FAITH HEALING
SPECIAL KAY’E
I know a young man who believes God is going to
cure him of his HIV. Over the last 18 months or so, his viral load has been
consistently on the decline, his CD4 count on the rise. He’s not on
treatment and this alone makes his case very interesting. “God is healing
me,” he says.
I think faith is a wonderful thing; invaluable in a world that daily and increasingly
shows signs of going down the toilet. Without faith, what would be the point
of carrying on, many might wonder?
So, while I don’t share this young man’s faith, I do respect it.
I told him, (without the slightest hint of sarcasm, I must add) that if and
when he eventually gets his cure, he ensures he tells me about it. I could
do with seeing a miracle.
But, I warned, if this didn’t happen and his condition, God forbid,
declined to the point where his consultant advised starting treatment, he’d
do well to heed that advice. Doctors are God’s children too after all,
and some would argue they are doing God’s work. Besides, it’s
always said that the Lord works in many mysterious ways. Surely modern medicine
can be one of those?
I just don’t want to see my friend get sick or die before his time.
He volunteers tirelessly and has great enthusiasm and compassion for others
in his situation, and is a huge asset to our community, despite the obvious
limitations and pressures placed upon him being an asylum seeker. With so
few African men prepared to fully engage in any kind of HIV-related activities,
we simply cannot afford to lose anyone so special.
Personally, I don’t feel that religion and HIV make a good mix. With
all its rules and regulations, dos and don’ts, recriminations and archaic
views on love and sex, it can be very prescriptive, judgmental and oppressive.
Many of the messages it sends out are not likely to make positive people feel
any better about their status or themselves. In many churches, even in this
day and age, HIV is still seen as a punishment from God for the promiscuous
and deviant. If you’ve got the virus, you must have done something to
deserve it and it serves you right. I know this because I’ve heard the
sermons. Ignorance and prejudice, backed up by a ‘Holy Book’.
Religion can also create problems with prevention. Some churches still forbid
condoms, while others still struggle with the dilemma of how to advocate their
use without compromising their doctrines. After all, the single members of
their congregations shouldn’t be having sex anyway, should they? And
surely the married ones shouldn’t need condoms?
Other religions? Well, in today’s political climate, Islam probably
has other more pressing matters on its mind. As for Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism
and the rest, I honestly have no idea what their response to HIV is - assuming
of course, that they have one.
Then there’s the uglier side to religion: charlatans who go around taking
money from people who don’t have much money to begin with, claiming
that they can cure them of any illness, including HIV. No scientific evidence
has been put forward yet to prove that these miraculous feats are possible
but these so-called men of God grow fat, buy fancy cars and build mansions
on the blind faith of people who believe in them. People never stop to think
for a minute that maybe if these rogues were truly men of God, that they might
perform these miracles for free, with the sole purpose of glorifying God’s
name, just as Christ did.
But anyway, back to my friend. His faith tells him that when he became a born-again
Christian, his sins were ‘washed away’ and he was ‘reborn
anew’. He also felt safe enough with his pastor to tell him about his
HIV status. Apparently, the minister placed his hands on his head, said a
prayer, and said: “Be healed in Jesus’ name,” and things
have been looking up ever since - at least health-wise. But, as my friend
tells me, one problem at a time. His health is his top priority. Once that
is sorted, he’ll be looking to God for the next solution.
And may God help him. Barring the Home Office, NASS, further education or
love and marriage taking him away from us, I’m confident he’ll
tell me about his progress. I look forward to hearing from him soon.
