Abstinence and Aids in Uganda - 14 Oct 08

The outcome of the US presidential election is of great interest to people in Africa.

One of the biggest challenges that the US has tried to take on is the HIV/Aids epidemic.

Despite previous successes, HIV infections are growing in Uganda, and some say a shift towards US-backed abstinence programmes are, in part, to blame.
Haru Mutasa reports.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• AlJazeera
• Al
• Jazeera
• Uganda
• Aids
• HIV
• Abstinence
• Condoms
• Sexuality

[falkenlaser]

We are. It's amazing how a lot of these "Bible-Christians" think Catholics added stuff to the Bible, when they actually took stuff out! There was an idiot who told me that Constantine was the first Pope, and the Crusades were about Catholics killing Christians (this guy denies the Reformation!). Not only that, they rely on a book called "Roman Catholicism" by Loraine Boettner when they get all anti-Catholic, and that book has repeatedly been proven to have fabricated/misprepresented info in it.

[biguglybootneck]

Errr.. Amen to that? I've said the same thing verbatum before. Catholocism pre-dates modern young earth Christianity. They (as do most) follow the King James version of the bible(For the creationists reading this: He was around in the middle ages, was a Brit and had the clergy re-write large parts of the book-that you think god wrote)... It seems to me that we are agreeing the same points from two different viewpoints (so to speak).

[falkenlaser]

Oh shit, those fundamentalist pseudo-Christians are all idiots. The Bible is not a history book; it is not to be taken literally. The Catholic Church was the first Christian faith started 2000 years ago, and we have years of tradition that tell us how to interpret the Bible (heck, the New Testament was written by the Catholic Church. It's amazing how many of those idiot Christians deny this, and think Catholicism was started by Emperor Constantine, when in fact he just legalized Christianity).

[biguglybootneck]

Thankfully I'm not in the US. Where I live we are much more secuar (although not as foreward thinking as Northern Europe for exampe). In terms of real help I have helped many more than you have I'm sure. I agree that of all of the Christian faiths that Catholisism is the most foreward thinking (the Vatican has an astronomer for example) however they have not always been so. I also do believe that faith and science can co-exist, My real problem, lies with the new earth creationist set.

[falkenlaser]

But, you can believe whatever you want. However, if you claim to be an open-minded person, then you should want to seek the truth about things based on facts and not fallacies.

[falkenlaser]

Also, there are things that have happened in Christian circles that science simply cannot explain at all. For example, there was a woman who had a broken spine, which of course is something that there's no cure for. But, I believe she received anointing from a priest, and she was miraculously able to walk again. Not only that, her spine still appears to be completely and totally broken, which has baffled the hell out of doctors and scientists.

[falkenlaser]

As an aside, I go to a secular university, and one of my friends took a biology class. In the first 3 days, the prof discussed how science cannot prove religion wrong, and vise versa. He said science explains stuff in the natural world, and religion is not in the natural world. Not only that, science cannot prove everything. You cannot scientifically prove that a 1 dollar bill is a 1 dollar bill; it's been something that's just socially accepted.

[falkenlaser]

I will agree that abstinence-only education is probably not the best option in this case. But, condom-education only isn't the best option, either. Like I said, Uganda solved their AIDS epidemic with encouraging abstinence along with being faithful first, and using a condom as a last resort. But, if you wish to not believe this, then that's your problem. Also, you can have all the sex you want, but you deserve any STD you may get. People that stay abstinent don't risk getting STDs.

[falkenlaser]

DId you even read my post? Again, open your mind. I'm sure no Ugandan doesn't want to stop having sex, either. But, in their situation, they should at least be faithful to their partners. Like I said, condoms can fail. If they went out and had sex with everyone, and even if they did use condoms, it could still spread because of this. But, if they have sex only with their partner, then they can have all the sex they want w/o risking spreading AIDS to other people.

[falkenlaser]

Being kind is good, and you don't need God to make it legitimate (Jesus just set the example of what to be like). But, as far as I can see, you are a very unkind, intolerant, closed-minded person who has no respect for anyone. If you hate religion this much, then get out of the U.S. Here in America, we have the freedom of religion, and America was founded on Christian values. If you don't like it, move to a place where religion is illegal.