Shareware Overload Trio 2/Shareware Overload Trio Volume 2 (Chestnut CD-ROM).ISO/dir26/aidschri.zip/AIDS.TXT

Text File | 1994-02-09 | 32KB | 550 lines

========================================================================
        Reprinted from HERALD OF THE COVENANT, Volume 7 Number 4
   Newsletter of Covenant Presbytery, Presbyterian Church in America
========================================================================


                       AIDS: A Christian Response
                       by the Rev. Barry C. Waugh
                  pastor, Eastland Presbyterian Church
                           Memphis, Tennessee


     The Black Death which  ravaged  Europe  in  1347 and rapidly spread
across the continent is estimated to have  killed  from  one  fourth  to
three  fourths  of  the  populations  of the individual countries of the
continent.  It is  thought  that  the  plague  killed  a  total of up to
twenty-five million  people,  a  total  of  one  fourth  of  the  entire
continent's  population.   A popular theory of the origin of the disease
was the belief that the  Jews  had  poisoned  the wells of Europe.  As a
result of such thinking, Jews were massacred throughout  the  continent.
In one case, twelve-thousand were cruelly murdered in the hopes that the
killing of the Jews would end the horrors of the Black Death.

     The  time  of  the  Black  Death was, to say the least, chaotic and
insane.  When one considers that  the  medical knowledge at the time was
minimal or non- existent it becomes easier to understand the response of
the people.

     In our age we have the best  of  medical  technique  and  knowledge
available  to  us, but we find our fears cause us to knee-jerk reactions
rather than thoughtful analysis of the AIDS situation.

     When we consider the statistics given by the medical and scientific
communities our fears increase.   As  of  November 1986 it was estimated
that 1.5 million Americans were infected with the AIDS virus and  15,000
had  died  from  its  devastation.  AIDS deaths by 1991 are projected to
total 180,000.  It is more  frightening  when  one realizes that as time
passes the  occurrence  of  AIDS  outside  the  "high  risk"  groups  of
homosexuals  and intravenous drug abusers is increasing.  The percentage
of heterosexual cases has  risen  from  one  percent  to four percent in
recent months.  (1)

     The guarded projections about the future spread of the disease  are
even  more  frightening.   In  1985  there  were  19,081 cases and it is
projected that for 1988 there  will  be  over 91,000 cases.  The outlook
for the United States in 1991 passes the quarter-million mark.  (2)

     The disease is not limited to the United States.   It  is  believed
that  up  to  10  million  people worldwide carry the AIDS virus and are
potential victims.  We must remember  that there is a difference between
carrying the virus and having AIDS in it's advanced stages, but as study
continues and the years pass it is being discovered that a  greater  and
greater  percentage  of  the carriers of the HIV (human immunodeficiency
virus)  do  come  down  with  the  disease.   These  10  million victims
represent about eighty nations that have reported AIDS cases.  (3)

     It is believed that the AIDS virus originated  in  central  Africa.
At  the  present  time  it is central Africa that is facing the greatest
devastation by the disease.   The  countries  of Zaire, Uganda and Kenya
are facing the pain of many of their citizens and loved ones dying  from
the virus.

     An article by Robert Bazell, science correspondent for NBC News, in
the  NEW  REPUBLIC  cites  the  destructive power of the plague.  Bazell
estimates that the disease will  kill  millions  in central Africa as it
spreads in the coming years.  Bazell said, "In the six years I have been
reporting AIDS, I never imagined  it  could  become  so  horrible."  (4)
Researchers  in  Kinshasa, Zaire report that one-fourth of the deaths in
the  city's  main  hospital  are  now  from  AIDS.   In  Nairobi,  Kenya
scientists have watched the number of infected prostitutes climb from 4%
in 1980 to more than 60% at the present.  (5) In 1985 in Kinshasa, Zaire
four cases of AIDS were  being  diagnosed  every day and almost all were
heterosexuals.  (6)

     Why are statistics from Africa so important?  Because if Africa  is
where the virus originated it means Africa has a longer history with the
disease  and  more  years for the progress of its devastation.  In other
words, what we now see in the  African  nations is a picture of what may
await the United States and other nations if the spread of  the  disease
progresses unchecked.

     It  is necessary for us to understand what we can about the way the
virus is  transmitted.   The  present  medical  opinion  is  that  it is
transmitted in three ways: intimate contact, contaminated blood, and  to
children  born  to infected mothers.  We also know that the virus is not
only present in the blood  but  in  secretions, saliva, sweat, tears and
various body tissues including the brain and skin.  (7)

     When medical doctors or research  scientists  give  us  information
about  AIDS  they will inevitably qualify their findings with statements
like,  "as  is  known  at  this  time,"  or  "according  to  our present
research." Medicine, like any  other  science,  is  based  on  research,
statisticsan  epeimentation.   If the information available tells us the
disease is only transmitted in the three previously mentioned ways it is
on the basis of  WHAT  IS  PRESENTLY  KNOWN.  What about the possibility
that the evidence is deficient?  What if, since the virus is present  in
many  body  fluids,  it can be transmitted through spit, tears or urine?
We should be careful to not  conclude it is necessarily true the disease
can be transmitted through these fluids but we better be sure it  CANNOT
if we are to say it cannot.

     What  about  something as simple as kissing?  When you kiss you are
making contact with saliva  and  if  you  have  bleeding gums or chapped
lips, what then?  One health professional has been honest about his lack
of certainty in this area when he said, "I, and just about every  health
professional, would like to duck that topic.  (The topic of kissing as a
way  of  transmission.)  Designate  kissing  as  a transmitter and, deep
panic, all human association will carry a sudden deductible clause." (8)
There is  a  hesitancy  among  some  in  the  health  care  community to
eliminate kissing as a possible way of transmission.

     It could be that some of the responses to AIDS seen today are plain
old superstition or reactions based on fear and not fact.  In  the  case
of  Rock Hudson we find that the nurses who attended him while in France
burned their garments and destroyed  the  utensils  he ate with.  (9) If
the French nurses attending Rock  Hudson  acted  in  such  an  extremely
cautious  manner,  it might be appropriate for all who have contact with
AIDS victims to  take  more  caution.   It  would  be  tragic  for us to
discover in the future that AIDS is transmitted in more casual ways than
the three previously listed.  The tragedy would be that we were  not  as
cautious with this deadly disease which is admitted to be a unique virus
by the medical professionals.

     AIDS  is  a  disease of utter devastation and destruction.  We have
all viewed the news  reports  showing  victims  with a drawn appearance,
bleary eyes, and a body covered with sores.  It is a pitiable condition.
The destruction, though, goes  beyond  the  ones  infected  and  touches
family, friends, fellow workers and society in general.  In one case, an
American  soldier stationed in Africa in the late 1970's made use of the
services of a prostitute.  On  returning  home  to the States he married
and atered three children.  At age 37, about ten years after his African
tour of duty, he developed AIDS and died.  His widow and  their  fifteen
month  old  toddler  are severely ill with AIDS.  The older two children
show no infection.  (10) The  disease  is rapidly spread through illicit
physical contact and the result in most cases is death  and  destruction
that reaches beyond the one originally infected.

     Another  case  involved chief warrant officer Martin Gaffney of the
United States Marines.  He  is  suing  the  Navy  for 55 million dollars
alleging that its doctors botched the care given Gaffney's  wife  during
her  first pregnancy.  Gaffney himself is suffering from AIDS and his 13
month old son died last summer  from  the disease.  The first child died
in the womb during the mother's complicated pregnancy in 1981 and it was
at the time that Gaffney's wife, Mutsuko, received two units  of  blood,
one  of  which was AIDS contaminated.  The second child born in 1983 was
not infected with the virus, but the  third born in 1985 was the one who
died at 13 months of age.  This is a real tragedy especially in light of
the fact that the victims were not infected through promiscuity, as  the
G.I.  in the previous example, but through receiving contaminated blood.
(11)

     Fear  is  good  when  it makes us aware of danger.  To be afraid of
fire, electricity or power  tools  makes  us  more  cautious when we use
these forces.  Fear of AIDS is healthy, but we should direct our fear in
a proper manner.  This  kind  of  disease  could  easily  bring  rampant
paranoia  and  emotional strain (if it hasn't already).  The fear factor
has been influential in all areas of our society.  "The Episcopal Bishop
of  California,  for  example,  recently  issued  a  pastoral  letter in
response to the fears of parishioners that  they  could  get  AIDS  from
drinking Communion wine from a common cup.  In his letter Bishop William
Swing  said he would not prohibit the use of the common cup.  However he
urged 'pastoral understanding' for  those  who  choose not to drink from
it." (12) Is it unreasonable for a person to not want to  drink  from  a
common  cup in light of AIDS?  It seems good to me to be cautious in the
light of what is not known about AIDS.

     With  ever  increasing  numbers  of  AIDS  cases  occuring,  it  is
correlative that the economic cost  will  rise as well.  It is estimated
by one study that health care costs for AIDS patients will  run  between
eight  and  sixteen billion dollars in 1991.  (13) As the cases increase
the long term hospital  stays  will  increase  as the patients face sure
death from the disease.  The figures mentioned are not comprehensive  in
that  they  do  not  include  the  financial loses arising from the lost
employment of the  ill  nor  the  costs  to  family  and friends as they
personally care for the victims.

     AIDS is not only a national  problem  but  a  world  disaster.   As
Christian  citizens  of the United States we should be doing what we can
to see that our governing  bodies  do  their duties as the protectors of
the population.  We have heard about the danger of AIDS and we know  our
own  concerns  firsthand.  It has been argued that the main issue in the
1988 elections  will  not  be  Iran-gate,  nor  the  budget deficit, nor
defense  spending,  but  AIDS.   The  NATIONAL  REVIEW  reported,  "Four
specific issues are emerging (for 1988 elections): AIDS  instruction  in
the  public  schools, AIDS testing, AIDS quarantining, and federal funds
for AIDS research and  treatment."  (14)  In  the  light of the nation's
concern in this area we find that our government is doing  little  about
protecting  the uninfected citizens or our nation.  What we find instead
is concern for the rights of the AIDS carriers.

     The Department of Health  and  Human Services charged the Charlotte
Memorial Hospital with discrimination when it fired  and  AIDS  carrying
male  nurse.   The charge was based on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation
Act of 1973 which prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in
any program or activity that receives federal funds.  It was argued that
the nurse could have been transferred to  a unit in which his AIDS would
have not been as great a threat to patients.  (15)  Is  there  any  such
location  in any hospital?  Nurses change bandages on open wounds.  They
come in contact  with  the  mouth,  eyes,  nasal passages, and excretory
system.  A small cut on the nurse's hand could transmit the disease.  Is
this protecting the rights of the majority, or is  it  catering  to  the
desires  of  a  special  interest group whose lobbying is more effective
than that of the majority?

     What  should  our  government  do?   Should  the  present  inaction
continue or should we lobby for action to protect our families?

     One  article  expresses  the   problem   well,  "The  responses  of
governments and public agencies to the threat to mankind from the  rapid
spread  of  AIDS  and  its  related  diseases  have been dangerously and
perhaps fatally inadequate.  On the  one  hand, they want to prevent the
disease from becoming one of the biggest killers man has known.  On  the
other,  they  are  over  anxious  to avoid offending high risk groups or
arousing  unreasonable  discrimination  against  known  carriers  of the
disease.  They are allowing an understandable sensitivity to the  rights
and  feelings of minorities to outweigh their higher duty to protect the
lives of all their citizens." (16)  Christopher Monckton goes on to call
for: monthly testing  for  AIDS  and  the  quarantining  of  known  AIDS
carriers  from  the  uninfected population.  It seems to me that monthly
testing of the entire population  of,  in Monckton's case, Great Britain
is a logistic nightmare and would be a financial  and  social  disaster.
If  we were to expand this ideas to the United States the problems would
be four to five times  greater.   The  idea of quarantining, though, may
become necessary in the light of the potential danger to the world.

     The  purpose  of  quarantining  is  to  protect  the  mass  of  the
population from contracting the disease.  Through history the quarantine
has been used to protect people from cholera, leprosy, and tuberculosis.
We find the basis for the quarantine in  Scripture  in  Leviticus  13:46
where  we  see  that  the person tested for leprosy and found contagious
should "dwell alone." Some might  argue  that AIDS is not transmitted as
easily as leprosy, tuberculosis  or  cholera,  which  on  the  basis  of
present  knowledge  about  AIDS  is true.  The danger of contracting the
disease from casual contact may  not  be  a  real one, but the danger of
purposefully being given the disease is very real.

     Those  that argue against the use of quarantining AIDS carriers say
the "quarantining will help no one.   Most AIDS patients are too sick to
be transmitting the virus.  The virus is being spread largely by  people
who  do  not  have AIDS but are infected with the virus, and they may or
may not even know it.  Quarantining would be totally futile." (17) Maybe
the main problem is the  unknown  carrier,  but does that mean the known
carrier should be running free to infect the population?  In an incident
in Birmingham, Alabama a 26 year old AIDS  carrier  intentionally  threw
rocks  at  a young woman and spit on the woman's infant child.  (18) One
homosexual dying of AIDS  has  said:  "There  has  come the idea that if
research money is not forthcoming at a certain level by a certain  date,
all  gay  males  should  give blood...whatever action is required to get
national attention is valid.   If  that  includes blood terrorism, so be
it." (19) Most recently, a man who  had  purchased  the  services  of  a
prostitute  woke up the next morning to find scrawled on the room mirror
in lipstick, "Welcome to AIDS."  The man had been intentionally infected
by the woman as he sinned with her.

     In  the  light  of  such  militant  and  hateful  actions,  is   it
unreasonable to require AIDS carriers to be quarantined?  The quarantine
is not a means of oppressing the diseased, but a means of protecting the
public.   "Throughout  history  true  humanitarianism  has traditionally
involved the compassionate but firm  segregation of those afflicted with
communicable diseases from the world.  By carrying out  such  a  policy,
diseases have been contained." (20)

     It  is  argued that getting AIDS has nothing to do with who you are
in terms of race or sexual  orientation.   It  is said it is not who you
are, but what you do that brings the infection.  (21) To a  degree  this
is  true,  but our society is increasingly being victimized by those who
DID do something.  The innocent  victims  who received the virus through
blood transfusions, or the medical technicians and nurses who contracted
the virus through open cuts that were exposes to  AIDS  infected  blood,
the  innocent  children  born  to  AIDS  infected  parents, or the women
assaulted by  AIDS  carrying  men  did  not  do  anything  other than be
unwilling victims.  Marital fidelity has been  under  attack  since  the
Fall  of Eden and it seems that those who are promiscuous do not care if
they infect the obedient.  Yes,  "what  you  do"  is a major factor, but
those who have been involved in nothing are suffering the ravages of the
disease as well.

     The fight against the disease should be through the proclamation of
marital fidelity and faithfulness to sexual activity as defined  by  the
Word  of  God.   "Unless HIV (AIDS carriers) unknown subjects are tested
and  develop  mutually  faithful  monogamous  relationships  with tested
partners of similar HIV status, intercourse,  even  with  condoms,  will
carry  some  risk  of  HIV  transmission." (22) The question arises here
whether the NEW  ENGLAND  JOURNAL  OF  MEDICINE  sees monogamous to mean
heterosexual marriage in fidelity or if monogamous is being  used  in  a
homosexual  sense.   That  is, the homosexuals should be tested and then
remain "faithful" in their  perverted  living.   I think the language is
ambiguous on purpose.  This article does point out that  the  only  safe
sex for heterosexuals is that limited to the bounds of marriage.

     In  a  recent publication the author tells of a "safe sex kit" that
was made  available  to  all  Dartmouth  University  students during the
winter term of 1987.  The author describes the unbelievable contents  of
this  "kit"  which  are  intended  to  protect  people  from  AIDS.  The
instructive  brochure  enclosed  with   the  kit  mentions  heterosexual
practice in passing, but it is obvious the  kit  is  intended  to  reach
homosexuals.   In  the Dartmouth kit and literature there was no mention
of  abstinence,  only  the  instructions   concerning  the  use  of  the
mechanical devices enclosed.  (23)

     There is no  doubt  that  the  society  we  live  in  is  extremely
promiscuous  and adulterous in the way it lives.  Man continues to stand
in the face of God and shake his fist proclaiming, "I will do it any way
but God's way!" Homosexuality, adultery, and perverse practices are sin.
This raises the question that is  common in the Christian community: "Is
AIDS a judgment from God?" What is usually meant by  this  question  is,
did  God  specifically  send  AIDS to judge the promiscuity of the human
race?

     In order to understand this issue  we must understand the nature of
sin.  Sin has contaminated all of creation.  This does not mean that all
creation is evil, but that evil has made a mark on what exists.  We  can
enjoy a beautiful flower and then we must bend to pull the weed from its
base.   Disease  is  a  result of sin.  The flu, cancer, pneumonia, etc.
are here because of sin.  In  the  eternal  state we read in the book of
Revelation, "And God shall wipe away all  tears  from  their  eyes;  and
there  shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall
there be any more pain: for  the  former things are passed away" (21:4).
The affliction of the body is here because of sin,  whether  it  is  the
"sweat  of  the  brow" in laboring for a living, or the painful death of
cancer.  So, disease in general is here because we are sinners living in
a sinful world.

     I think that  Christians  need  to  be  very  careful about calling
anything a judgment from God.  It is tragic that  Christians  sometimes,
with  the  best  intentions,  counsel one another and blame each other's
problems on a sin that was committed.  It is true we "reap what we sow,"
but not all we  reap  can  be  traced  back  to some particular sin.  We
cannot forget that for the Christian, "...all things work  together  for
good  to  them  that love God..." (Romans 8:25).  The Christian needs to
see the Lord's forgiveness and blessing and not get hung-up on "judgment
from God" ideas in his life,  nor  should the Christian be ready to jump
on an evangelical bandwagon and call every natural disaster and epidemic
a venting of the wrath of God.

     With the preceding in mind we need to look at the AIDS epidemic  in
the  light  of  Scripture.  In the book of Revelation, chapters 5-11, we
read the apocalyptic language  describing  the pattern of human history.
From the seals and trumpets we know that history is marked by  times  of
famine,  death,  destruction  and  drought.  The Apocalypse displays the
purpose of these events  is  to  bring  people  to repentance.  When the
Black Plague fell on Europe it was an instrument of God to  convict  the
people  of their sin and need for fellowship with Him.  When the tornado
strikes and loved ones die, the  purpose  of the tragedy is to bring the
victims, family, and friends to the Lord.  So, is the  AIDS  epidemic  a
judgment  from  God?   In  one  sense  no  one  can answer this question
absolutely because no one knows  the  mind  of  the Lord, but in another
sense we can say yes, God is judging the sin  or  promiscuity  with  the
intent  of  bringing  the  elect  to  repentance  and  the  reprobate to
destruction.

     If AIDS is a judgment in  this  sense then how should the Christian
respond to AIDS victims?  We should recognize that when the drug  addict
or  homosexual  feels  guilt as a result of his disease it is because of
his sin.  In one example a homosexual "minister" in Chicago acknowledged
in TIME magazine that people intellectually don't buy the idea of "God's
judgment," but  in  their  feelings  and  emotions  there  is  guilt and
conviction.  (24) AIDS, like cancer, a death in the family, a lost  job,
or  a  home  lost in a fire, can be a tool to bring people to repentance
and faith in the Lord Jesus.

     Should we be concerned to see strenuous efforts made to find a cure
for AIDS?  Some would say that if AIDS is a judgement from God we better
not interfere.  (25) I  doubt  that  the  same group would argue against
ministering to the alcoholic or drug abuser, even though, like the  AIDS
victim,  these  are  suffering the results of their sin in their bodies.
The plagues and  problems  of  life  are  a  result  of our condition as
sinners, but at the same time we are to fight these difficulties  as  we
"fill  the  earth  and  subdue  it."  For  a  Christian  organization or
individual to be against AIDS  research  is  as wrong as not stopping to
help the beaten man in the parable of the Good Samaritan.

     It is difficult to maintain a balance between  recognizing  that  a
person  is  ill because of their sin and rebellion, and being willing to
show compassion and the ministry  of  the  Word  to that person.  In the
case of AIDS as  in  alcoholism,  prostitution,  child  abuse,  or  drug
addiction, the Christian must be willing to minister to those in need.

     Another  side  of  the AIDS epidemic is to see that the disease has
changed people's behavior to conform more  to the Bible.  Some have come
to the Lord, but many who lived  promiscuously  have  cleaned  up  their
private lives.  In Nevada, where prostitution is legal, health officials
say  patronage of the local houses has been off as much as 40% since the
publicity about AIDS began.  In Japan the drop has been more dramatic in
some cases as business has dropped up to 90%.  (26) AIDS shows the world
that if you step out  of  God's  defined biblical bounds of marriage and
sin in promiscuity you will reap that which was sown.


                            CLOSING THOUGHTS

What should concerned Christians do about this disease?  It is the  kind
of  situation  which breeds deep feelings of helplessness, but I believe
there are courses of action believers can take.

     1.  It  has  been  proposed  by  President  Reagan  that immigrants
seeking to enter our country be  tested  for  the  AIDS  vru  ad  denied
entrance  if  found  to be contaminated.  This is a good move toward the
protection of the citizens of the nation.

     2.   Support  the  efforts  of  those  proposing  AIDS  testing for
marriage licenses.  If people are tested for other social diseases prior
to the issuing of a marriage license, why not such a deadly  disease  as
AIDS?

     3.   Though  it  may be distasteful we must consider the use of the
quarantine  to  protect  the  population  from  the  AIDS  carriers  who
intentionally seek to infect the nation and the world.

     4.  Support efforts to tell the  public that the only "safe sex" is
in the monogamous marriage as God has ordained.  In an  article  in  the
JOURNAL  OF  THE  CHRISTIAN MEDICAL SOCIETY, Joe S. McIlhaney Jr.  M.D.,
makes the point that  it  is  the  duty  of Christian physicians to tell
their patients infected with the various  venereal  diseases,  including
AIDS,  that their illness is a result of promiscuity.  The author states
further that Doctors should tell  their  patients that abstinence is the
only "safe sex." (27)

     5.  Support efforts to find a cure for AIDS.

     6.   Remember  that  the  presence  of  AIDS  in  anyone,   whether
homosexual,  drug addict, hemophiliac, or victim of a contaminated blood
transfusion may be the tool the Lord  will use to bring His sheep to the
fold.

     7.  In the midst of the terrors of the Black Plague  of  the  early
fourteenth  century  both  victims  and  the uninfected were looking for
someone to blame.  One of the  solutions  seen as viable was the alleged
plot by the Jews to contaminate the drinking water  of  Europe.   It  is
inherent  in  man's nature that he will always look for someone "to pass
the buck to" or  someone  to  become  a scapegoat.  Homosexuals and drug
abusers are the primary groups that carry the HIV and develop AIDS.   It
may  be  the  feeling  of  our  society  that such people "get what they
deserve," or there may be indifference  about AIDS because it is seen to
be the disease of homosexuals and addicts.   It  is  important  for  the
Christian  that  he  not  find  a  scapegoat to vent his anti-AIDS wrath
against.  There is always  the  danger  of developing the mentality that
killed  the  Jews  during  the  Black  Plague.   Homosexuality  is  sin.
Adultery is sin.  Prostitution is sin.  We must learn to look  past  the
actions  of the sinful heart and see the need of the homosexual, addict,
or prostitute to be redeemed by Christ.

                              ------------

1.  "A Dose of Straight Talk of AIDS," U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, 11/3/86,p8.
2.  "AIDS, At the Dawn of Fear," U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, 1/12/87, p61.
3.  ibid, p64.
4.  "NBC's Bazell Claims AIDS Is Devastating Central Africa," WORLD, 5/25/87,
     p4.
5.  ibid, p4.
6.  "AIDS: A Growing Pandemic?," NEWSWEEK, 4/29/85, p71.
7.  Barnes, Deborah M.,"Grim Projections for AIDS Epidemic," SCIENCE, V. 232,
    6/86, p1590.
8.  Mano, Keith, "AIDS Update," NATIONAL REVIEW, 2/14/86, p60.
9.  "The AIDS Question," NATIONAL REVIEW, Universal Press Syndicate, 10/18/85,
    p63.
10. "AIDS: At the Dawn of Fear," U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, 1/12/87, p60.
11. LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER, 6/8/87, pA-2.
12. Frame, Randy, "The Church's Response to AIDS," CHRISTIANITY TODAY,
    11/22/85, p51.
13. Barnes, p1589.
14. McLaughlin, John,"AIDS in '88," NATIONAL REVIEW, 5/8/87, p24.
15. LEXINGTON HERALD-LEADER, 8/9/86.
16. Monckton, Christopher "IDS: A British View,"  THE AMERICAN SPECTATOR,
    1/87, p29.
17. "Quarantining Will Help No One," U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, 1/12/87, p70.
18. "AIDS Carrier Accused of Spitting on Baby," THE MIAMI HERALD, 3/5/87, pA-
    31.
19. Provan, Charles, M.D., "A Doctor Warns of the AIDS Plague," CONSERVATIVE
    DIGEST, 2/87, p31.
20. Restak, Richard, "Society's Survival, Then Victim's Rights," CONSERVATIVE
    DIGEST, 2/87, p31.
21. "AIDS: At the Dawn of Fear," p62.
22. Goedert, James J., "What is Safe Sex," NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE, V.
    316, No. 21, 5/21/87, p1341.
23. Hart, Jeffrey, "Safe Sex and the Presence of the Absence," NATIONAL
    REVIEW, 5/8/87, pp43,62.
24. Miller, C. John, "AIDS: The Gay 80's," ETERNITY, 11/86, p16.
25. Frame, p50.
26. "Fear of AIDS Chills Sex Industry," U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT, 2/16/87,
    p25.
27. McIlhaney, Joe S., Jr., M.D., "Here's What a Christian Physician Can Do
    About Sexually Transmitted Diseases," JOURNAL OF THE CHRISTIAN MEDICAL
    SOCIETY, V. 13, No. 1, Winter '87, pp26-30.


                                THE END

                              ------------

     The above notes are based on  information  in the data files of the
Jonathan Edwards Society, 428 North Watkins, Memphis,  TN.   38104.   If
you  are interested in more information about the Society just write and
they will be glad to help.   Membership is available for $12.00 per year
($15.00 outside U.S.) and includes a subscription to  their  informative
newsletter.


=======================================================================


For  more  information  on this subject, read the following books.  They
are probably available at  a  Christian  bookstore  near you, or you can
order them from The Counsel of  Chalcedon  for  the  indicated  donation
amount from the address below:

THE AIDS COVER-UP?  The Real and Alarming Facts About Aids
by Gene Antonio  ($25)

HOMOSEXUALITY:  A Biblical View
by Greg Bahnsen  ($20)

THE AIDS EPIDEMIC, A Citizen's Guide to Protecting your Family and
Community from the Gay Plague
by Lawrence E. Lockman  ($15)

The address is:

The Counsel of Chalcedon
3032 Hacienda Court
Marrieta,  GA  30066

By the way, a subscription to The Councel of Chalcedon newsletter, one
of the best Christian newsletters available, is $15 a year.

                          --------------------

Also, the following cassette tape series by Joseph C. Morecraft, III,
pastor of the Chalcedon Presbyterian Church, Atlanta, is available:

Homosexuality & AIDS I (I Corinthians 6:9-11)
Homosexuality & AIDS II (Deut. 28:15-22; Rev. 6:7-8)
How God Removes Dross From a Culture (Isaiah 1:18-26)

This set of crucial messages can be ordered for $12 from:

Multi-Media Ministries
P. O. Box 28358
Atlanta,  GA  30358

                         --------------------

An  interview  with  Gene  Antonio,  author  of  THE  AIDS COVER-UP?  is
available on cassette tape for a donation of $10 from:

Focus on the Family
Box 500
Arcadia,  CA  91006