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A South African pastor stunned his congregation and provoked outrage and controversy when he recently began his sermon with the statement that:

“Jesus Christ was HIV-positive”

The news of his claim quickly spread around the country and enraged many Christians since he seemed to be dragging Jesus down. Other pastors like Mike Bele responded with pointed criticism:

“The subject of my Jesus being HIV-positive is a scathing matter.”

I believe no anointed leader with a sound mind about the scriptures and the role of Christ in our lives would deliberately drag the name of Christ to the ground.”

However Pastor Skosana of Hope for Life Ministry insists that he was not intending on bringing Jesus down but his message was about bringing redemption and giving hope to the millions of  South Africans that suffer from HIV:

“Wherever you open the scriptures Jesus puts himself in the shoes of people who experience brokenness. Isaiah 53, for example, clearly paints a picture of Jesus who takes upon himself the infirmities and the brokenness of humanity.

Of course, there’s no scientific evidence that Jesus had the HI virus in his bloodstream. The best gift we can give to people who are HIV-positive is to help de-stigmatise Aids and create an environment where they know God is not against them, he’s not ashamed of them.”

The pastor concluded his sermon with this: 

“The message to the church is that it is not enough for us to give people food privately and give them groceries, we must create an environment that’s empowering because most people who are HIV-positive will not necessarily die of Aids-related sickness but more of a broken heart, out of rejection.”

In spite of all of the criticism the pastor also has a few that actually supported him and got what he was saying.  Reverend Siyabulela Gidi, the director of South African Council of Churches in the Western Cape responded positively:

“What Pastor Skosana is clearly saying is that Christ at this point in time would be on the side of the people who are HIV-positive – people who are being sidelined by the very church that is attacking him.

Pastor Skosana has fortunately got the country talking, he’s got the world talking and that is what theology is all about.”

Also aids activists have come out in favor of Pastor Skosana’s message: 

“It takes away the stigma that HIV is a sin and that it’s God’s punishment,’ said Vuyiseka Dubula, general secretary of the Treatment Action Campaign, a South African Aids activist group.

‘To associate Jesus with HIV is powerful, particularly for those who go to church”

Response: Millions are dying of aids every year in Africa and millions of children are left as orphans. It is a real problem.

Personally when I first read the pastor’s claim I was outraged until I saw the real message that he was trying to communicate- That Jesus is there with them in their infirmities and reaching out to all those who suffer even from diseases that the church condemns. 

There is no doubt in my mind that if Jesus was walking the streets of South Africa today he would be reaching out to those suffering from AIDS just like he did to the lepers of his own day. The church should be doing likewise.            *Top of the Blog

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When asked about it Christopher Hitchens replied that he would not be joining in.

Hitchens is dying of cancer and the effects of his recent chemotherapy are obvious. When asked about his health he had this to say:

"Well, I’m dying, since you asked, but so are you. I’m only doing it more rapidly."

When asked about those who would be praying for him, Hitchens says that they can be broken down into basically three different groups:

1. Those who seem genuinely glad he’s suffering and dying from cancer.

2. Those who want him to become a believer in their religious faith.

3. And those who are asking God to heal him.

To the first group he says: 

"’To hell with you’ is the response to the ones who pray for me to go to hell."

To the second he says that he is ruling out any kind of deathbed change of heart:

"’Thanks but no thanks’ is the reply to those who want me to convert and recognize a divinity or deity."

To the third:

"I say it’s fine by me, I think of it as a nice gesture. And it may well make them feel better, which is a good thing in itself."

Response: So there you have it. It is ‘Everybody Pray for Hitchens Day.’ Please join in prayer for a loyal opponent of Christianity and religion in general. I must admit that I like the guy in spite of the fact that I disagree with his stand on God and religion.

I am praying for his recovery and healing, but I must admit that I am also praying that he finds God before it is all over.             *Top of the Blog

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(Reformation Lutheran Church, Wichita, Kansas by Getty Images via Daylife)

Quote from Lowell Michelson, senior pastor of Reformation Lutheran Church where Dr. Tiller was killed last Sunday:

"I have prayed for [Scott Roeder the alleged killer]. I don’t know that everyone is able to pray for him right now. I don’t know about human forgiveness and if and when that would ever come from some of the folks who have been most deeply hurt by this.

… [The counseling we've brought in from crisis intervention experts is] certainly not going to wash the issue away, but it will begin to help us voice some of the things that we’re wrestling with, and then turn our sights to healing and recovery and hope.

… It’s just encouraging to know that we’re not alone as we try to do this. One of the things, as people of faith, that is so great is to know that in those times when you’re struggling, there’s so many folks that are offering to carry you along. … [This Sunday], we’ll gather for worship this weekend and sing songs and say prayers and hear Scripture and savor the promises of God, as we always do." —[kansascity.com, 6/3/09; AP 6/4/09]

Response: Lost in the midst of all the headlines and furor over the killing of Dr. Tiller and all the political responses is the horrible fact that it was done in a church that was filled with worshipers at the time of the shooting. Put yourself in the place of those attending church that day at Reformation Lutheran Church in Wichita, the memories of the sights and sounds of that occasion will not be soon forgotten.

It is a time of healing for that church and a time for us to remember all of those folks including the church leaders in our prayers.

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     One major problem that I see in the study, is the fact that those who did the praying, had no actual contact or knowledge of those who they were praying for.  In order to maintain a ‘blind’ study, the people who prayed, were only given the first name and last initial of those they were expected to pray for. See Story: www.ocregister.com /March 31, 2006/Health, www.nytimes.com /March 31, 2006/Health

    This leads to a number of questions. Did the members of the prayer team actually believe in the power of prayer?   Better yet, that their prayers could result in healing?  Also, one wonders what God may have thought about this study–did he really like being put to the test? This could really affect the results.

     Personally, I have always believed that prayer could bring healing from God. Yet there was a time in my ministry when I had very little faith that ‘my prayers’ would be effective, and most of the time they weren’t.  But then there were those surprising occasions when healing really did come, and my faith was lifted to a different level. There are still times when I pray for the sick, that I feel that I am just going through the motions, but other times The Holy Spirit comes and brings compassion & faith that is well beyond my natural capacity.  The results are far greater on those occasions. 

MGD             *Top 

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