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Not for Reproduction Copyright 2008 QNotes Not for ReproductionF A I T H & V A L U E SMinistry intentionally misleading public on AIDS?from page 1c o p r i g h tConcerns that Hemingway and Cooper are University officials aware of C 3 Entertainment’s “They are sending a very perverse andBesen added,“Such a message should notintentionally misleading the public on thisclaims, spokesperson Aaron Singleton respondedthat the auditorium facilities are being rented thinking they don’t have to have safe sex if should denounce it.”dangerous message that will fool people into be promoted by the university. In fact, theyimportant public health issue prompted explanationsof the spiritual variety from C 3Entertainment’s marketing director, Brian Elliott.“There are several people who have hadthat encounter or proclaimed healing from theLord of HIV/AIDS,” Elliott told Q-Notes,citingto C 3 Entertainment and the play is not beingproduced or sponsored by the university.“The university offers certain facilities fororganizations to rent such as plays, possiblywedding receptions and so forth,” he said.“Thethey can get better by praying,” Besen told Q-Notes.“Given the HIV problem in both the gayand African-American communities, it is areckless and irresponsible message.”“Church Mess,” which has been performedat more than 120 locations nationwide, wasstaged at Greensboro’s Carolina Theatre onAug. 23. ◗former NBA player Magic Johnson as one such university does not conduct background checksexample.“Because it is spiritual … it would for organizations that apply for its facilities.”Pray away the AIDSnot get the mainstream media [attention].”Asked if the university thought it was aActually, Johnson does not claim to be free responsible move to allow C 3 EntertainmentLike the leaders of C 3 Entertainment, other anti-gay and “ex-gay” leaders and minstersof HIV, although he does state that his viral access to their facility, which will be primarily have claimed healing from HIV/AIDS.load is undetectable.2 0filled with students,0given their radical 8andMichael Lumberger, an “ex-gay” leader associated with Exodus International, onceHemingway said he understands howdangerous public health messages, Singleton claimed,“Today with God’s abundant grace and His miraculous power to heal, I walk totallysome might think his story is misleading.“It declined to respond.free from the AIDS virus.” He died in 2004, although Exodus International has maintainedpossibly can be [misleading], but I can onlyThe Centers for Disease Control andthe cause of death was a heart attack unrelated to complications from HIV/AIDS.state what happened in my life,” he said.Prevention estimate that new HIV infectionsAnother “ex-gay” pastor, Matthew Manning of Lighthouse World Evangelism, also claimsQ-Notes pressed Hemingway abouthover somewhere around 56,000 per year. They he received an HIV-negative test result through prayer after experiencing full-blown AIDS.whether he thought it was dangerous to tell have warned the African-American and gayPosted on his organization’s website, Manning’s biography reads,“By late 1993, he wasthe public that individuals can be healed from male communities that both are at higher risk diagnosed with full-blown AIDS and was hospitalized. Although Pastor Matthew was facedAIDS through prayer, possibly preventingfor contracting the virus that causes AIDS. In a with certain death, he sought even harder to know his loving Savior in a deeper way, believingGod would heal him. Then, in early January of 1994, a miracle happened — his AIDSthem from practicing safe-sex and avoiding recent report, the CDC said gay and bisexualHIV infection to begin with.men “carry the burden” of the epidemic.went into a state of remission. On November 27, 1994, another miracle happened —“With all due respect,” he responded,“peopleshould take every precaution when it“ex-gay” ministries and a syndicated writernegative ever since!”Wayne Besen, a gay activist who confronts Matthew was diagnosed for the first time HIV negative and has consistently tested HIVcomes to intimate relationscbecause you don’towhose columnpappears in Q-Notes,saidr iNo medical documentationgis presentedhwith the testimonytto substantiateknow what the outcome is going to be.”Hemingway’s and Cooper’s statements areManning’s claim. ◗When Q-Notes made Winston-Salem State “creating fiction and presenting it as fact.”TriangleAreac o p r i g h t2 0 0 8c o p r i g h t22 SEPTEMBER 20 . 2008 • QNotesNot for Reproduction Copyright 2008 QNotes Not for Reproduction