Pentecostalism, African style

More references (not Wikipedia)

http://allafrica.com/stories/200912160626.html

It is feared that HIV prevalence in Uganda may be rising again; at best it has reached a plateau where the number of new HIV infections matches the number of AIDS-related deaths. There are many theories as to why this may be happening, including the government’s shift towards abstinence-based prevention programmes, and a general complacency or ‘AIDS-fatigue’.

PEPFAR is channelling large sums of money through pro-abstinence and even anti-condom organisations that are faith-based, and believe sexual abstinence should be the central pillar of the fight against HIV. Abstinence-only is also being encouraged by evangelical churches within Uganda, and by the First Lady, Janet Museveni.This money is making a difference - some Ugandan teachers report being instructed by US contractors not to discuss condoms in schools because the new policy is 'abstinence only'. Dozens of billboards around the country have sprung up promoting only abstinence to prevent HIV infection and sometimes discouraging condom use. Some leaders of small community-based organisations also report they are aware that they are more likely to receive money from PEPFAR (which is the largest HIV-related donor to the country) if they mention abstinence in their funding proposal.(From http://www.avert.org/aids-uganda.htm)

Religion has nothing to do with rape. 1/4 of South African men have admitted to raping women, and SA is a predominantly Christian country. Rape is a tool of violence and repression, not sex. It is all too common in African conflicts.

(http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1906000,00.html, and http://www.worldpress.org/Africa/1561.cfm for starters)

If more men in Africa would "hand jive" (as you call it) instead of raping women, the AIDS rate would be a lot lower. Because the amount of extra-marital sex going on in some parts of Africa isn't consensual. As for using condoms, it's better than nothing.

Athena, Athena, Athena,

Some think that condoms are perfect in preventing pregnancy, STDs and AIDs. As per the Guttmacher study, they are not. Said information is for the "newbies" here.

And "handjiving" centers would appear to be the perfect Ugandan solution.

Everyone, please send your used vibrators to all those African Pentacostal missionary friends.

So, CCNL, you're saying that people shouldn't use condoms because of the chance that they might break? I don't understand why you're cutting and pasting this bit of information. Is it because I mentioned condoms, and your bot has to spew this bunch of stats out every time that word is mentioned?

If you'd read a bit further instead of copying and pasting things out of context, you would learn that the Ugandan AIDS prevention campaign that reduced their infection rates was ABC - Abstinence, Be Faithful, use a Condom. If you couldn't do A or B, do C. What happened after the Family-controlled current Museveni regime came in was that they stopped advocating condom use, in favor of just abstinence. Well, that didn't work, and AIDS infection rates are on their way up. So, they're blaming the small number of gay people in Uganda rather than their own misguided changes to their national AIDS policy. That's what happens when religion trumps good social policy.

"FIRST-YEAR CONTRACEPTIVE FAILURE RATES
Percentage of women experiencing an unintended pregnancy - (and the decision to have or not have an abortion and note male and female condoms have a high pregnancy failure rate and therefore a high failure rate in protecting against AIDs)
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/fb_contr_use.html
Method Typical
Pill (combined) 8.7 %
Tubal sterilization 0.7
Male condom failure rate 17.4
Vasectomy 0.2
3-month injectable 6.7
Withdrawal 18.4
IUD
Copper-T 1.0
Mirena 0.1
Periodic abstinence 25.3
Calendar 9.0
Ovulation Method 3.0
Sympto-thermal 2.0
Post-ovulation 1.0
1-month injectable 3.0
Implant 1.0
Patch 8.0
Diaphragm 16.0
Sponge §
Women who have had a child 32.0
Women who have never had a child 16.0
Female condom 27.0
Spermicides 29.0
No method 85.0

(Abstinence 0)
(Handjiving 0)

Thanks for pointing that out, Athena. I can't believe the original piece so totally *ignored* all that. Or can I?

Some not-so-great side effects of African Pentacostalism are an increase in accusations of witchcraft, especially towards children and older women; increased violence towards homosexuals (i.e. the Ugandan "Kill-The-Gays Bill"); and an uptick in AIDS cases brought about by reduced condom use, due to "abstinence-only" AIDS education.

The following reality will put an end to said spread of religion/pentecostalism in any form:

1. Abraham founder/father of three major religions was either the embellishment of the lives of three different men or a
mythical character as was mythical Moses, the "Tablet-Man" who talked to burning bushes and made much magic in Egypt.

Many of the 1.5 million Conservative Jews and many of their rabbis have relegated Abraham to the myth pile along with most if not all the OT.

Current crisis:

Realization that the Jews are not god's chosen people.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20E1EFE35540C7A8CDDAA0894DA404482

2. Jesus was an illiterate Jewish peasant/carpenter/simple preacher man who suffered from hallucinations and who has been characterized anywhere from the Messiah from Nazareth to a mythical character from mythical Nazareth to a mamzer from Nazareth (Professor Bruce Chilton, in his book Rabbi Jesus). Analyses of Jesus’ life by many contemporary NT scholars (e.g. Professors Crossan, Borg and Fredriksen, On Faith panelists) via the NT and related documents have concluded that only about 30% of Jesus' sayings and ways noted in the NT were authentic. The rest being embellishments (e.g. miracles)/hallucinations made/had by the NT authors to impress various Christian, Jewish and Pagan sects.

The 30% of the NT that is "authentic Jesus" like everything in life was borrowed/plagiarized and/or improved from those who came before. In Jesus' case, it was the ways and sayings of the Babylonians, Greeks, Persians, Egyptians, Hittites, Canaanites, OT, John the Baptizer and possibly the ways and sayings of traveling Greek Cynics.
http://www.earlychristianwritings.com/theories.html

For added "pizzazz", Catholic/Christian theologians divided god the singularity into three persons and invented atonement as an added guilt trip for the "pew people" to go along with this trinity of overseers. By doing so, they made god the padre into god the "filicider".

Current crises:

Pedophiliac priests, atonement theology and original sin!!!!

3. Luther, Calvin, Joe Smith, Henry VIII, Wesley, Roger Williams, Russell, the Great “Babs” et al, founders of Christian-based religions or combination religions also suffered from the belief in/hallucinations of "pretty wingie thingie" visits and "prophecies" for profits analogous to the myths of Catholicism (resurrections, apparitions, ascensions and immaculate conceptions).

Current crises:

Adulterous preachers, "propheteering/ profiteering" evangelicals and atonement theology, all male hierarchies and strange banking and funding.

Continued below:

4. Mohammed was an illiterate, womanizing, lust and greed-driven, warmongering, hallucinating Arab, who also had embellishing/hallucinating/plagiarizing scribal biographers who not only added "angels" and flying chariots to the koran but also a militaristic agenda to support the plundering and looting of the lands of non-believers.

This agenda continues as shown by the massacre in Mumbai, the assassinations of Bhutto and Theo Van Gogh, the conduct of the seven Muslim doctors in the UK, the 9/11 terrorists, the 24/7 Sunni suicide/roadside/market/mosque bombers, the 24/7 Shiite suicide/roadside/market/mosque bombers, the Islamic bombers of the trains in the UK and Spain, the Bali crazies, the Kenya crazies, the Pakistani “koranics”, the Palestine suicide bombers/rocketeers, the Lebanese nutcases, the Taliban nut jobs, and the Filipino “koranics”.

And who funds this muck and stench of terror? The warmongering, Islamic, Shiite terror and torture theocracy of Iran aka the Third Axis of Evil and also the Sunni "Wannabees" of Saudi Arabia.

Current crises:

The Sunni-Shiite blood feud and the warmongering, womanizing (11 wives), hallucinating founder.

5. Hinduism (from an online Hindu site) - "Hinduism cannot be described as an organized religion. It is not founded by any individual. Hinduism is God centered and therefore one can call Hinduism as founded by God, because the answer to the question ‘Who is behind the eternal principles and who makes them work?’ will have to be ‘Cosmic power, Divine power, God’."
The caste/laborer system, reincarnation and cow worship/reverence are problems when saying a fair and rational God founded Hinduism."

Current crises:

The caste system and cow worship/reverence.

6. Buddhism- "Buddhism began in India about 500 years before the birth of Christ. The people living at that time had become disillusioned with certain beliefs of Hinduism including the caste system, which had grown extremely complex. The number of outcasts (those who did not belong to any particular caste) was continuing to grow."
"However, in Buddhism, like so many other religions, fanciful stories arose concerning events in the life of the founder, Siddhartha Gautama (fifth century B.C.):"

Archaeological discoveries have proved, beyond a doubt, his historical character, but apart from the legends we know very little about the circumstances of his life. e.g. Buddha by one legend was supposedly talking when he came out of his mother's womb.

Bottom line: There are many good ways of living but be aware of the hallucinations, embellishments, lies, and myths surrounding the founders and foundations of said rules of life.
Then, apply the Five F rule: "First Find the Flaws, then Fix the Foundations". And finally there will be religious peace in the world!!!!!