At church we've just finished a sermon series on relationships and it's raised a few questions in my mind concerning our theologies of gender.
As men, is it patronising to speak of providing a "safe" emotional and relational place for women? The biological differences between the sexes means that physically the provision of a safe place is necessary, but how much of our help do women need in other areas? At uni I was stuck in the situation where one female friend told me "men need to make room", and another said "we don't want men to make room, we need to do it ourselves and it's patronising to suggest otherwise." During sunday's sermon I addressed the men saying:
When we use affirming language, we create a relationally secure environment. Our sisters will feel that they can contribute without fear of unfair rejection or dismissal. And if we create that environment, then that's an environment where our sisters will thrive and flourish. And we want our sisters to thrive and flourish don't we? That's good for everyone, and most of al it's good for our sisters.
Was this patronising? Why should a sister have to rely on me for them to contribute to the church? Sure there's a place for encouragement, but it's not primarily up to me to give a sister confidence, surely that confidence should come first from her identity in Jesus. To suggest that she needs me to make the first move does, I fear, leave us with a sense where the woman is still subjugated in a way.
What do people think??? Do men need to make room?
Friday, October 13, 2006
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
A Christian Response to HIV/AIDS #2
I think a helpful first question we can ask concerns how we arrived at this point. What can we say about the beginning of the AIDS crisis? Perhaps if we look at the root cause we can start building a response.
A firm biological answer as to how we received this virus remains elusive. Most scientists agree that HIV is a mutated form of a similar virus found in African primates, but there is debate as to how the virus spread to humanity. Some researchers argue that African hunters who were killing and eating chimpanzees and other apes and monkeys were the first to be exposed to the virus, while others suggest that HIV was first spread by a contaminated polio vaccine which was issued to over a million people in central Africa during the late 1950s. The theory is that the vaccine was prepared using infected monkey livers in a laboratory.
However, the scriptures do give us a firm theological answer as to why we have diseases like AIDS:
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8.22-23)
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that there is something wrong with the world. AIDS isn’t the only symptom; earthquakes, tsunamis, cancer and human conflict all suggest that our world is not functioning as it should. In the above passage from Romans, Paul writes that the world is “groaning” under the strain of all the suffering and decay that’s going on, and we humans who are living as part of this world are groaning as well. The human race is a burdened race.
When we look back at Romans chapter 5, we see that there is one underlying cause behind all these burdens:
Sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5.12)
Here we see the beginning of AIDS. When our first ancestors sinned in the Garden of Eden, it wasn’t just a case of a man and his wife eating an apple. This was the point when sin and death grabbed hold of the world, setting up shop in God’s creation. And once sin and death established themselves it’s as if they vomited all over God’s good and wonderful creation, spoiling it and leaving us with things like earthquakes, cancer, human selfishness, and HIV/AIDS.
Near the university where I used to study there was this one particular Victorian-era terrace. It was fairly run down and in need of renovation, but instead of being sold to a renovator it remained empty except for some squatters who had moved in. It wasn’t long before graffiti appeared on the walls and soon all the windows had been broken. When you looked through the windows there were mattresses on the floor which were all soiled with rubbish and syringes lying about the place. What was once a beautiful and desirable creation was now ruined. You could still see and work out how the building was meant to look like, but the present reality was far from glorious. I think this is a great metaphor for our world. Sin and evil and death have moved in and they’ve made our world far from perfect, leaving us with the rubbish and soil of disease. That’s the origin of the current HIV epidemic.
Why is it important to know this origin of HIV?
1. It puts AIDS into context.
As long as there is sin, there will always be disease – its part and parcel of living in a fallen world. We may not always have AIDS – we might find a cure one day – but we will always have epidemics of one sort or another. This doesn’t mean that we just shrug our shoulders and say “oh well, nothing we can do about it, we’ll always have this issue.” Scripture demands that we respond, and we’ll get to that response in future posts, but it does mean that we don’t have to loose our heads about this. AIDS doesn’t mean that God has lost control; rather it means that God in his wisdom has allowed sin and death to remain in his world for a time. So we live in a world where AIDS is a reality, because sin and death is a reality.
2. Knowing the origin of AIDS gives us a hint as to the nature of a possible solution. Get rid of sin and death, then you rid the world not only of AIDS but of all diseases.
Our next post will take up further the possibility of a final solution.
A firm biological answer as to how we received this virus remains elusive. Most scientists agree that HIV is a mutated form of a similar virus found in African primates, but there is debate as to how the virus spread to humanity. Some researchers argue that African hunters who were killing and eating chimpanzees and other apes and monkeys were the first to be exposed to the virus, while others suggest that HIV was first spread by a contaminated polio vaccine which was issued to over a million people in central Africa during the late 1950s. The theory is that the vaccine was prepared using infected monkey livers in a laboratory.
However, the scriptures do give us a firm theological answer as to why we have diseases like AIDS:
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8.22-23)
It doesn’t take a genius to work out that there is something wrong with the world. AIDS isn’t the only symptom; earthquakes, tsunamis, cancer and human conflict all suggest that our world is not functioning as it should. In the above passage from Romans, Paul writes that the world is “groaning” under the strain of all the suffering and decay that’s going on, and we humans who are living as part of this world are groaning as well. The human race is a burdened race.
When we look back at Romans chapter 5, we see that there is one underlying cause behind all these burdens:
Sin entered the world through one man and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned. (Romans 5.12)
Here we see the beginning of AIDS. When our first ancestors sinned in the Garden of Eden, it wasn’t just a case of a man and his wife eating an apple. This was the point when sin and death grabbed hold of the world, setting up shop in God’s creation. And once sin and death established themselves it’s as if they vomited all over God’s good and wonderful creation, spoiling it and leaving us with things like earthquakes, cancer, human selfishness, and HIV/AIDS.
Near the university where I used to study there was this one particular Victorian-era terrace. It was fairly run down and in need of renovation, but instead of being sold to a renovator it remained empty except for some squatters who had moved in. It wasn’t long before graffiti appeared on the walls and soon all the windows had been broken. When you looked through the windows there were mattresses on the floor which were all soiled with rubbish and syringes lying about the place. What was once a beautiful and desirable creation was now ruined. You could still see and work out how the building was meant to look like, but the present reality was far from glorious. I think this is a great metaphor for our world. Sin and evil and death have moved in and they’ve made our world far from perfect, leaving us with the rubbish and soil of disease. That’s the origin of the current HIV epidemic.
Why is it important to know this origin of HIV?
1. It puts AIDS into context.
As long as there is sin, there will always be disease – its part and parcel of living in a fallen world. We may not always have AIDS – we might find a cure one day – but we will always have epidemics of one sort or another. This doesn’t mean that we just shrug our shoulders and say “oh well, nothing we can do about it, we’ll always have this issue.” Scripture demands that we respond, and we’ll get to that response in future posts, but it does mean that we don’t have to loose our heads about this. AIDS doesn’t mean that God has lost control; rather it means that God in his wisdom has allowed sin and death to remain in his world for a time. So we live in a world where AIDS is a reality, because sin and death is a reality.
2. Knowing the origin of AIDS gives us a hint as to the nature of a possible solution. Get rid of sin and death, then you rid the world not only of AIDS but of all diseases.
Our next post will take up further the possibility of a final solution.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
A Christian Response to HIV/AIDS #1
In Australia, somewhere between 12-18,000 people are living with HIV/AIDS. Each year just under 100 people die from HIV/AIDS related illnesses, and each year sees 700-1000 new cases of HIV infection.
Once we move into the developing world though, things are very different.
The World Health Organisation estimates that 40 million people world-wide are currently infected with either strand of HIV, the worst effects being felt in Africa. In Sub-Saharan Africa, between 25-28 million people are infected with HIV. 2.3 million people die from AIDS related illnesses each year, and there are 3.4 million new cases every 12 months. Out of all the African nations, Botswana is the worst effected. Over 1/3 of all adults living in Botswana are infected with HIV. It’s estimated that because of AIDS the average life expectancy for adults in Botswana will plummet to 29 years by 2010. And of course, apart from those living with HIV, there are those family members who are affected. By 2010, it’s estimated that there will be at least 25 million African children who will have lost one or both parents to the disease.
In the face of such horrific statistics we can feel absolutely helpless; numbed by the shear enormity of the problem. Not doing anything can even seem like a viable option. Why waste time and effort on a battle you will only loose? However, as Christian people we have a hope which leads us to banish such defeatist logic:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21.3-4)
Because of the final victory of Jesus Christ we can afford to have confidence in the face of such tragedy. This post is the first in a series which will explore how we as Christians can respond to this sad epidemic which is unfolding across the globe. How can we think about this event and what can we do to help? As Christian people we are unique in the world. We follow a unique Lord and we have a unique message, so we will also have a unique response to this tragedy; we’ll have our own unique contribution to make.
I hope you find the series stimulating yet productively unsettling.
The stats in this post are from Weinreich and Benn, AIDS, Meeting the Challenge: Data, Facts, Background (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2004).
Once we move into the developing world though, things are very different.
The World Health Organisation estimates that 40 million people world-wide are currently infected with either strand of HIV, the worst effects being felt in Africa. In Sub-Saharan Africa, between 25-28 million people are infected with HIV. 2.3 million people die from AIDS related illnesses each year, and there are 3.4 million new cases every 12 months. Out of all the African nations, Botswana is the worst effected. Over 1/3 of all adults living in Botswana are infected with HIV. It’s estimated that because of AIDS the average life expectancy for adults in Botswana will plummet to 29 years by 2010. And of course, apart from those living with HIV, there are those family members who are affected. By 2010, it’s estimated that there will be at least 25 million African children who will have lost one or both parents to the disease.
In the face of such horrific statistics we can feel absolutely helpless; numbed by the shear enormity of the problem. Not doing anything can even seem like a viable option. Why waste time and effort on a battle you will only loose? However, as Christian people we have a hope which leads us to banish such defeatist logic:
And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” (Rev 21.3-4)
Because of the final victory of Jesus Christ we can afford to have confidence in the face of such tragedy. This post is the first in a series which will explore how we as Christians can respond to this sad epidemic which is unfolding across the globe. How can we think about this event and what can we do to help? As Christian people we are unique in the world. We follow a unique Lord and we have a unique message, so we will also have a unique response to this tragedy; we’ll have our own unique contribution to make.
I hope you find the series stimulating yet productively unsettling.
The stats in this post are from Weinreich and Benn, AIDS, Meeting the Challenge: Data, Facts, Background (Geneva: WCC Publications, 2004).
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