BREAKING THE SYNDROME OF SILENCE: FINDING SPEECH FOR PREACHING IN A CONTEXT OF HIV AND AIDS

This article diagnostically surveys the present context of the HIV and AIDS pandemic in South Africa and comments on the syndrome of silence in this regard. Several reasons contributing towards this syndrome are listed The article takes as hypothesis the fact that preaching can indeed play a meaningful role in the transformation of attitudes and values concerning HIV and AIDS. In the light of this hypothesis, and the fact that preaching could inter alia be understood as a language event, preaching is described as language of hope. The latter is defined as language of lament that needs to be reclaimed; as language of hope, that operates with certain God-images; and as language of community, within which preaching as language of hopeful lament can come to fruition.