Last week the pastor of the Faithful Word Baptist Church in Arizona chose World AIDS Day to declare the disease was ‘God’s Judgement on Homosexuals’.

He’s not the first Christian to present this argument: almost all of America’s most influential evangelical preachers have made exactly this claim – repeatedly – on network television and 14% of American Christians believe it to be true.

But then, believing is what they do.

They’ve probably never wondered why God waited all that time (from the Bronze Age to the 1980’s) before delivering ‘His Judgement’… or why He also chooses to punish millions of heterosexuals, including health workers unlucky enough to mishandle an infected needle.

And they’ve clearly never – ever – thought about the lesbians.

Second only to the completely celibate, lesbians have the lowest incidence of HIV/AIDS of any group. The disease is almost unheard of in the lesbian community… and those girls are totally gay.

Either God missed a key demographic or His preachers are talking nonsense.

So how come so many people believe it?

Maybe they’re so good at believing they’ve forgotten how to doubt.

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Written by Jason Clarke

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Celebrated author, adventurer, gold medal Olympian and popular TV chef; Jason is none of these things. He is, however, one of the most sought-after creative minds in the country. As founder of Minds at Work, he’s helped people ‘think again’ since the end of the last century, working with clients across Australia in virtually every industry and government sector on issues ranging from creativity and trouble shooting to culture change and leadership.