God, AIDS, Africa & HOPE

A new year has begun and  most of the new resolutions will take their usual way of being forgotten within weeks.
I have been asked since a long time whether it would be possible to read the book “Gott-AIDS-Afrika” in the English language.I have read out of the book in many places, among others churches, bibliotheque’s, the German Parliament, the Bavarian Parliament, the representation of Rhineland-Palatinate in Berlin and bookshops in Germany and Austria – and there was a period of time where I was not able to do so…  Two exemplars of the book went to Rome, one was sent to Pope Benedikt XVI ( and yes, we got a receipt) and the other I handed to a Polish Prelate while in Rome with the promise to pass it on…. But as I live in South Africa, there was also quiet an interest into the contents of the book.
I always promised to make an English copy available but never had the time to think of how I want to do it. After being translated into English, the manuscript was laying on my desk for almost a year. There was always something more important to do. But now I have decided to publish most of the book in an English translation here on the blog: “God – AIDS – Africa”  – you can read chapters of the book from the 1.February 2012 – every second days a new chapter will be published. I decided against publishing it as an E-book – there is no need to earn money on it, the purpose of the book was always to stimulate a discussion within the church about the moral teaching of my church and the challenges HIV and AIDS poses to this teaching. The book tells stories I have encountered, questions I have asked myself and those who are in charge of our teaching.
B.Grill, my co-author has added his voice and experience as well. I am looking forward to responses and dialogue – this is what the book intended to stipulate. And once again just for the records: I am happy within my church, which is and remains a community of saints and sinners. But we will only develop our theology and we will only be able to give the right answers to the questions of today when we ask the right questions ourself, when we debate, when we compare the teaching with our daily experience and check on it. For institutions which proclaim they have parts of the truth already within their teaching, it can be hard to allow such questions. But I am sure that God and his reality is so much more than what we know so far and all critical questions are part of learning more of this reality.
Well, with that, one resolution of the old year 2010 will come into practice in 2012. Better late then never. 🙂 And who wants to read it in the original German version – amazon.de or amazon.com should have the hardcover as well as the paperback still on offer.

Filed under: General, HIV and AIDS, HIV Prevention, HIV Treatment, Medical and Research, Networking, Politics and Society, Reflection, Aids, bartholomaeus grill, bastei-luebbe, book, catholic church, church, Church Matters, gott-aids-afrika, hiv, HOPE Cape Town Association & Trust, kiepenheuer & witsch, people living with the virus, south africa, stefan hippler, theology