Deep Waters
on Alex MacMillan (Namibia), 29/May/2012 11:42, 34 days ago
"We believe that divine healing was provided for in the Old and New Testament and is an integral part of the Gospel." So says article 15 of a certain church with a cult following in the region. Many similar churches in Southern Africa have faith healing as an integral part of their belief and practice. Witness the following forum exchange:Guys! i have a friend who was mislead i should say. She told me she is going out with a certain guy whom i havnt seen yet because of the long distance thats between us now. Apparently somebody called this friend of mine and tell her that the brother to her boyfriend is a witch and sometimes changed to a ghost. she called me crying, claiming that she is loosing the love of her life because of that. A night ago i received a call from her sister telling me that my friend tried to overdose, or how do you call it (but i mean she wanted to kill herself) just because of that, can you imagine. I tried talking to her several times but the situation isnt improving. i thought you guys would give your usuall good advices so that i can help my friend. What should i do?My friend, this witchcraft happened in our country. My advice are,1. if your friend is a chrisian she should start praying to god,pls tell her not to go to witch doctor.devil will never beat devil. Meaning, you can not go into darkness and wait to see,no.unless to take a light to go in dark than you can see. 2. Tell her to visit a church in hochland park called,[***name removed***] there is a pastor who can chase devil away and healing people with any sickness,i mean any.check him @ TBN TV every sunday @15:00 Note,only if you belive in jesus. 3.people who kill themself will neva go in heaven. Good lucky to herWhere this practice proves problematic in Namibia is if HIV is the sickness ("a pastor who can chase devil away and healing people with any sickness, i meanany"). HIV healing is not a theoretical problem here, but a real cause of death. Earlier this year I participated in a community discussion on the issue in the northern town of Rundu. People reported that almost every week someone dies through complications because they abandoned their ARV drug regimes after faith healing. A local HIV testing centre reported that townspeople regularly insist on being re-tested to check that they have been healed of their sickness. The practice of faith healing encourages false confidence and so also helps to create the perfect environment for the development of drug-resistant strains of HIV. I usually try and take a positive view of HIV. HIV is just another manageable condition, like diabetes - it is nothing to get hysterical about. But the fact remains that the Namibian public has access to only two lines of ARV treatment. If you default once and the second available line does not work for you, that often means there is no second chance. And "people who kill themself will neva go in heaven".