Question:
Hi!
Just wanted to let everyone know that I am a Christian (and, of course, I have herpes....)so if anyone wants to discuss things of a Christian nature (Generally, or related to herpes...) I would welcome that. I have been a Christian for about 11 years.
Thanks!

Answer:
May I ask how old you are? I'm 51. I met my first husband IN CHURCH. HE is the one who gave it to me. I married him when I was 27. The marriage lasted only one month. Please let me know which way you would like to take this discussion as I can identify.

Thanks.

Answer:
It seems that I relate most here. Being Christian and having herpes is somewhat of a contradiction. It is for me, anyway. It is like an identity crisis. I suppose that bad things happen to good people all the time. Still, I feel like if anyone found out it would disgrace my religion. Ever felt that way?

Answer:
i'm a Christian with herpes also. i probably got herpes before i became a Christian - but never had an outbreak until after i'd been married for 4 years. but if i hadn't gotten it before my marriage, my husband probably would have given it to me...both of us were promiscuous before meeting Christ. i don't think it disgraces my religion, i think it proves it - we all make mistakes. that's why Christ died for us, because none of us are perfect. and in Him is where i find my forgiveness. yes i'm still dealing with the consequences of my sin...but i am forgiven. and i can have peace in the fact that my past has been forgotten by Him. it's just trying to forget it myself that i'm still working on. ;)

Answer:
Getting herpes has severely affected my faith. I loved and lived for god before I got this. Now I find it hard to believe in god. How could god allow such a disgusting thing to exist, and to arise from making love with someone. Love, the one thing that is to conquer all evil. I've never given my body lightly, I've had to feel love for someone. It hurts. It hurts so deeply.

Answer:
"Being Christian and having herpes is somewhat of a contradiction." I'm not sure I follow that. Sure, the prevalent ignorant and unfair stigma we hear about gives the impression that people who get herpes are promiscuous and immoral, but that's baloney. I got herpes from the first woman I had sex with and she was my wife. This was after decades of marriage! I was faithful...she wasn't, simple as that. I had done nothing wrong and still got it.

I think it doesn't make much difference given that something like 1/4 of the adult population here has genital herpes, whether they know it or not.

Becoming a Christian doesn't cure herpes and it doesn't make you immune to it, even through transmission paths that are not considered immoral by most Christians.

Relax. Simply having herpes doesn't make you a bad person and it's not a punishment from God. My God doesn't work that way and I hope yours doesn't either.

Answer:
Getting herpes has severely affected my faith. I loved and lived for god before I got this. Now I find it hard to believe in god. How could god allow such a disgusting thing to exist, and to arise from making love with someone. Love, the one thing that is to conquer all evil. I've never given my body lightly, I've had to feel love for someone. It hurts. It hurts so deeply. For the record, I'm an atheist and don't care what god anybody claims. But what perplexes the hell out of me is how so many Christians seem to require hardship to land on THEIR doorstep before doubting faith is warranted. This seems really, really cold. What about 3 year old girls in Sudan who are being gang raped by soldiers to the point of going mute? This prevailing reality (etc.) doesn't affect your faith? But herpes happening to YOU DOES?

Absolutely unbelievable.

Answer:
"I suppose that bad things happen to good people all the time. Still, I feel like if anyone found out it would disgrace my religion."


tohealth couldn't have said it better; :"3 year old girls in Sudan who are being gang raped by soldiers to the point of going mute? This prevailing reality (etc.) doesn't affect your faith? But herpes happening to YOU DOES?"

For fucks sake. But I suppose anyone can get herpes - even those who are so self-centred they can't see beyond their own small worlds (and call themselves...now what is it...oh yeah, christians). As tohealth said, unbelievable.

Answer:
Tohealth,

THANK you for pointing out the atrocities happening in Sudan right now. I am a huge advocate for the people of Darfur and try to get the word out there that GENOCIDE is happening right now, right this second, and nobody is doing a damn thing about it!!!!!! Where are all the so-called "religious leaders" who tout peace and love and good will when it comes to Sudan?!?! What are they doing (don't get me wrong, I know there are people of all races colors and creeds trying to make a difference as well as just basic awareness for the plight of the people of darfur....but there are a hell of alot more people sitting on their asses doing NOTHING!)

In another section on here, I ranted about the whole "prayer' thing...getting a group of people together to "pray" for us all to have healing from our herpes. While herpes sucks, and I wish it were gone forever from planet earth, at the same time, there ARE way worse things happening in the world....Darfur being just one example....that I would rather use up a prayer for THEM, and not for my sore vagina!

My faith has been tested today due to the fact that a family friend has a toddler of 3 who is going to die in a matter of days due to a brain tumor. I am so pissed that such an angelic child is going to gone from this earth and never live to her full potential, meanwhile we have rapists and killers living until ripe old ages and contributing NOTHING to society....I really have to ask, WHERE IS GOD?!! WHY!?!? I am so upset, and have been crying all day, but I still pray for some sort of miracle. I would rather she lived and became a wonderful, amazing adult, then my herpes to be cured. Does that make any sense? I sure hope so.

AS you can see, I am extremely upset, so I apologize for the verbal diarrhea. But yea, I can't agree with you more.....while I am not an atheist per se, (I have my own blend of beliefs and ideas and it works for me!) I think loss of faith shouldn't come from stupid herpes, but from the atrocities man commits against each other, and nature.