[AKA_Monet]

Then, I am unclear why folks tend to gravitate toward the church when they are in the most dire of circumstances...

I guess folks have a strong faith and believe that because Christ did miracles for those in need of health, that the church, especially the Black church will do the same.

IMHO, one of the most powerful "health-related miracle" of Christ out there is the one after crucifixion when the blood of Christ seeped down onto the leper colony and cured them.

IMHO, the second most powerful "health-related miracle" is the pool at Bethesda.

In fact there are many "health-related miracles" that Christ did in healing the sick.

With our new Westernized medical society, where proof of concept is key for the treatment of all diseases, folks afflicted with HIV/AIDS, especially the health disparity of African Americans, particularly women, it is no great wonder why folks always tend to gravitate toward the Black Church to find absolution.

So the key question is given the sordid causes how one actually gets infected with HIV, will they have salvation in their life or after they die?

Moreover, the other issue is that relatively younger African American women are becoming infected by HIV. I doubt the number is high due to IV drug use, which means that they probably getting it by unprotected sex. Moreover, the teenage pregnancy rate has been high in our community for awhile. It is not often that a girl becomes impregnated at first sexual intercourse encounter, although it happens. So essentially are we willing to agree that self-esteem is absent in our young ladies (meaning 9 years old)???

African American women's groups, including our sororities, have addressed these issues for over 20 years, and now we have the complexity of HIV/AIDS...

I think there does need a multi-prong attack to end this devestation in the United States of America.

And I think some groups are going to have to take some open-minded stances...

That includes the Church and its moral adjudication on people.

Because when you alienate people based on moral reprehension, groups of them start to die off like flies... And is that very Christian?

We are all our brother's and sister's keeper... That is what we call humanity... If we believe in a higher power, then we need to help others even when we abhor their livelihood. But "right action", folks less that able learn and build from that. Why should the Church be used as a destructive tool rather than to build up His kingdom?