Valentine, on-call
Alphonce Omondi

HIV: are miracles possible?

Dear Valentine, I keep seeing billboards on which some preacher says he can ‘heal HIV’. Could this actually be possible?

God sells

I have always said that if all else failed, I would get saved and start a cult. Nothing sells better than God in developing world economies… Not even booze, drugs, or even sex. Becoming a ‘preacher’ requires no qualifications or a track record. You don’t even have to prove that you have read the Bible that you are thumping on and preaching about. Nobody ever asks you when you last spoke to Jesus. Plus, you can declare that you are now a church owner and those who do not tithe their monthly 10 per cent are not only sinners, they are bad people on the super highway to hell. Talk about a profit-making machine.

Miracles are possible

That said, I was raised a Christian and I have seen some miracles in my lifetime. Is it possible to cure HIV infection? I will not say ‘no’ since God is a contradiction in that He is omnipotent and supremely benevolent, and I do not know what He will do.

I will, however, say it is highly improbable. It gets even more improbable if this ‘preacher’ wants money from those he ‘heals’.

Loopholes

In three different instances in the New Testament, Jesus says to a leper, a blind man, and a bleeding woman: ‘Your faith has made you whole.’  And this has, unfortunately, become the faith healer’s insurance. A preacher who makes a claim that he can ‘heal HIV’ can very easily fall back on this verse if anyone comes back to him and shows that they are still HIV-positive. It’s not the preacher who is limited, rather it is the patient whose faith was insufficient to make him or her whole again.

Be safe

Dude, strap on a condom and have safe and responsible sex. If you are HIV-positive and praying for a miracle, God will give you what he has planned for you. What ARVs can do for people living with HIV/AIDS has been called nothing short of a miracle. That these drugs are available in Kenya at highly subsidised rates has also been called a miracle.


Do you believe in miracles? Do you believe ARVs are a miracle? Leave a comment below or join the discussion on Love Matters Naija and Love Matters Kenya.

 

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