ASSIGNMENT

TOPIC : THEOLOGY AND ETHICS FROM

HIV INFECTED BODIES

SUBMITTED TO : FR SHIBU CHERIAN SUBMITTED BY :BASIL BABY

MSOT SEMINARY BD IInd YEAR

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TABLE OF CONTENT. Page no:
Introduction 3

Modes of transmission
Theological reflections on HIV and AIDS 3
The goodness of creation
Creation’s integrity rests on its involvement with God
Sickness is seen in the gospel as a result of this disintegrating and corrupting-
tendency of the misuse of the human freedom
Disease as a wage of sin
Issues faced by affected individuals 5
Stigma and exclusion
Issues of sexuality
Gender issues
Denial and responsibility
Theology towards the HIV patient 7
Ethic of care 9
Ethics towards the affected 10

Conclusion 10
Bibliography and Webliography 11

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INTRODUCTION
The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) targets the immune system and weakens people's
defence against many infections and some types of cancer that people with healthy immune
systems can more easily fight off. As the virus destroys and impairs the function of immune
cells, infected individuals gradually become immunodeficient. Immune function is typically
measured by CD4 cell count.1 AIDS is the advanced form of infection with HIV virus.AIDS was
first recognized in the United States 1981 in homosexual men. Today is seen in both homosexual
and heterosexual men and women.. This virus may not cause recognizable symptoms for a long
period after the initial exposure (latent period). As of early 2009, no vaccine was available to
prevent HIV infection. Until such a vaccine is developed, all forms of HIV/AIDS therapy are
focused on improving the quality and length of life for people who are infected by slowing or
halting the replication of the virus and treating or preventing infections and cancers that often
develop in people with AIDS.AIDS is one of the most devastating worldwide public health
problems in recent history.2
MODES OF TRANSMISSION
Sexual contact - HIV is spread most commonly by sexual contact with an infected partner. The
virus enters the body through the lining of the vagina, vulva, penis, rectum, or mouth during
sexual activity.
Blood contamination - HIV may also be spread through contact with infected blood. However,
due to the screening of blood for evidence of HIV infection, the risk of acquiring HIV from
blood transfusions is extremely low.
Needles - HIV is frequently spread by sharing needles, syringes, or drug use equipment with
someone who is infected with the virus. Transmission from patient to healthcare worker, or vice-
versa through accidental sticks with contaminated needles or other medical instruments, is rare.
Mother-infant - HIV also can be spread to babies born to, or breastfed by, mothers infected with
the virus.3

THEOLOGICAL REFLECTIONS ON HIV AND AIDS

According to Sam Kobia, “while each of the three areas (theology and ethics, pastoral
care and the church as a healing community, and justice and human rights) has a distinct
paradigm, they are integrally connected. Seen from the integral perspective they challenge us
to go even deeper in analysing and asking hard questions around several dimensions rational,

1
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hiv-aids
2
http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/AIDS
3
https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/sexual-and-reproductive-health/hiv-aids/causes.html

3
structural and political.”4
According to K.M. George, HIV/ AIDS cannot be considered as an epidemic in classical sense,
i.e., a disease that appears, affects people in a community or region and then disappears.5It has
transformed as a fatal malady that has come to stay within human communities and that has far
reaching consequences. He suggests some of the following theological considerations which can
redefine the churches’ approach towards HIV and AIDS.
The goodness of creation

Every time we declare that God created and sustain the world. We also declare that God’s
creation is good.
The Bible itself implies that God regarded each and every one of his creations as good.
Biblical Christianity also affirms that wickedness is not the work of God
Because of the exercise of freedom in the wrong, evil first occurred in human history.
Eastern Christianity evolved an extremely optimistic and positive view of creation based on the i
dea that since all of reality is the result of God's love and will, it is fundamentally good.
Every single creature shares in the goodness of equal creation.
Evil, in the words of Gregory of Nazianzus, "has neither substance nor kingdom."
Simply said, it is the absence of good.
Darkness is compared to it since it is the absence of light.
Every aspect of creation is seen as a manifestation of God's kindness, freedom, beauty, and love.

Creation's integrity rests on its involvement with God.

Transparency, harmony, and wholeness characterise a state of integrity. Human sin is an

existential fact that compromises the harmony of creation. Falsehood and darkness brought on by
sin cast a shadow relationship transparency

Sickness is seen in the gospel as the result of this disintegrating and corrupting tendency of
the misuse of human freedom

Through the healing of people and all of creation, the gospel of Christ makes the integrity of
creation under the sign of God's reign evident. Christ strongly opposed the usual moralistic and
judgmental attitude of people around the world to directly link sin to illness in the case of people.
However, in other instances, such as the healing of the paralysed, Christ declares that your sins
are forgiven as a precondition or requirement for recovery. While being careful to not link a
person's sin with their illness, the Christian tradition believed that in the overall life of humanity,
all sickness, or to put it another way, everything that compromises the integrity or holistic nature
of creation, has its roots in the alienation that has occurred between creator and creation.
Considering examples of so called immoral HIV/ AIDS, and life threatening cancer,

4
Philip Kuruvilla and Wati Longchar, eds., HIV and AIDS Towards Inclusive Communities ( Delhi, NCCI
,2013),111
5
Philip Kuruvilla and Wati Longchar, eds., HIV and AIDS Towards Inclusive Communities ( Delhi, NCCI
,2013),111

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both are conditions of sickness and disintegration. Both situations can testify as the result of
sinful human alienation from the goodness of creation. In some cases AIDS can be caused by
sexual misconduct, drug usage, blood transfusions, during child birth etc. in some cases lung
cancer are created by excessive smoking of the patients and some other unknown factors for
individual living a sane life. But no moral discrimination is made in such cases, based on the
act of life-style of an individual. Yet the theological connection between sin and sickness at the
level of entire humanity is maintained.6

Disease as a wage of sin

The eastern patristic tradition conceives sin as the primary form of disease. The ultimate
consequence of this disease is death as taught by the Apostle Paul and others. Sin as a disease
entails death. Sickness too, if not healed, ultimately brings in death. When considering sin as a
disease from a therapeutic perspective, the process of diagnosis, treatment, healing, and
restoration to a state of wholeness predominates. The blame, punishment, and judging models
don't line up the illness, therapy, healing, and reintegration therapeutic model. Teachings about
how God became human in Christ are used to present the therapeutic model. When Christ came,
he acted as a caring doctor, taking upon himself the disease of sin and guilt imposed upon
humans. God was shown by Christ to be a loving mother and a father who is infinitely caring.
Christ's own actions in the world made it clear that he is a healer of all types of illness—physical,
mental, and spiritual. He thought that the presence of healing was a sign.
In eastern traditions it is believed that all the sacraments of church contain fundamental
healing dimension. There is a misconception that each sacrament is for the individual spiritual
fulfillment and individual salvation. But the fact is that each sacrament is community oriented.
For example there is no relevance for baptism without community, the future spiritual growth
and maturing of the baptized must take place in the community of the faithful. Each and every
sacrament has a community dimension. In the orthodox tradition of anointing the sick the
prayers constitutes the healing of whole community. In the longer version of this sacrament the
whole participants’ including the celebrant is anointed with the same oil for communal
healing.7
The whole creation is sharing the image of God, but when one member start’s suffering
the whole body gets into sufferings. We cannot discriminate or alienate the infected part so that
the whole functioning gets interrupted. Every effort to heal humanity of this infirmity is the
effort to uphold the human dignity of God’s image in us as the greatest gift to humanity.8

ISSUES FACED BY AFFECTED INDIVIDUALS

Stigma and Exclusion

6
Philip Kuruvilla and Wati Longchar, eds., HIV and AIDS Towards Inclusive Communities, 113.
7
Philip Kuruvilla and Wati Longchar, eds., HIV and AIDS Towards Inclusive Communities, 116.
8
Philip Kuruvilla and Wati Longchar, eds., HIV and AIDS Towards Inclusive Communities, 116.

5
The foundation for theological reflection was created by the experience of the impacted
individuals and its effects on the church and the poor. There is importance in understanding the
church and its principles in every society. If the church and its clergymen are not doctrinal
It will only lead to condemning the infected and implying that God has punished them for their
bad behaviour if resources aren't allocated to combating the AIDS epidemic constructively.
The prevalent belief in society is that AIDS and HIV are God's judgement for living an immoral
and unfaithful life. It is always viewed as the outcome of a sinful life, etc.
Basically, this kind of major problem of isolating the affected person and his or her family from
communal life is caused by a lack of awareness in society. The true meaning of the church must
be as a place for resolving wrongs committed against the affected parties. In this situation,
theology can play a crucial role in educating the church and society to get rid of these social
stigmas. So, HIV and AIDS continue to provide a significant theological and social issue.
Our narrow theological formations lead people to believe that HIV and AIDS is result
of immoral and sinful activities, and therefore, is sin, unclean, a punishment from God.
Negative attitudes stigmatize, exclude and discriminate people with HIV, and create feelings
of guilt among many people. This is as serious as HIV itself, or even more so. This causes
people to remain silent. People do not want to disclose their status due to fear of discrimination.
It perpetuates an attitude that disease exist only among drug users, sex workers, and people of
different sexual orientation.9
Another misconception is that HIV-positive individuals will soon pass away. They are without
future or hope. However, true theology should impart to society that what matters in life—in its
joys and sufferings as well as in how it is lived—is not a person's age. We meaningfully share
our lives with others. People with HIV and AIDS experience torment in addition to physical
suffering because of social stigma and prejudice.
To a large extent injustice toward those who are living with HIV has been
fuelled by ignorance, fear and judgmental attitudes. Ignorance, silence and intolerance are the
facts which make the prevention and educational campaign impossible in the present society.
HIV and AIDS is not just a medical issue, but rather, it pervades al, spheres of our lives- social,
economic, political and cultural. It touches the precious gift of God – life in its fullness. 10

Issues of sexuality

Clearly the major mode of transmission of HIV is through sexual intercourse. The
churches traditional understandings and conservative morals regarding sex and sexuality has
created a major crisis that requires theological reflection. The HIV/AIDS pandemic in
particular has been driven largely by sexual relations outside of marriage, and by complex
social and political forces. We believe that God has commanded sexual fidelity in marriage and
sexual abstinence outside of marriage. Thus, we believe that prevention of HIV/AIDS begins
by calling all to a life of sexual purity. We also believe, however, that Scripture warns against
the conclusion that suffering and disease can be easily correlated with sin. A Christian response
to this crisis must therefore resist simplistic claims about HIV/AIDS and divine judgment.
9
Philip, Kuruvilla and Wati Longchar, eds., HIV and AIDS Towards Inclusive Communities, 127.
10
Philip, Kuruvilla and Wati Longchar, eds., HIV and AIDS Towards Inclusive Communities, 127

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Manoj Kurian argues that the faith communities tend to distance themselves from honest
discussion about sexuality, believing that this encourages promiscuity and exemplifies a lack
of morals. The effect of this is that the gift of sexuality ‘can be perverted to oppress and
humiliate’.11

Gender issues

African women theologians have provided theological reflection on HIV and AIDS
within the framework of patriarchy. They have addressed many issues from this perspective,
including female genital mutilation; gender violence; harmful and cultural practices both within
and outside the church; and most recently a drive to find cultural practices which may enhance
and promote life rather than deny it.12 Due to patriarchal society's dominance, women struggle
with partners who are afflicted by gender inequity. Women and children who suffer from
patriarchal oppression must be given special consideration. These days, a large number of new-
borns’ are affected during birth. Their condition is so terrible that they will live miserable lives
as a result of the society's alienating attitudes.

Denial and Responsibility

The issue of denial should be replaced by the concept of responsibility and acceptance.
The attitude of alienating those affected people and their families are completely against
Christian values. So the theology should be framed with an open hands of church which
encourages itself with responsibilities of mutual acceptance. Theology should take responsible
action in the face of the epidemic.13

THEOLOGY TOWARDS THE HIV PATIENT

The theology from the infected bodies should discuss the suffering, hope, life, justice and
church with an innovative view of acceptance.

Suffering: Suffering is the central theological concept that is examined in the context of HIV
and AIDS experiences. The cause of this sorrow was previously sinful behaviour in which the
victims had no one to blame but themselves. According to Justin soongie’s, “the suffering of
innocent HIV and AIDS victims includes the pain of betrayal, depression from rejection, and the
deprivation of life. The fundamentalist response blames the victim or insistently expects a
miracle. The humanitarian response gives sympathy, but does not address root issues or provide
a better coping strategy. However, the innocent suffering of Jesus illustrates the potential for the
innocent suffering of the AIDS victim to have a salvific dimension.”14
The book of job is particularly significant in contributing to the theme of
11
Beverley Haddad, Religion and HIV and AIDS, Charting the Terrain, (South Africa: University of KwaZulu-
Natal Press, 2011), 177.
12
Beverley, Haddad, Religion and HIV and AIDS, Charting the Terrain, 177.
13
Beverley Haddad, Religion and HIV and AIDS, Charting the Terrain, 178
14
Beverley Haddad, Religion and HIV and AIDS, Charting the Terrain, 179.

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suffering. This theme of suffering represents the fundamental theological issue to emerge from
HIV and AIDS, and it in turn calls forth a range of other themes as a response to suffering;
namely, hope in a time of suffering, the possibilities of life in the midst of such death, justice
for the victims and the very meaning of being church in such a context.15

Hope: According to Anne Bayle, the Christian faith is itself a source of hope. In the incident of
healing of women in gospels, the message is made clear that nothing is impossible, not even
death has a final say. Facing HIV and AIDS from faith perspective means finding every possible
thread of hope that will keep us from giving in and giving up ourselves. In the face of
devastation caused by the epidemic, Thinandavha Mashau has proposed ‘ a theology of hope and
accompaniment that seeks to stand in solidarity with those infected and affected by HIV and
AIDS thereby providing them with hope that enables them to deal with the present as they wait
eagerly for the future’.16
According to Daniel Louw, the theological loci of creation, incarnation and passion are not
enough to handle the depth of the epidemic. Theology of resurrections can act as a theological
critique on all forms of human suffering, including the spiritual suffering of punishment, guilt,
rejection and stigmatization as a form of death (rejection) is deleted so that the theology in itself,
and therefore the pastoral ministry of the church, become a direct protest against all forms of
human discrimination. Resurrection hope empowers people living with HIV to resist all forms of
labeling and prejudice. It equips them with courage to be, and to live a positive life. 17

Life: Louw’s point about a resurrection theology is explained as life against death, leads
naturally into theological reflections on life. According to Michael Czerny “the church does
not face the AIDS pandemic simply as ‘a problem to solve,’ but listens instead to the lord who
says; ‘I have come to say that they may have life, and have it to full.18 This statement upholds
people's morality and respects their inherent worth, empowering them to say "No" to themselves
in order to say "Yes" to life. attitudes that are life-denying, such as rigidity, exclusivity,
The life-enhancing words of God must eliminate discrimination and punishment. For the
community and society to flourish, the church and society must adopt a life-affirming attitude.

Justice: The theology for the infected bodies must be rooted in the concept of justice. Justice
can be the central theme in formulating the theology for infected bodies. In the history of HIV
and AIDS, we know very well that poverty, ignorance and powerlessness compromise many
women particularly in Africa and increase their risk and vulnerability. Those vulnerable
sections are denied access of proper medication and nutrition. The theological motif of the image
of God invites a prophetic critique of the social environment in which HIV and AIDS
thrives and calls for a praxis of love and compassion.19

Church: While defining the ecclesiology for the people of God we can identify certain themes
15
Beverley Haddad, Religion and HIV and AIDS, Charting the Terrain, 179.
16
Beverley Haddad, Religion and HIV and AIDS, Charting the Terrain, 180.
17
Beverley Haddad, Religion and HIV and AIDS, Charting the Terrain, 180.
18
Beverley Haddad, Religion and HIV and AIDS, Charting the Terrain, 181.
19
Beverley Haddad, Religion and HIV and AIDS, Charting the Terrain, 182.

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for the construction of new theological frame.

 The church in itself has members who are identified as HIV infected. The church
identifies itself as the body of Christ. If church has the infected community within it,
then the body of Christ has AIDS.
 The real church has the nature of diakonia as the primary theme irrespective of many
other so- called doctrinal developments. So if the diaconic nature is restored it cannot
alienate any infected person from its care, because the primary duty is to care.
 Transformation is needed to renew the sleeping church in the facing the issue of AIDS,
the church should bring out healing, hope and accompaniment to all infected with and
affected with HIV and AIDS.
 Church should be affirmed as place of hope and life in the midst of death. The church
should be updated to the developments in the society, without losing sights of its
religious traditions.
 Churches must promote gender equality against vulnerability and humiliations to
overcome the patriarchal dominance to hear the cries of suffering community whose
voices are silenced for centuries.20

ETHIC OF CARE
Cure and care: According to Thomas Kalam, "there is a Christian healing for those living with
AIDS, but there is no Christian medication or cure for HIV and AIDS, and there never will be."21
While there are restrictions on treatment in this situation, there are no restrictions on care. In
reality Christian care starts when there is "no cure," or when there is complete despair and
rejection. In this view, just care is about enabling people with HIV to celebrate life, even in the
face of their suffering and the potential for death, rather than about preparing them for the
eventual death, though it does involve this dimension at some point.

Ethic of Touchability: HIV and AIDS manifest itself as a modern incarnation of leprosy,
which brings back the stigma, isolation and social uprooting. People living with HIV, the new
untouchables need to be offered this healing touch of Christ through our own touch of love
and care. Anne, living with HIV tells us about the healing touch. “Love is warmth and
understanding. Having somebody hug me or pat my hand, tell me that HIV and AIDS is like
cancer or other diseases… with love, the medicine that the doctor gives you can bring more
healing.22

An ethic of table fellowship: Another misgiving about HIV is that the disease can be
contracted through sharing utensils of AIDS patients. Discrimination of HIV and AIDS is
tangibly felt when people refuse to dine with them. Community care ethic is certainly one of
risk taking. It is allowing ourselves to be vulnerable. When we accept the challenge of caring
for people living with HIV and AIDS, we are in fact sharing in the common humanity, identity,

20
Beverley Haddad, Religion and HIV and AIDS, Charting the Terrain, 183.
21
Rev. Dr Thomas Kalam CMI is an eminent academic and internal speaker.
22
Philip Kuruvilla and Wati Longchar, eds., HIV and AIDS Towards Inclusive Communities, 166.

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and vulnerability of all human beings. It then becomes an ethic that affirms the identity and
dignity of the suffering. People living with HIV may lose some measure of their immunity, but
not their humanity and dignity.23

A political ethic: As Tinyiko Maluleke reminds us, HIV returns issues of personal and
individual ethics and morality. “the personal here is devastatingly communal and political.” 24
Therefore, a just care ethic is necessarily a political ethic. There is no space for ‘holier than
thou’ attitudes here as moral self- righteousness is recognized as the greatest of all immorality.
The human temptation is to jump into moral judgments. In case of these infections the tendency
is to blame certain sections such as LGBT, sex workers, and drug abusers. Moralizing never
solves the problem rather it helps to complicate the issues. In social terms, compassion must
be seen as the collective will and political acts that brings about resources, structures,
institution, and norms directed at the care of the sick, the prevention of the illness and the
promotion of health.25 By challenging the systems that contribute to and spread HIV, such as
capitalism, sexism, and racism, we may demonstrate our support for the fights against other
social injustices, such as untouchability, globalisation, poverty, and unemployment.

ETHICS TOWARDS THE AFFECTED

In the context of HIV and AIDS pandemic, it is important to look from the perspectives of
infected bodies. The PLHIV have the potential to teach us as we strive to develop new strategies
to create sexual health.
A) Those affected bodies are really longing for love, affection and relationships. These are
the bodies that refuse to accept the dominant notion that there is no alternative. They want to
dream that tomorrow can be a different day, and they want to live their today proleptically
experiencing the beauty and joy of the day that is yet to come. Care, healing, and restoration in
the time of HIV and AIDS and our efforts to seek sexual wellbeing should enable the PLHIV
to experience health, healing and intimacy in their bodies and lives.26
B) The infected bodies of PLHIV are sites of alienation and brokenness. They narrate the
tragic and haunting stories of stigma and discrimination and exclusion. The infected bodies of
PLHIV remain as an eternal critique of our dominant notions of sexual morality, and hence,
they have the potential to inform the construction of an alternative sexual ethics of wellbeing
and wholeness.27

CONCLUSION
To understand a problem with clarity is already half way towards solving it. Confusion
distorts individual behaviour as well as social action, and ignorance of the effectiveness of
23
Philip Kuruvilla and Wati Longchar, eds., HIV and AIDS Towards Inclusive Communities, 167.
24
Hiv/aids as the new site of struggle: Theological, biblical,and religious perspective
25
Philip Kuruvilla and Wati Longchar, eds., HIV and AIDS Towards Inclusive Communities, 168.
26
George Zachariah, Asian Christian Review, Ethics in the Time of HIV and AIDS: Celebrating Infectious
Memories For Positive Living, 2010 vol 4, 78,
27
George Zachariah, Asian Christian Review, Ethics in the Time of HIV and AIDS: Celebrating Infectious
Memories For Positive Living, 2010 vol 4, 79

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societal intervention contributes greatly to resignation, fatalism and ultimately
callousness.28 All facets of human life are destroyed by the HIV and AIDS condition. The
condition is not even being accepted by the educated society, making the experiences of infected
bodies more and more vulnerable. The church must break its silence as the body of Christ.
and develop a sound theology of tolerance for all those diseased bodies. Throughout his ministry,
Jesus never turned anyone away. Therefore, the so-called disciples lack the right to exclude or
discriminate against the infected community. It is not the physical suffering that makes it
terrible; rather, it is the way in which those people think that leads to the terrible outcome for the
sick bodies. Since if one body part is damaged, the entire body will suffer, it is not our place as
responsible humans to evaluate the creation.
The entire body is affected. We are all obligated to share the suffering of our fellow beings.As
mentioned in the report, these sharing can be done with a little bit of love, care, togetherness,
compassion, and just treating them like regular people. We believe that all people, well and sick,
are loved by God because we see life as a gift from him.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Kuruvilla Paul, Longchar Wati, eds., HIV and AIDS Towards Inclusive Communities,
Delhi: NCCI, 2013.

2. Zachariah, George, Ethics in the Time of HIV and AIDS: Celebrating Infectious
Memories for Positive Living, Asian Christian Journal, Vol 4,No: 1, 2010.

3. Akhavi, Negar ed., AIDS Sutra: Untold Stories from India, New Delhi: Random House
India, 2008.

4. Haddad, Beverly ed., Relegion and HIV and AIDS: Charting the Terrain, South Africa:
University of KwaZulu- Natal Press, 2011.

WEBLIOGRAPHY

1. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hiv-aids

28
Negar Akhavi, Aids sutra, Untold Stories From India, (New Delhi: Random House India, 2008), 1.

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 2. http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/AIDS

3. https://stanfordhealthcare.org/medical-conditions/sexual-and-reproductive-health/hiv-aids/causes.html

12