South African pastor causes uproar preaching links between Jesus and Aids

Reverend Xola Skosana’s approach has been praised by Aids campaigners in South Africa, for preaching the way he does at the non-denominations Way of Life church in Khayelitsha, near Cape Town, a township with one of the highest rates of HIV in South Africa.

"My responsibility as a pastor is to paint a picture of a God who cares for people and wants the best for them, not who judges them and is ashamed of them," he said.

Last month Skosana, who has lost two of his sisters to Aids, underwent an HIV test in front of his congregation, along with more than 100 young people from the township.

Some Christians have accused the pastor of portraying Jesus as sexually promiscuous, but he’s retorted to the claims by saying “In many parts of the Bible God put himself in the position of the sick and the marginalised."

Skosana has apealed for more churches to address the issue of HIV in their sermons, in an aim to tackle the dishonour surrounding the virus. An estimated 1,000 people die in South Africa each day in illnesses related to Aids.

The Catholic Church in the country continues to avoid the topic, and also continues to oppose the use of condoms.

Under the leadership of former South Africa president Thabo Mbeki, ousted from office in 2008, the damage of years of "Aids denialism” continues to surface. The nation is still working to fix the harm caused, after Mbeki delayed allowing the use of life-saving anti retro-viral drugs.