We all know that when HIV started to spread in the 1980s, it spread mainly among certain groups of people who include men who have sexual relation with men, commercial sex workers and people who inject drugs. This has often led to the view that HIV is a wrath from God on individuals. However, HIV affects us all in some way. And to some extent we are all at risk of contracting HIV.
In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve decided to live their lives their own way and turned their backs on God. This meant that human relationship with God was damaged. The consequences of that particular fall at Eden include suffering, disease, poverty and exploitation. So fundamentally, all disease is a judgment from God. And so, yes, HIV/AIDS and STDs (along with all other diseases) are part of God’s judgment.
We are all vulnerable to diseases or for the current matter, HIV infection, because we live in a fallen society. All sickness, from the common cold to cancer, is part of the curse, and we who live in a cursed world are subject to decay. For example, poverty may push people into practices that put them at greater risk of infection. Again, conflict may increase the likelihood of contracting HIV through rape or blood transfusions.
However, this does not mean that everyone with a disease is guilty of sin. Likewise it does not mean that HIV/ AIDS infected people are guilty of immoral sexual sin or that homosexuals are beyond redemption. Because every day, we come across instances of people who have contracted HIV through blood transfusions, helping another person who has HIV, from HIV positive spouses to their life partner in marriage, and most sadly, by being conceived in the womb of a mother who has HIV.
The Christian response to HIV / AIDS should always be one of grace and mercy. No matter how a disease was contracted, our responsibility is to be ministers of grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness. We do not have the right or authority to proclaim that an HIV contraction is a specific judgment from God on a specific sin in a person’s life. We are only entrusted with the responsibility to do good to all. (Luke 10: 30-36) speaks about the true Christian spirit of love for humanity and to lend a helping hand to everyone in need of it.
Christians should be doing something positive to respond to HIV and AIDS pandemic in the light of Jesus’ commandment to ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Luke 10:27). HIV contraction by a person does not mean that the particular person is doomed for misery or hell. The Gospel we share is still “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
In Genesis 3, Adam and Eve decided to live their lives their own way and turned their backs on God. This meant that human relationship with God was damaged. The consequences of that particular fall at Eden include suffering, disease, poverty and exploitation. So fundamentally, all disease is a judgment from God. And so, yes, HIV/AIDS and STDs (along with all other diseases) are part of God’s judgment.
We are all vulnerable to diseases or for the current matter, HIV infection, because we live in a fallen society. All sickness, from the common cold to cancer, is part of the curse, and we who live in a cursed world are subject to decay. For example, poverty may push people into practices that put them at greater risk of infection. Again, conflict may increase the likelihood of contracting HIV through rape or blood transfusions.
However, this does not mean that everyone with a disease is guilty of sin. Likewise it does not mean that HIV/ AIDS infected people are guilty of immoral sexual sin or that homosexuals are beyond redemption. Because every day, we come across instances of people who have contracted HIV through blood transfusions, helping another person who has HIV, from HIV positive spouses to their life partner in marriage, and most sadly, by being conceived in the womb of a mother who has HIV.
The Christian response to HIV / AIDS should always be one of grace and mercy. No matter how a disease was contracted, our responsibility is to be ministers of grace, love, mercy, and forgiveness. We do not have the right or authority to proclaim that an HIV contraction is a specific judgment from God on a specific sin in a person’s life. We are only entrusted with the responsibility to do good to all. (Luke 10: 30-36) speaks about the true Christian spirit of love for humanity and to lend a helping hand to everyone in need of it.
Christians should be doing something positive to respond to HIV and AIDS pandemic in the light of Jesus’ commandment to ‘Love your neighbour as yourself’ (Luke 10:27). HIV contraction by a person does not mean that the particular person is doomed for misery or hell. The Gospel we share is still “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).
Toshi Sangpi, President
Network of Mokokchung District People Living with HIV/AIDS (NMP+)
Mokokchung; Nagaland
