Bryan Fischer
"Christians need not apply"
By Bryan Fischer
The number of careers and professions available to practicing Christians is shrinking by the day.
You can add a career in public health to that list. Dr. Brendan Bain, one of the leading AIDS experts in the Caribbean, has been unceremoniously cashiered from his post for having the temerity to tell the truth about the cause of AIDS.
A long-time and highly respected professor at the University of West Indies until his retirement in 2012, Dr. Bain was praised by all as a "pioneer" in the effort to combat HIV/AIDS, which is at epidemic proportions in Caribbean nations.
Since his retirement, he has continued to serve as the Director of the Regional Coordinating Unit of the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training Network (CHART). He is credited with diagnosing the first HIV/AIDS case in Jamaica, in 1983.
What got Dr. Bain in trouble is that he wouldn't keep his medical and biological and scientific knowledge to himself but had the brazen audacity to offer it as expert testimony in a case in Belize.
Belize is considering the repeal of a law which has made sodomy contrary to public policy since 1861. Dr. Bain was invited to submit a report to the Supreme Court of Belize for consideration in its deliberations. Dr. Bain did so, in the form of a 52 page report.
Here is the heart of his report, for which he lost his job:
This report shows that the relative risk of contracting HIV is significantly higher among men who have sex with other men (MSM) in Belize than in the general population.
In other words, he simply told the truth, truth that can be accessed every single day on the website of the Centers for Disease Control, that the number one HIV/AIDS risk factor for men is having sex with other men.
That is not a matter of political ideology, it is not even a matter of Christian theology, it is a simple matter of scientific and medical fact.
One observer noted that Dr. Bain did not even take sides on the legal issue at stake, which is whether anal sex should continue to be contrary to public policy. After noting, with regard to the connection between homosexual behavior and AIDS, that the numbers "are simply staggering," the observer pointed out that "Bain's affidavit does not take or register a stance against gay communities or gay men. It earnestly steers clear from such opinions and tries to stick to the figures."
Even the Jamaican National AIDS Committee had no problem with Dr. Bain's report, saying that it "takes no issue with the content of the Report of Professor Brendan Bain to the Court in Belize." The committee added, "There is nothing in that Report which is contrary to or offensive to the work of the National AIDS Committee. In his report, Professor Bain highlighted for the court that homosexual men were at higher risk of contracting HIV and other sexual transmitted infections."
Even the University of West Indies called his testimony "expert testimony," and said he had a right to deliver it. Then they proceeded to fire him.
Dr. Bain had run afoul of what lesbian activist Tammy Bruce calls the Gay Gestapo and for that he had to be punished.
And so he will be forced to wear a yellow cross on his sleeve for the rest of his life just as Jews in Nazi Germany had to wear yellow Stars of David. A distinguished and exemplary career has been snuffed out simply because a medical expert told the truth about homosexuality.
It is now hazardous to one's career to be a Christian and photographer, a Christian and a baker, a Christian and a florist, a Christian and a broadcaster, a Christian and a counselor, a Christian and an educator, a Christian and a public health administrator, or a Christian and a public health researcher such as Dr. Bain.
Disagreement is not hatred, and the truth is not hate speech. The truth is only hate speech to those who hate the truth. Dr. Bain has learned that freedom-destroying fact of life the hard way.
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
May 27, 2014
The number of careers and professions available to practicing Christians is shrinking by the day.
You can add a career in public health to that list. Dr. Brendan Bain, one of the leading AIDS experts in the Caribbean, has been unceremoniously cashiered from his post for having the temerity to tell the truth about the cause of AIDS.
A long-time and highly respected professor at the University of West Indies until his retirement in 2012, Dr. Bain was praised by all as a "pioneer" in the effort to combat HIV/AIDS, which is at epidemic proportions in Caribbean nations.
Since his retirement, he has continued to serve as the Director of the Regional Coordinating Unit of the Caribbean HIV/AIDS Regional Training Network (CHART). He is credited with diagnosing the first HIV/AIDS case in Jamaica, in 1983.
What got Dr. Bain in trouble is that he wouldn't keep his medical and biological and scientific knowledge to himself but had the brazen audacity to offer it as expert testimony in a case in Belize.
Belize is considering the repeal of a law which has made sodomy contrary to public policy since 1861. Dr. Bain was invited to submit a report to the Supreme Court of Belize for consideration in its deliberations. Dr. Bain did so, in the form of a 52 page report.
Here is the heart of his report, for which he lost his job:
This report shows that the relative risk of contracting HIV is significantly higher among men who have sex with other men (MSM) in Belize than in the general population.
In other words, he simply told the truth, truth that can be accessed every single day on the website of the Centers for Disease Control, that the number one HIV/AIDS risk factor for men is having sex with other men.
That is not a matter of political ideology, it is not even a matter of Christian theology, it is a simple matter of scientific and medical fact.
One observer noted that Dr. Bain did not even take sides on the legal issue at stake, which is whether anal sex should continue to be contrary to public policy. After noting, with regard to the connection between homosexual behavior and AIDS, that the numbers "are simply staggering," the observer pointed out that "Bain's affidavit does not take or register a stance against gay communities or gay men. It earnestly steers clear from such opinions and tries to stick to the figures."
Even the Jamaican National AIDS Committee had no problem with Dr. Bain's report, saying that it "takes no issue with the content of the Report of Professor Brendan Bain to the Court in Belize." The committee added, "There is nothing in that Report which is contrary to or offensive to the work of the National AIDS Committee. In his report, Professor Bain highlighted for the court that homosexual men were at higher risk of contracting HIV and other sexual transmitted infections."
Even the University of West Indies called his testimony "expert testimony," and said he had a right to deliver it. Then they proceeded to fire him.
Dr. Bain had run afoul of what lesbian activist Tammy Bruce calls the Gay Gestapo and for that he had to be punished.
And so he will be forced to wear a yellow cross on his sleeve for the rest of his life just as Jews in Nazi Germany had to wear yellow Stars of David. A distinguished and exemplary career has been snuffed out simply because a medical expert told the truth about homosexuality.
It is now hazardous to one's career to be a Christian and photographer, a Christian and a baker, a Christian and a florist, a Christian and a broadcaster, a Christian and a counselor, a Christian and an educator, a Christian and a public health administrator, or a Christian and a public health researcher such as Dr. Bain.
Disagreement is not hatred, and the truth is not hate speech. The truth is only hate speech to those who hate the truth. Dr. Bain has learned that freedom-destroying fact of life the hard way.
(Unless otherwise noted, the opinions expressed are the author's and do not necessarily reflect the views of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.)
© Bryan Fischer
The views expressed by RenewAmerica columnists are their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of RenewAmerica or its affiliates.
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