AIDS infection. It created an uproar within the state, and opened a possiblity of intra-religous violence. It then became a struggle to balance advocating the message of abstinence from casual sex to the citizens, and preventing the infected from infecting. Realising the problem of this, Pope Benedict, in April 2006, called for a study to be carried out, and was open to a possiblity of allowing the use of condom, especially between married couples where one is infected. And the use of contraceptives would prevent the death of the other partner...

Having a strongly opinionated view, I thought that indeed, it is hard to comprehend such controversies. Some people use the stupid excuse of religion to carry on their promiscuity without the use of condoms and infect so many others more! For goodness sake, adultery is also wrong! Understanding so, that's not the main point of religion and the prevention of use of condoms. It is simply that we, should exercise fidelity and self-control. And to put it across in a developing country where the needs of the country are so at stake, is going to be hard. Promoting condoms will encourage casual sex because of the security that contraceptives have and the pleasure that one can have. But preventing the use of condoms, leads to the spread of AIDS. It is the mindset of fidelity that people should have...but how? How? How so, in developing countries???

I want to invent a cure for HIV...but that will not solve everything. Cuz it is our morals that are at stake. Having a cure is simply opening a backdoor to eliminating the disease, but it will not cure the disease of the mind.

-Yours truly ;