By Fred Jackson and Jody Brown
December 11, 2002

(AgapePress) - A former U.S. Surgeon General has told a Methodist Church gathering that when it comes to dealing with AIDS, condoms are more reliable than vows of abstinence.

Joycelyn Elders

Dr. Joycelyn Elders was the keynote speaker at a recent conference in Washington involving more than 200 delegates from black United Methodist churches. In her address, she pointed out that although African-Americans make up just 12% of the population in the United States, 59% of women with AIDS and 65% of teens with AIDS are black.

According to the United Methodist News Service, Elders then went on to chastise the United Methodist Church for allowing the AIDS virus to be treated as a sin -- and she questioned the church's unwillingness to advocate condoms to prevent the spread of the disease.

As she put it: "I agree condoms will break, but vows of abstinence break far more easily."

Elders apparently does not read the American Journal of Health Behavior, which recently reported surprisingly successful results among high school students who participated in the "Sex Can Wait" curriculum developed at the University of Arkansas. According to Lifesite News, after just eight weeks of exposure to the program, the students were more likely to remain virgins and to have a commitment to abstinence than did those students who did not participate.

In addition, the "True Love Waits" campaign -- a biblically-based abstinence program that started ten years ago -- continues to demonstrate that Christian teens are able to keep their word when it comes to sexual purity. The campaign challenges teens to make a pledge to remain abstinent until marriage.

Most pro-family groups have spoken out against Elder's philosophy on AIDS. They say AIDS is a disease that is primarily caused by sinful activity, and that the promotion of Bible-based morals is the only true cure.

At the same gathering, during the conversation on AIDS, a Hebrew scholar stated that the pulpit should be used to encourage honest discussions about sexuality. UMNS says Randall Bailey, who is a professor at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, also shared his interpretation that the initial portion of the Book of Esther is a homoerotic story.

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