Dick,
I guess that, by now, all of us have seen the statistics in the newspapers
and on TV on HIV/AIDS in Africa and heard about it on the radio. The
numbers are staggering and it appears that an entire generation may
disappear in countries like Zimbabwe where teachers are dying faster than
they can be replaced.
I would caution against the ASA to get involved in it as an organization
(maybe I should not talk, as I'm only "lurking" and have never got around to
joining). ASA has, IMHO, a mandate to discuss the relationship between
faith and science. This is not to say that individuals associated with the
ASA should refrain from taking individual action to battle the causes of
HIV/AIDS.
Before we embark on a mission such as you propose, maybe it would be a good
idea to hold up a mirror and look at the North American scene. In, what
appears to be "(inter)national HIV/AIDS awareness week," we've been told
that, in Canada, the incidence of HIV/AIDS is increasing again. There was a
dip in the number of cases per so many hundred but, we are told, the "older
gays are getting tired of unprotected sex after all these years" and are now
infecting a younger generation. Another reason for the increase in Canada is
the availability of drugs that tend to mask the effects of AIDS and makes
some people feel invulnerable to the disease. This in a society that has
access to all conceivable information! I would be surprised if the
situation in the US is much different.
Maybe the situation is different in Africa, but I have my doubts. The
abject poverty in that part of the world, leading to separation of families,
and the temptation to trade one's health for "easy money need to be
addressed at the same time as the approaches you suggest.
I discussed the HIV/AIDS epidemic with an agnostic/atheistic co-worker, a
biologist, the other day. I suggested that HIV/AIDS could be a
self-limiting disease that could, in principle, be made to disappear if
society followed practiced monogamy, as dictated by the ten commandments.
His (not unexpected) comment, "but that only applies to Christians and who
are you to impose your views on other societies. In some societies, it is
expected that men try out prospective spouses to find a suitable one." If
we get that sort of response from people with PhDs, what can we expect from
others?
I understand that detection of HIV is not as simple as you make it sound and
that HIV can "lurk" in one's body before it generates whatever the tests
pick up.
I don't have a solution. To me, this is just one of these diseases that
cannot be conquered. True, places like Uganda have made great strides, but
there comes a point when the outbreak is so massive that publicly acceptable
treatment is no longer an option. I'm afraid that places like Zimbabwe have
reached that stage or are awfully close.
I hope I'm wrong and hope that there are experts in the ASA that can set me
straight.
Chuck Vandergraaf
Pinawa, MB
> ----------
> From: Dick Fischer[SMTP:dickfischer@earthlink.net]
> Sent: Thursday July 06, 2000 7:32 PM
> To: asa@calvin.edu
> Subject: AIDS in Africa - A Cause For ASA?
>
> The front page of the July 5th edition of The Washington Post carried an
> article about the terrible AIDS epidemic that is ravaging Africa. Oh, I'd
> heard about it before, but seeing the staggering numbers of the infected,
> and the pace of the spread of this devastating disease gave me a sudden,
> sobering jolt of reality. The headline read: "The World Shunned Signs of
> Disaster." And I admit candidly you could have numbered me with the rest
> of the world.
>
> Consider this from the article: "Last year, HIV/AIDS reached a
> long-expected milestone in the WHO's surveillance of disease and death: It
> surpassed all other causes of death in Africa." To emphasize the world's
> nonchalance in the face of these mounting negative statistics, the Post
> reported, "in a secretariat of 2,000, the WHO has nine professionals who
> work full time on AIDS." Less than one half of one percent.
>
> And what does the "world" consider the answer to be to rein in AIDS in
> Africa? Again, this comes from the article:
>
> "A multibillion-dollar prevention program in sub-Saharan Africa, according
> to plans now under preparation by the White House, World Bank, USAID and
> UNAIDS, would include hundreds of millions of dollars in youth-focused
> education, intensive counseling of sex workers, provision and "social
> marketing" of condoms and much more aggressive treatment of lesser
> venereal diseases, which speed transmission of AIDS. Other programs would
> provide low-cost drugs to slow transmission of the virus in childbirth,
> blood testing and improvements in blood bank quality controls."
>
> Let's see. Education, counseling sex workers, providing condoms,
> treatment of lesser diseases, drugs, and testing and improving the blood
> bank. I guess that about covers it.
>
> Oh, what about advocating abstinence or encouraging monogamous
> relationships between married couples? I wonder if those preventives
> could have an effect on the spread of HIV.
>
> My hunch is that an education program stressing these alternatives could
> help, but somehow these possible remedies seem to have escaped the
> attention of the secular community.
>
> So, how about the Christian community? Are there any Christian
> missionaries in Africa? I seem to recall there are a few. Could they
> profit from, even help spread the gospel through a plan that offered a
> Christian answer to the spread of AIDS?
>
> Is there an organization today that offers a game plan to educate
> Christian missionary agencies?
>
> And if not, could the ASA be such an organization? Is it beyond our
> mandate. Or are we too involved debating whether God is detectable in
> nature, or how old is the planet, or where and when was the flood?
> (Forgive me, I digress.)
>
> Would you mind batting this around a little as to whether such an endeavor
> would be feasible for the ASA?
>
> The second question is would you mind fleshing out this idea? I have only
> a rough sketch of what such a program would entail. For example,
> missionaries could be prepared to:
>
> 1. Counsel young Africans that Christ has provided an escape for the
> ravages of this dread disease. It is either to remain single with total
> abstinence, or to marry and live a monogamous lifestyle with your marriage
> partner.
>
> 2. Missionary agencies could sponsor or assist with blood testing for
> singles. Those testing positive for the disease (probably, one test is
> not enough) should be given drug treatment and educated in how to prevent
> the spread of the disease. Those testing negative should be encouraged to
> seek and court a helpmate who also tests negative, or remain single if
> that is their preference.
>
> 3. Uniting young couples in Christian marriage should include explaining
> to them the joys of a faithful union and the possible penalties of the sin
> of promiscuity.
>
> 4. By establishing Christian families who honor and glorify Christ through
> their profession of faith and adherence to His precepts, they will create
> tiny islands that can grow into entire communities which will remain free
> of this disease in the face of its onslaught.
>
> 5. Evangelist efforts would be enhanced by providing public examples of
> Christian faith with living evidence of the validity of the Christian
> message.
>
> Anyway, that is all I have off the top of my head. So, what do you all
> think?
>
> Dick Fischer - The Origins Solution - www.orisol.com
> "The answer we should have known about 150 years ago."
>
>
>
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