Society and AIDS

by eyeslice 2 Replies latest jw friends

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  eyeslice

  The AIDS epidemic is proving to be one of the most difficult and dangerous issues facing mankind at the start of this the 21st century. Especially in sub-Saharan Africa are the difficulties and problems of AIDS combined with poverty most apparent.

  The numbers of witnesses and indeed the growth rate of the Witnesses in many of the countries most afflicted by AIDS appears to be good. So, given that in some African countries up to to 20% of the population are HIV positive, this must mean that many Witnesses and their children in those countries are also infected.

  My question is, what if anything is the Society doing about AIDS in these countries?

  My guess is nothing, as if they were they would be milking it for as much good PR as they could get in the Watchtower or Awake. However, this is a purely subjective view, not based on any hard evidence. All I know is that the baptism questions were changed a while back to include a question about communicable diseases which everyone took to mean that the baptism candidate must own up to having AIDS if he or she were infected. When I pointed out the AIDS wasn't likely to be caught from someone in a baptismal pool, it didn't go down too well.

  Does anyone have any information or feedback from these countries as to what the Society is doing about AIDS? Has there been any support for medical treatment, hospitals or AIDS prevention? (Remember that a good many African women catch AIDS from their husbands, so supporting a campaign of providing condoms is not the same as encouraging immorality.) Have the Society got any official guidelines in place?

  Eyeslice
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  Amazing

  Hi Eyeslice,

  Excellent post, and excellent questions!!! Because of a higher probability of HIV and related diseases, then it seems rational that the Society would want to encourage the use of condoms among JWs, especially in the most highly affected nations.

  I have not heard anything as to what they are doing ... or more likely saying. The Society does very little, as they are all about talk or print. But at least something in print would be helpful. I doubt they will take any such actions ... they could, but if they do, it will be a limited edition phamplet distributed only to those countries they want to educate.

  President Bush has continuously campaigned for, and asked Congress for budget approval to send medical help in the form of doctors, equipment, and medication to African nations where HIV is severe. He has stated that the relative cost is not that high, and that the USA needs to help with a severe epidemic.

  Maybe the Watchtower Society, in one of its lucid moments, might write a letter of support to their Congress-person ... similar to when they have asked JWs to write letters to various Presidents in those nations where persecution was seriously affecting the JWs.

  Thanks again for raising an important issue, one that truly deserves attention from the Society.

  Jim Whitney
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  GermanXJW

  I had this conversation with a CO years ago, when the AIDS question was introduced for baptismal candidates. He explained that they were asked and if they carried the virus they would be baptized after all other persons.
  
  I, too, said that it is impossible to infect thru water and that it was a kind of stigmatisation but he said it is done not to offend the others.