HIV/AIDS and Christian Sexuality

I am currently in Abilene, Texas attending Summer Seminar in Missions at Abilene Christian University. The theme of the seminar is "Responding to HIV/AIDS" I have been absolutely blown away so far. The seminar is being presented by Dr. Bruce Smith. He has been a very interesting speaker to listen to. Some of the topics covered have been, "HIV/AIDS: What they are and why they are important for the Church and missions," "What long-term missionaries need to effectively deal with HIV," and tomorrow will deal with "What short-term missionaries and U.S. churches need to effectively deal with HIV." Before Thursday I probably would have told you that I had a fairly good awareness of what HIV was. When I think about it now, really I didn't know very much at all. I have learned so much over the past two days about HIV and how it functions and how it can and cannot be transmitted. I have been shown the rate at which HIV is spreading in countries across the world. I have listened to people who are living with HIV speak and share their heart. It has been an eye-opening and heart changing few days.

Something that blew me away on the first day of the seminar was the discussion that began regarding Christian Sexuality. The topic arose because the primary way that HIV is being spread in the US is through illicit sex, both homo-sexual and hetero-sexual. Sexuality is something that has become a taboo in our Christian culture. It simply just isn't talked about and when it is talked about it is spoken of in such "churchy" terms that no one really understands what is being discussed. I mean how many people out there know what fornication really means? Maybe people do, maybe they don't, but in my opinion we, the church, try to avoid the issue as much as possible. Until this week I had never heard sexuality being discussed in public in such an open and honest manner, in either a Christian or secular setting.

I feel that we are made to believe that sexuality is bad when really it is not. We were made sexual beings by the God who loves us. Our sexuality is a gift. I don't necessarily remember someone outright telling me but as I grew up I was taught that sex outside of marriage is wrong and that it is a gift to be enjoyed by a man and a woman who are committed to each other in marriage. I agree with this completely and I think that it is important that this message is taught. I also think that our youth would benefit from being educated about their sexuality by Christian men and women that they love and respect. I don't think that our young people are currently being educated about their sexuality, or at least not adequately. I know that I wasn't. To simply tell people that sex is off limits until they are married is not enough. I think that if we would educate our youth about their sexuality, giving them honest and correct information so that they can better understand their sexuality and the reasons that God has created them in this way that it might be easier for them to make a choice not to experiment with sex. I think that the temptation for a young person to experiment with sex is very similar to the temptation to experiment with drugs. The media glamorizes both drugs and sex. A young person's interest is peeked and what better way to find out if it is as good as TV says it is than to try? The "Just say no" to drugs campaign may be effective but I don't think a "just say no" to sex campaign is as effective as if we get involved in the lives of people and help them to understand the dangers and the consequences of sex, in any form, outside of a committed marriage relationship as well as the joys and the blessings that it can bring in the relationship that God made it for.