Liberal opinion is to blame for the global spread of AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections — that's the story according to Phil Robertson, the star of the reality television show "Duck Dynasty."
“Why is there so many debilitating, horrible diseases bringing [man and woman] down all over America and worldwide? Because they say, ‘We’re going to follow orthodox liberal opinion,’” Robertson said in a recent sermon first reported on by CNS News.
That opinion would be one promoting rampant promiscuity, according to the "Duck Dynasty" patriarch. "Just breed anything and anybody. Just have at it. Go for it," he said.
As he spoke from the pulpit of White’s Ferry Road Church in West Monroe, Louisiana, Robertson positioned himself as an authority on sexual health. He readily offered his solution for the spread of chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis and AIDS: Sex that's condoned by the Bible. That would, of course, be defined by Robertson as sex between a man and woman who are married and “live a life of restraint before God Almighty.” If such a couple remains in a monogamous relationship, he says their chances of getting a sexually transmitted infection are almost zero.
Well, almost.
“The masters of exceptions will always say, ‘Well what about a blood transfusion, or you might get a …’ I’ll give you that,” he said. “But you say, 'Is it rare?' It is very, very rare.”
Should one follow Robertson’s advice and replace condoms with the Biblical living? Not quite, said Anthony Hayes, managing director of Public Affairs and Policy at GMHC, the nation’s first HIV/AIDS service organization.
“Whether you decide to bring the Bible into your sex life or not, the fact is that condoms will protect you against the majority of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV, and also prevent unwanted pregnancies,” Hayes said, noting that numerous studies have repeatedly shown that comprehensive sex education is more effective than the brand of abstinence-only education Robertson is peddling.
Hayes added that a new HIV prevention drug is available for HIV-negative men and women alike. “If taken as prescribed, [post-exposure prophylaxis] is more than 90 percent effective in preventing HIV transmission, but should be used with condoms," he said
Robertson, on the other hand, feels that diseases like AIDS are God’s punishment. That's what he said to Family Research Council's Tony Perkins last month.
“Now to me either it’s the wildest coincidence ever that horrible diseases follow immoral conduct, or it’s God saying, ‘There’s a penalty for that kind of conduct,’” he said. “I’m leaning toward there’s a penalty toward it.”
Robertson was also famously suspended from "Duck Dynasty" by A&E after he said in an interview with GQ magazine that homosexual behavior was sinful, and that LGBT people, alongside drunks and terrorists, do not "inherit the kingdom of God."