Chukwunulokwu Fyne Nsofor
POPULAR THEOLOGY
Can God Heal HIV/AIDS?
The question of whether or not God can heal HIV/AIDS has become a recurrent one, especially among the more pentecostal/charismatic members of the Church. Whether in conferences, seminars, workshops or other faith-based settings, whenever the subject of HIV/AIDS is discussed, the question of whether God can heal the disease invariably comes up. Taken at its face value, the simple answer to the question is an unequivocal YES. However, the apparent question of whether God can or cannot heal HIV/AIDS often belies a more fundamental subtext which calls for careful unpacking. Unfortunately, the structures and practices in our churches and in many of our other social spaces, do not always lend to the kind of safe environment that makes for an open and expressive community. Hence, people tend to express themselves not by making direct assertive statements but through the backdoor of questions, often in roundabout ways.
That being the case, we must look well below the surface to figure what might be the underlying assumption or assertion encased in the question of God’s ability to heal HIV/AIDS. More often than not, when the question of whether or not God can heal HIV/AIDS is raised, it is often an indirect way of getting to the assertion that on the matter of HIV/AIDS cure, what ‘the church’ should offer as ‘medicine’ is the prayer of faith. Accompanied by this assertion is an often implied, but sometimes expressed, surety of the result of divine healing for HIV/AIDS. In many cases, this position is often ‘buttressed’ by inferences and/or anecdotal claims of HIV/AIDS healings not yet independently verified by qualified medical personnel. Within these ideas are several tacit understandings such as the belief that healing cannot be considered divine unless it is exclusive of any medicines or medicinal agents and that God is obligated to answer every prayer provided it is offered in faith and by the faithful.
Before we return to these implicit or explicit assumptions about divine healing, it is important to reiterate a few facts. There should be absolutely no question at all about God’s ability to heal any manner of diseases. If God made our bodies in the first place, it should be no big deal for God to heal our bodies when diseased. In God’s response to Abram’s lingering doubts about the prospect of him and Sarai having a child in old age, his words were “I am the God of all flesh, is there anything too hard for me to do.” In his defense before King Agrippa and on the weightier matter of raising Jesus from the dead, the Apostle Paul asked, “[w]hy should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?” (Acts 26:8 NIV). In fact, the question of God’s ability to heal HIV/AIDS or any manner of disease known or unknown to humankind is indeed a moot one. It is doubtful that there’s anybody in the church who seriously doubts God’s ability to heal. To be as clear as can be on that point, it bears repetition that if the question is framed as to God’s ability to heal, the obvious response is a resounding and unequivocal YES! God can heal HIV/AIDS just as easily as He can heal stomach ache or create the world out of nothing!
If the question does not actually lie in the province of divine ability, it seems that we are in deed dealing with divine willingness. That is to say that our question is not really can but will God heal HIV/AIDS? Without question, this raises a number of profound theological and philosophical questions; questions of divine will, the nature of knowledge—what and how we know-divine healing, and the nature and function of faith. These are not questions reserved for professional theologians, philosophers and psychologists who continue to plough their depths. These are questions of interest and concern to all of us and must be taken on at popular levels.
The question of God’s willingness to heal is trickier than most Christians, faith healers and miracle workers are willing to admit. Even if we can be certain that God can heal, we must plead ignorance or at least sidnk (sir, I do not know) to whether God will heal specific illnesses and specific cases. Besides the oft trumped ‘perfect’ and ‘permissive’ wills of God, there are the general and special wills of God. By general we mean God’s universal will (as clearly taught in His word and/or deduced from His character) which is applicable to all peoples at all times and places. By special we mean God’s will that is applicable to specific person/s in special time/s and place/s. God’s general will is derived from direct statements of the Scriptures, organized in a logical way so that one part or idea does not conflict with another part or idea, and verified by how the Church has interpreted the scriptures over the life of the Church and in relationship with God’s dealing with His people. In contrast, God’s specific will is derived from God’s activity in an individual believer’s life founded on the Word of God and verified by the history and experience of the Body. The primary difference between general will and specific will is this: general will is more objective and applies to all people and can be determined independent of the believer; while specific will is subjective, applies to specific persons in specific circumstances and cannot be determined independent of the believer to whom it applies.
Is it the will of God to heal HIV/AIDS? In a general sense, we can safely say that it is God’s will to heal HIV/AIDS. All diseases and infirmities are rooted in what Christian theology refers the Fall or Original Sin. The creation account in the Bible book of Genesis records the curses placed by God on Adam and the created order consequent of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (cf. Genesis 3:16-19). Adam being the representative man and the head of humanity, the devastating sentence of death—the ultimate consequence of his sin—fell upon all humankind, as the Apostle Paul alluded in Romans 5:12. It is not to be glossed over that sometimes, in fact, more often than not, sicknesses do result from personal sin, risky behavior and irresponsible lifestyles. Yet, when we say that sickness is a result of sin, we must be careful not to jump to the conclusion that every manifestation of sickness in every case is the result of the direct sin of the sufferer. It is as dangerous as believing that every misfortune that befalls someone is a result of that person’s direct sin (cf. Christ’s correction of such misconception among his disciples in John 9:1-3). As members of fallen humanity, we share the common liabilities of living in a fallen world. That is why a teetotaler may be run over by a drunk driver or why a faithful heterosexual wife may be infected with HIV by her promiscuous husband.
The good news is that sin and sickness do not have the final word; God does, and He has decreed life. God’s redemptive work on earth is His judgment against sin and sickness; the entire anti-life things that befall his beloved creatures. Jesus’ resurrection from the dead is a demonstration of the power of life over the forces of sin and sickness. It is God’s will to heal not just HIV/AIDS, but malaria, epilepsy, baldness, cancer, typhoid, stammering, cataract, loss of memory, and ageing.
Will God heal a particular HIV/AIDS patient in a particular place at a particular time? This question brings us into the arenas of knowing—what we know, how we know and the limits of human knowing—and faith. Theologians use the word omniscience when they speak about God and knowledge. Omniscience can be described as the ability to know with absolute certitude, all things past, present and future, in all entireties, and in their true relationship with things as they really are. This ability belongs only to God; not the angels, not Satan nor demons, no less humans, posses omniscience. Particularly when it comes to matters of the supernatural, what we can know with any degree of certainty is by divine revelation. However, even if God revealed reality as it truly is, our finitude and the noetic effects of sin will still preclude our knowing things in an absolute sense; ask all the true Prophets of God or the Son of Man. Notwithstanding the hubris of the pseudo-super spiritual and ignorant charlatans, the honest answer to whether God will heal a particular HIV/AIDS patient in a particular place at a particular time is a faith-filled, but humble, I do not know—only God knows.
If only God knows, can I believe God for the healing of HIV/AIDS? The “I” doing the believing may refer to the HIV/AIDS patient or to a second party—fellow believer, prayer warrior or minister. Especially in life and death decisions such as may be applicable to HIV/AIDS issues, it is critically important to carefully separate faith from presumption. True Christian faith does not disavow rationality and intelligence, a sound mind and clear head. True Christian faith embraces truth. True Christian faith is an abiding conviction borne out of a vital relationship with God, activated by the Holy Spirit and infused with the spontaneity of discernment. Faith is not wishful thinking, or taking presumptive actions in order to obligate God to ‘prove himself.’ When the “I” doing the believing is not the patient, it is doubly important that “I” do not impose my convictions on the HIV/AIDS patient and require him/her to do anything that would aggravate his/her situation or put her/him in further jeopardy. For instance, it is dangerously irresponsible to require the patient to not seek proper medical assistance or dispense with his/her drug regiment on the basis of my conviction that s/he will be healed.
In some Christian quarters, there is some understanding of faith that precludes the use of medicines in the treatment of diseases. In fact, there are denominations that are founded on this understanding. There are, they say, different strokes for different folks; everything is not for everybody. Without question, there are persons who, for a variety of reasons, enjoy robust heath, never fall sick or use any means for the healing of their bodies, except the absorption of natural medicinal agents from foods, and/or the use of oils and other properties for their skin, etc. This is, however, a far cry from legislating a universal non-use of medicines for the treatment of ailments. Doubtlessly, in an idyllic pre-Fall Garden of Eden or in our new bodies in the New Jerusalem there will not only be no illness but also no need for medicines (except, maybe, the herbal remedies suggested by Revelations 21:4). This side of eternity, the human body is subject to sin, sickness, death and decay. This side of eternity, God uses means, including food, fruits, and medicines, to heal and replenish the body (cf. Isaiah 38:21, Ezekiel 47:12; 1 Timothy 5:23).
In conclusion, we reaffirm that God has the ability to heal all manner of diseases from the simplest discomfort to the most complex, including those for which modern science is yet to find remedies. This is not just an article of faith, but a present and lived reality in God’s church and God’s world. Whether God will heal a particular patient in a particular time and space is known to God only. Our faith in God—His willingness and ability to bring good out of the bad—compels us to pray with fervency, boldness and assurance for the healing of the sick (cf. James 5:14, 15). Because the outcome is entirely God’s prerogative we must not presume on Him, dictate to Him or try to arm-twist Him into doing our bidding. We must avoid the kind of neopaganism that tries to use God or force God into doing our biddings. Not presuming on God means that the HIV/AIDS patient must continue to avail him/herself of all the known therapies available until God heals with clear and verifiable evidence by qualified medical personnel.
Dr. C. Fyne Nsofor is the president of Global Health, Education and Economic Development (GlobalHEED); and St Augustine Institute of Advanced Christian Studies, (SAIACS), a Christian/ministerial formation centre in Ikenegbu, Owerri.
Can Heal HIV/AIDS?