spirit and healing in africa - University of the Free State

which Jesus directly turns towards them to encourage them, or in which Jesus rejects the
prevailing views of society. West (2003:339) observed that “their deep desire is for an alternative
theological perspective that grants them dignity, given that the predominant theology they
encounter from the church is extremely damaging to people like them”. The method developed
by West and Zengele-Nzimande reveals how the emphasis has shifted: the accent is on breaking
away from status quo views on HIV/AIDS, on reading Scripture in a positive way, and on being
encouraged to live positively. The voices of HIV-infected people have, at last, reached the
theological agenda.
The same kind of focus on fullness of life is promoted by African feminist theology. African
women theologians reflect on the pandemic from a gender-sensitive perspective, arguing that
churches ought to develop a theology of the sacredness of life. God’s solidarity with the poor and
the marginalized — the central point of feminist liberation theology — has to do with justice,
restoration, hope and quality of life. Human life, including ‘infected’ life, should be protected
and liberated (Phiri 2004:428). The church, therefore, has to reject a direct link between illness
and sin, and has to acknowledge that infection or illness is more than a medical condition. In
addition to the firm rejection of sin, guilt and female submission in the face of AIDS, various
members of the Circle of Concerned African Women Theologians have generated particular
responses to the AIDS pandemic by introducing concepts like ‘gender’ and ‘culture’ in their
theological analyses. Specific topics like marriage as the centre of patriarchy, domestic violence
and rape, cultural rites of passage, the condition of widows, and the role of the woman as the
most prominent care-provider for orphans and HIV-infected people are brought to the attention
of church and theology. Another example of feminist theology in the era of HIV/AIDS is the rereading
of certain biblical texts from the perspective of vulnerable people and those living with
HIV/AIDS. For example, the story of the persistent widow and the unwilling judge in Luke 18:1-
8 offers the chance to identify with the widow who refuses to surrender and who insists on
justice; based on the image of God as the God of justice one is encouraged to persist in the
context of HIV/AIDS, and to call out “grant me justice” (Dube 2004:19). In addition to the
identification with biblical characters, African feminist theology develops perspectives on the
identification with Christ: “The church needs to realize that today Jesus Christ stands amongst
the suffering, saying, ‘Look at me, I have Aids’” (Dube 2002:538f).
Justice and liberation are the main lenses through which African women’s theologies view
HIV/AIDS. The destructive forces of the pandemic are mostly framed by gender inequality,
social suffering, and global injustice threatening marginalized people (of whom HIV-infected
women constitute the majority). HIV/AIDS is depicted as power structures that can undermine
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