South Africa's 'Jesus-had-HIV' Pastor on 30-Day Fast
A pastor from Cape Town who created a controversy with his “Jesus was HIV-positive” sermon last year is now on a month-long fast against poverty, crime, corruption and “racism.”
After using various controversial methods to draw people’s attention to social issues in the past, the Rev. Xola Skosana from the charismatic Way of Life Church in Khayelitsha Township is fasting for 30 days to highlight more concerns.
“I’m on a 30 day hunger strike because…,” the pastor says in a press statement listing various issues, including acquittal of a man accused of rape; South African rugby team having all white players; lack of political will to tackle the “Apartheid;” lack of employment for 3 million youth; “extreme levels of corruption;” privatization of water, electricity and education; and eviction of farm workers from their land for development.
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“In a nutshell, it is a burden to be black in the world today,” alleges the pastor who was on the 11th day of his fast Monday.
“I have been like a zombie from the time I started fasting at the beginning of this month. I’ve been hallucinating about water and food, with signs of dehydration…,” Skosana told the Independent Online daily. “Every part of my body tells me to get up and walk to the kitchen, and eat anything and everything I lay my hands on. But then I realize why I am doing this, why it is important to take a stand.”
Last November, Pastor Skosana told his congregation, “Jesus was HIV-positive,” during a Sunday sermon, offending some church members and many Christians in South Africa and other countries. But later he clarified it was a metaphor, telling BBC that it was about Jesus putting Himself in the position of the destitute, the sick and the marginalized. He also emphasized that he was highlighting the danger of the HIV/Aids pandemic, which still carries a stigma in South Africa’s townships.
In the press statement, the pastor says that he resorted to fast because he had exhausted “all other options” and “our rulers have become obstinate and hard of hearing.”
Last Christmas, Skosana launched a campaign called “Welcome to Hell, SA Townships!” which included a march through Khayelitsha, according to local newspapers. What’s more, on the Easter weekend this year he walked about eight miles carrying a huge wooden cross.
“I hope that my hunger strike will not only speak to the conscience of our political leaders but will also help to kindle the imagination of our people so that they will begin to expect more of themselves and more of their leaders,” he says.
“For the record,” his statement adds, “I do not want to die and leave my wife and kids in distress, like all people I would like to live a long life. But if death should come, it is the least of my problems.”
