Growing up in a small town in the Bible Belt presented a different perspective of the AIDS and HIV crisis of the 1980s and 90s. It also presented plenty to reflect upon as a believer regarding what our posture toward these kinds of issues should be – based upon the Bible, not politics. In this podcast episode from JB Shreve & the End of History, Dr. Jason Lofton and LynnDee Summers continue the discussion of our wide-ranging series covering the history of pandemic and outbreaks. This is part 8 in the podcast series and we look at the history of AIDS.
Topics Covered In This Episode
- Who’s afraid of HIV/AIDS
- How HIV/AIDS came to be
- The history of HIV/AIDS and its spread
- Public, political, and religious responses
- The numbers
- Myths and conspiracy theories
Today, the World Health Organization estimates more than 70 million people worldwide have been infected with HIV and AIDS. Thirty-five million have died. In 2017 36.9 million people were living with HIV/AIDS worldwide and 940,000 died that year. Sub-Saharan Africa was the most severely affected region, accounting for nearly 70% of the world’s HIV cases at that time.
Additional Reading
- Timeline of the Growth and Spread of AIDS
- HIV and AIDS – An Origin Story
- Perfect Enemies – The Religious Right, the Gay Movement, and the Politics of the 1990s
- Is AIDS a Judgment of God
This podcast episode and the entire series is available to our Patreon supporters here.
