1. HIV – A Christian Response
CABSA Guiding Principles

2. Our Motivation
• 2 Corinthians 5:14 Christ's love has
moved me to such extremes
(Message)
• Christian compassion flows from the
love of Christ poured out in our
hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom 5:5)
• Living according to the Gospel
command to love God and to love
our neighbours as ourselves is the
key to being salt and light to the
world.

3. Our Relationships
• Luke 8: 43-48 She was not only healed –
Jesus gave back her God-created dignity
that was taken away through her sickness
and society’s perceptions thereof.
• Gen 1:27 God created human beings; he
created them godlike, Reflecting God's
nature. He created them male and female.
• In Christ the distinctions we erect between
Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and
female is no longer! Gal 3:28 and Col 3:11.

4. Our Responsibility
• Ephesians 4: 15
• We live in fear of God and not in fear
of people, and do not have to be
afraid of talking about HIV and AIDS,
sex and death in spite of social taboos
• As Christians we know that we do not
have all the answers and the whole
truth.
• Truth can only be liberating and
empowering when it is spoken in a
sensitive, empathetic and caring
way.

5. Our search for Answers
• James 3:17 Drawing on Scripture
traditions and teachings through the
ages.
• If we do not search continually for
answers with the wisdom that comes
from the Holy Spirit, we cannot
progress beyond simplistic solutions
• HIV is not countered with moralistic
and prescriptive preaching, but rather
by emphasizing the dignity and worth
of the human person that derives
from biblical teaching.

6. Our Service
• James 1:27; Matt 25:33
• Christians cannot but value the
whole of human life. Separating
“body” and “soul” and deeming the
soul more worthy than the body, are
not biblical.
• Serving those in need is not an
alternative to, or a preparation for
preaching the Gospel. It is part and
parcel of the Gospel made flesh. We
are called to live the Gospel daily.

7. Our Identity
• 1 Corinthians 12:12 The church is
an HIV infected body. No one
dare say “This is not my
problem.” Living with, or
otherwise affected by, the virus,
we are all the one Body of Christ
• The divisions created by stigma,
secrecy, silence and
judgmentalism divide the Body of
Christ!

8. Our Attitude
• Roman 15:7 Christ accepted us
unconditionally. Though we sin time and
again, Christ accepts us. Forgive
unconditionally “seventy times seven”
(Mat 18:22) and “seven times a day”
(Luke 17:4).
• Christians should mediate and facilitate
reconciliation.
• Forgiveness and new life, through God’s
unending love and mercy. The grace of
Christ in action is demonstrated through
love and acceptance,
• Counter the mistaken idea that sickness
is the result of sin. John 9

9. Our Hope
• 1 Peter 1:3 Christian hope is a living
hope confirmed in the resurrection
of Christ and the life-giving power of
the Holy Spirit.
• All of life has great worth. Even on
the verge of death, life is lived before
God and to be respected.
• We are called to live our lives in such
a way that our actions will disclose
that which we hope for in concrete
and practical ways.

10. Our Task
• 2 Cor 5: 20 Through us, God’s desire
to reconcile the world in Christ, is
fulfilled.
• All our efforts to image Christ to the
world will fail unless we accept in
faith that God’s Spirit is in us, working
ceaselessly to accomplish God’s will
through us
• Through our communal and personal
prayers, we encounter the source of
our being and strength for the tasks
before us.

11. Our Calling
• Psalm 72 : 12-14 – “He will
rescue them from oppression and
violence”
• We are called to stand up against
entrenched injustices in our
society .
• We have to stand in the breach
for people who suffer and are
vulnerable.
• We do this when we intercede in
prayer as priests and when we
advocate on behalf of those who
suffer as prophets.

12. Our Guiding Principles
• Our Motivation - Love
• Our Relationship - Dignity
• Our Responsibility – Break the Silence
• Our Search for Answers – Wisdom of the Spirit
• Our Service – Practical Acts
• Our Identity – One Body
• Our Attitude - Accept
• Our Hope - Believe
• Our Task – Ambassadors
• Our Calling – Stand up for Justice