Religious news: Egypt Torturing HIV Sufferers

HIV-positive Egyptian men are tortured and chained to hospital beds while awaiting unfair homosexuality trials, a human rights group has claimed.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) decried the "ignorance and injustice" of a case in which a group of arrested men were given HIV tests without their consent.
They were also subjected to anal tests to "prove" their homosexual conduct.

Two of the men tested HIV-positive and are now handcuffed to hospital beds for 23 hours a day, HRW said.
"These men have been subjected to anal examination without their consent which amounts to torture," Gasser Abdel-Razek, HRW's acting director of regional relations in the Middle East, told the BBC on Wednesday.

"Egypt should release the men unconditionally and put a system in place that does not deal with HIV-positive individuals as criminals but as patients who require medical care and attention."

Egypt's Interior Ministry had no immediate comment on the case.

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Erin Church Devotions: Dealing with Anxiety

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Exodus 14:12 Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" (NIV)

When I first became a Christian, I found it tough to try to live up to Christ’s standards. I wanted to remain the same, and for Christ to be different. I wanted Him to accept who I was, instead of me accepting His terms of belief. I wanted Jesus to be my friend, my pal, my best buddy, especially during those times when I wanted to go out and get drunk, paint the town red, and do whatever I desired. In other words, I wanted Christ to save me, but to still let me do what I had always done.

But being double-minded just didn’t work. I was always fighting within myself to overcome temptation, and then when I failed, I fought with my pride to overcome my need to confess. One moment I was happy with the Lord; the very next I was angry with Him. I’m certain that there was some psychological scarring going on, and old wounds that had never been healed were beginning to fester, as well as pester me.

What was occurring was an ancient work of God. I was being convicted and afflicted by the Holy Spirit, but I didn’t understand it at the time. I had given my heart to Jesus, but not my whole life. I was still keeping some things back, some things that I wanted to possess on my own. The trouble was this: the more I held back from Christ, the less able I was to deal with temptation. The more absorbed I became with my my desires, the less faithful I was to God.

At some point, the struggle reached a point when I had to either give up being a Christian, or go forward in faith. I had to let go of the past and move on with Christ. I had to let go of Egypt, and let God lead me through my spiritual wilderness to Christ’s Promised Land. After struggling for months, I eventually surrendered my soul. It wasn’t easy, but it was the best thing that I have ever done in my life.

Perhaps you’re struggling with an issue from the past, or are deeply troubled about your present circumstances. Maybe you’re pining for the good old days, or fearful of what lies ahead. Whatever you are experiencing, it’s time to surrender it all to Christ and place it in His hands. Being depressed about the past or anxious about the future just saps your energy, well-being, and health. Put yourself in Christ’s arms; He’ll embrace you and all of that baggage that you’re carrying. He’ll help you through the emotional wilderness that you’re in, and lead you to a better life, a more hopeful time, and a brighter day. Trust me; I know this to be true.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, help us to surrender our lives to You today. Give us the courage to let go of our fears and worries, so that we can replace them with faith and assurance in You. In Your Holy Name, we earnestly pray. Amen.