News, As an atheist, I truly believe Africa needs God.

[Spindle]

Just telling people abstinance is idiotic and foolish, that's why American abstinance programs always fail and will never work, since people are sexual animals and are going to have sex unless they are given an adequate sex education

you cannot use American culture as a base point for non-western nations. Abstinence outside of marriage has been prevalent in many cultures throughout history, despite people being sexual animals.

[agnostic soldier]

Originally Posted by Spindle

you cannot use American culture as a base point for non-western nations. Abstinence outside of marriage has been prevalent in many cultures throughout history, despite people being sexual animals.

Abstinance outside of marriage isn't part of African culture. Many Africans believe in waiting for the person that they're going to marry although it is culturally acceptable to have multiple sexual partners at the same time and put it above finding the person they're going to be with. It is nonthinking blather when the missionaries tell the Africans to be abstinate since that isn't part of their culture. The Africans need to be educated on safe sex, not someone's personal opinion on whether they should or shouldn't wait to be married in order to have sex.

[Spindle]

Abstinance outside of marriage isn't part of African culture.

you're going to make a sweeping generalisation about Africa when it is of hundreds of different cultures?

[Who?Me?!]

Originally Posted by Spindle

you're going to make a sweeping generalisation about Africa when it is of hundreds of different cultures?

ALL humans are just that...HUMAN, they are NOT going to stop having sex....you can "IF" it to death but it isn't going to stop.


Whoever or whatever created humans made them sexual...talk to them.

[Spindle]

Originally Posted by Who?Me?!

ALL humans are just that...HUMAN, they are NOT going to stop having sex....you can "IF" it to death but it isn't going to stop.


Whoever or whatever created humans made them sexual...talk to them.

*slaps forehead*

[Gretchen_SDCA]

Originally Posted by AaronK

Opinions are like *******s. Everyone has one. We all have choices. Don't choose to have sex.

You should be ashamed of yourself. You clearly have never lived in African
societies, nor are you familiar with African customs. I spent three years living in South Africa. While I was there, I had a domestic employee, who cleaned my house. Her husband slept around a lot, like many of the African men there did, and expected sex. Saying no was not an option for her. Also, due to his wonderful church upbringing, he believed that sex was for procreation only. And so, after her 8th pregnancy, in which she nearly bled to death, she came to me, begging me to take her to the clinic
to have her tubes tied. The doctor had told her that she would likely die
with another pregnancy, but her husband didn't care. So I paid for it and took her. When her husband found out, he abandoned her and the entire family. This happens all the time. Moreover, a few months later she tested positive for HIV.

This was an honorable woman, one who trusted her church, who had utterly failed her. Again, you should be ashamed of yourself and so should
the Catholic church.

[Gretchen_SDCA]

Originally Posted by Spindle

i deplore this argument and I'm an agnostic. The Catholic faith teaches you not to use contraceptive, but it also teaches you not to have sex outside of marriage, ie not before, not during with another partner, never. IF that rule were also observed, then AIDS would not be rife like it is now. I think people try to blame the easiest thing they can. It's poverty, crime and unstable governments that is the continent's problem, not religion. If it were the Catholic Church's fault, then countries like Argentina should also have an AIDS endemic.
If you want to attack the church, attack it over its stance on things like homosexuality.

Don't be naive. First, most women in Africa don't have a choice as to whether they want to have sex with their unfaithful husbands. Choice is not part of the "culture." Second, the statistics of Catholics in developed countries show that the overwhelming majority blatantly ignores church teaching regarding contraception. I'm not sure how they individually rationalize it, but it certainly accounts for the discrepancy you cite above.

[Spindle]

First, most women in Africa don't have a choice as to whether they want to have sex with their unfaithful husbands. Choice is not part of the "culture."

that damn catholic church!

But you guys are right.
-Africa has one culture, not hundreds, and this single culture is to have as much sex as possible. This includes the Islamic north of the continent.
-Humans are sexualized beings and people have been having orgies in every single culture for the entire history of humanity since we can't control ourselves
-and those damn catholics are at fault for teaching their people certain laws and the people being selective as to which ones they practice.

I guess I'll just join the rest of everyone who will attack the most obvious problem: the presence of the catholic missionaries in africa. I demand at once they exit so Africa will finally be at peace.


I'm just going to leave this debate with this link: http://www.avert.org/aids-africa-questions-1.htm It is a far better explanation as to the reasons why AIDS has become a problem in Africa than simply blaming the Catholic Church.

[BornOKThe1stTime]

If Christians really wanted to help Africans they would start handing out condoms ASAP!

Missionaries are just a band-aid. They are also part of the cause of a lot of Africa's problems