Joshua’s God… And AIDS

WED., JUNE 28, 2000, 9:17 AM
RM. 310, PULLIAM

As a Christian who has done more serious Scripture reading in the New Testament, it is quite an “experience” to read and study… and discuss… Joshua, with your Wednesday morning group. Joshua’s relationship with Me, as the apparently single God, Yahweh, was one of mostly obedience to a definite call. And this call, in contrast to the Jesus and Paul “portion” was to kill “for Me”. It isn’t clear, from the actual Scripture, why these people, under these various kings, were “enemies” of Mine. They didn’t acknowledge Me as the God that the Jews knew and, presumably… sometimes… served, and that seemed to be the major reason for killing them… and their domestic animals… and burning their buildings.

With this as truth it is clear that I was reducing the population of that region, with the Jews now more in control. (Joshua’s capacities did convince them that his God, Me, was powerful… and certainly could be angry with them.) Oh, some Jews were “lost” in these skirmishes, but it was clear that they were to prevail over these various “… ites” people.

Now if I am the same God (even as I’m “buttressed” by Jesus, the Christ, and by Me, Holy Spirit) you are quite interested in how I see this current “epidemic”, called HIV or AIDS. The documentary last evening told of many deaths, both current and projected, of young adults and of young children, born of mothers with AIDS. The focus was on countries in Africa. This is currently the worst site, but there are others, up and coming, in the earth.

As you expected, the documentary did not include Me as a cause or as an active “part” of this increase in deaths. (There was a mention of the Roman Catholic Church, but without identifying any significant role for it.)

Since this disease is spread, person to person, by means of “unprotected” sexual intercourse, it is clearly implied that in these countries there is considerable premarital and extramarital sexual union (not approved by the Catholic or other Christian churches). Thus, a cultural practice that could… and does… result in pregnancies now also can bring on the early deaths of those “participating”… as well as the earlier deaths of the children conceived.

These are not deaths from “the edge of a sword” but from the human body’s incapacity to effectively deal with a tiny virus. It is not a mighty armed force of men who are doing the killing, but a teeny organism with the ability to reproduce and finally overcome the generally effective body defenses. The Old Testament story of Joshua assures you that I, as Yahweh, was active in the killing of “non-Jews”. Is this present story a strange parallel, with Me as an active participant, working “through” these small viruses? This, of course, would be quite an “unpopular” affirmation in your culture… even in your church.

Yet consider the alternative analyses: I am not willing… or perhaps even able… to affect this “natural” loss of life… OR… AIDS is just a natural consequence, at this time in the earth, of sexual relations with varied (and infected) partners… a kind of “recompense” from the God of Joshua… OR…

How powerful am I? How willing to be powerful am I? Is it evidence of My strange sense of fun that I cause or allow the very act that produces new human life to be, when “misused”, the cause of painful, “premature” deaths? Is this another, more fatal, form of disease with some similarity to the older venereal diseases, which caused sterility before a lingering death?

My Teachings to you, one with a long career in health education, have assured you that I am quite aware of the present and future damage to this unique Earth for which humans are responsible. I am not given “credit” for deaths that at least slow population growth a bit, and your culture’s concern is more and longer life.