Obama Shares AIDS Views With Evangelicals

(AP)  Potential presidential candidate Barack Obama stood before one of the United States' largest evangelical churches Friday for a frank discussion of sexuality and spirituality that included the declaration that condoms should be made more widely available to fight AIDS.

The Democratic senator's appearance at the Saddleback megachurch was a source of dispute among evangelical leaders, with some of the most conservative saying that a politician who supports abortion rights should not have been allowed to speak at such a prominent church.

Obama urged unity despite political differences to fight the disease that has killed 25 million people since the first case was reported in 1981. Some 40 million currently are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

"We are all sick because of AIDS," Obama said. "We are all challenged by this crisis."

In a show of political unity, Obama took an AIDS test with a potential White House rival on the Republican side — Sen. Sam Brownback of Kansas. Brownback draws his support from the conservative evangelical community, but Obama has been urging liberals not to allow Republicans to claim itself the party of Christians.

After addressing Brownback as his friend and applauding his efforts on issues such as AIDS, Obama said: "There is one thing I've got to say, Sam, though: This is my house too. This is God's house. So I just want to be clear."

In another show of bipartisanship, the Illinois senator said President George W. Bush does not get enough credit for committing $15 million against HIV and AIDS over five years.

He called the dispute over condoms a "false argument."

"I also believe we can't ignore the fact that abstinence and fidelity, although the ideal, may not always be the reality, that we're dealing with flesh and blood, men and women, and not abstractions, and that if condoms and potentially things like microbicides can prevent millions of deaths, then they should be made more widely available," Obama said. "That's my belief."

He said men and women often are "contracting HIV because sex was no longer part of a sacred covenant, but a mechanical physical act." He said government programs cannot solve that problem, but churches can make a real difference by providing people with a moral framework to make better choices.

"I don't care whether you're conservative or liberal, you've got to lift up that aspect of this struggle," said Obama, who at times drew applause.

Obama repeated a story that he read in the Chicago Tribune about a South African woman named Hlengiwe Leocardia Mchunu who lost five of her seven siblings to AIDS. He said he could not imagine what it would be like to have AIDS affect his family, but "here's the thing — my faith tells me that Leo's family is my family."

The summit came on World AIDS Day and the 25th anniversary of the discovery of the disease.

[randalds]

No offense taken.

[robjk1-2009]

No offense but I still disagree.

[randalds]

No one chooses to be gay anymore then anyone chooses to be straight. It's not like you enter puberty and wake up one morning and think, "Gosh, am I going to be attracted to women or men?". I always knew I was attracted to women and am a straight man, but my son also always knew he was attracted to men and is gay. It's not a choice of lifestyle, it's just who you are and they have no more control over their orientation then I do over mine. They could no more be straight then I could be gay. It just doesn't work like that.

[robjk1-2009]

I don't believe no one is born gay.

[randalds]

I used the word lifestyle in the sense that some people put that label on *** as if they have a choice of being gay. That's why I put it in quotes. Many people have claimed that being gay is a "lifestyle" choice and it most certainly is not. My son was born gay as was my step-son who died and my other step-son who's living out as a proud gay man. None of them choose to be gay, it's just as much a part of who they are as the color of their eyes.

[robjk1-2009]

While it's not just a gay issue, certain lifesytles sky rocket the risk factor in acquiring the virus.

It's a no brainer that marrying someone of the oppisite *** and staying within that coevnant has zero risks.

I notice someone posted the friends and neighbor deal with the danger of HIV daily, but then say it's not a lifestyle issue.

While it's not just a gay issue, it is for sure a lifestyle issue.

[randalds]

My best wishes to your daughter gramto11. My step-son died of AIDS in 1990 and my oldest son is gay, so I'm always worried about him too. Yes, I know it's not just a gay issue any longer, but a scary number of younger gay men seem to thinks it's sort of just gone away since not as many are dying of it anymore. I live in a large gay community (West Hollywood)(well on the border between it and Hollywood) and most of our neighbors and friends deal with this danger daily. It's sad how long it's taken and how many had to die though before some people came to understand that it's a public health issue and not a "lifestyle" one.

[gramto7]

I see bushrocks found his keyboard again and can do a different cut-and-paste.

On subject, HIV is no longer just a gay problem. My daughter was infected by her ex-husband. This was 11 years ago, so it hasn't been a 'gay' problem for a long time. I do remember vividly the day she found out that HIS test came back positive. They had already split but he was so 'kind' as to call and let her know and try to browbeat her into returning to him as no one else would 'want her'. I held her for a lllloooonnnnggg time with her screaming and crying "Mom, I don't want to die!" A few of the evangelical know-it-alls need this to happen to them, and they would change their tunes...... maybe. Of course, then again, they might just kick her out and say she caused her own problems.

[afmca]

Most of the evangelists in that crowd would be hard pressed to prove they are really Christian. They have allowed themselves to define the term instead of living the life that Jesus laid out in his words. The hate that most of these preachers have in their hearts disqualify them to really preach the true word of tolerance and empathy that Christians should follow. Many are just 21st century versions of "snake oil salesmen" and con artists that use hate and fear to line their pockets with cold hard cash. If Jesus were to come down today none would be welcome into his fold and would be viewed as heretics for twisting his word for their earthly egos. Many would find the fires of Hades at the end of their life's journey. Hopefully people will really start to see what many of these evangelists are about and reject them. Many have desecrated Christianity just as Osama has done to Islam. With these self-centered, self-righteous religious leaders America is just a generation or two away from the same fanaticism as we see in the Middle East today. People need to start to fight back against their ignorance and follow preachers that want to teach the word of Christ instead of interpreting it for their own worldly gain.

[sankekorafi]

I cannot help but be insulted by the insinuation that religion is the only moral framework to making good choices. I am an atheist. I am also a moral person. Until this article, I would have thought about Obama as a possible person to support for office, especially as he agrees with my views on promoting more awareness of condoms for protecting against AIDS and other diseases. Now, I'm not so sure. But considering that there are certainly no politicians willing to say that atheists are just as moral as religious people, I suspect I'll have a hard time finding a better point of view than this biased one.