The following is an extract from the NIV application commentary (Bock, D. L. (1996). Luke (pp. 155–158). Zondervan Publishing House.)Luke introduces the first healing by mentioning that Jesus is “i…

I wrote this essay about how Princess Diana’s work with AIDS reflects Jesus with leprosy. I’m super proud of it, and would love for you to read/give feedback. Any opposing opinions or critical feedback is more than welcome!

  • sbv@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    21·
    4 months ago

    Apparently Princess Di started her AIDS advocacy work in the late 80s. As far as I understand, we knew HIV was sexually transmitted in the early 80s.

    So there is a bit of a difference - Princess Di knew she was safe shaking the hand of someone with AIDS, whereas anyone hanging out with lepers around 0 AD, probably wouldn’t have known whether they were safe.

    I’m not saying that to diminish Princess Di’s advocacy, but there is a difference in the expected risk. It may be fair to argue that Jesus would have plot armour thanks to being a demi-god (or the chosen of one), so he wouldn’t really be assuming risk either.

    • Dreamchiever@lemmy.worldEnglish
      2·
      4 months ago

      What we knew and how knowledgeable the general public was about it was a wide gap though, even as a child in the 90s I saw myself that people still had misconceptions about how it was transmitted. Someone in a position of power showing it to be safe to interact with people who had the infection was still a pretty big deal at the time.

      • sbv@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
        21·
        4 months ago

        Someone in a position of power showing it to be safe to interact with people who had the infection was still a pretty big deal at the time.

        Definitely. I’m referring specifically to the medical risk she believed she was facing, not the value of her actions.

        She used her platform to remind the public that AIDS sufferers were safe and to destigmatize them - she deserves praise for that.

        Comparing her to a theoretical Jesus who could not have known he faced no medical risk is fair, but the difference is that she knew she was at no risk.

    • Broken_Orange_Juice@lemmy.worldOPEnglish
      2·
      4 months ago

      Great point! I mention towards the end in parenthesis. (With Jesus’s statement being powerful since leprosy was actually contagious). But also, even when we knew AIDS wasn’t contagious, what I saw in my research was that people continued to believe it was for a long time after it was confirmed it wasn’t.