Papers by DOMINIC EMMANUEL
Challenges of Christian Communication and Broadcasting, 1999
It needs emphasizing here that neither the previous chapter nor this one, or indeed this book, is... more It needs emphasizing here that neither the previous chapter nor this one, or indeed this book, is about the historical development of ecumenical and inter-religious dialogue. It is an attempt to show how the churches, due to changing historical situations and external pressures from the world outside, changed their understanding of the nature of communication. From the perspective of social communication, this change in the attitude of the churches towards ecumenism is a fundamental change in their communicative practices. That is to say, whereas generally the churches before the historical changes were in the habit of a monological communication, they began now to see the need for dialogical communication with one another and among themselves. They were accustomed to upholding the truth, rightness and correctness of their own church or institution. The whole rationale and force of communication then originated from the extreme view of ‘my/our’ truth and correctness and ended there. There was little interest in the truth of the ‘other’, be it an institution, a church or a sect. Basically it was a communication of one’s own truth to oneself: a monologue. This kind of communication gave birth to endless conflicts between churches, between those very institutions that claimed to bring to the world a message of love, peace and unity. In this form of communicative practice, not only was the ‘other’ ignored, but along with that, sadly, the central message of Jesus Christ.
Challenges of Christian Communication and Broadcasting, 1999
While Buber and Bakhtin provided us with the need of giving a proper recognition to the ‘other’, ... more While Buber and Bakhtin provided us with the need of giving a proper recognition to the ‘other’, Dervin et al., basing themselves on Buber’s understanding of ‘in-between’, emphasized taking an ‘in-between’ position in perceiving reality, rather than one of the extreme polarities. Dialogue does not just mean listening or sharing of ideas, it consists of entering into a relationship with the ‘other’, the Thou, and recognizing the importance of the other in one’s self-understanding and in one’s self-identity formation. Both Buber and Bakhtin emphatically argue that the ‘other’ is a necessary prerequisite for dialogue.
Challenges of Christian Communication and Broadcasting, 1999
Many of the themes discussed in the earlier part of this book show up again in the latter part. M... more Many of the themes discussed in the earlier part of this book show up again in the latter part. My concern here is to establish certain historical parallels between the discovery of the significance of communication as dialogue in broadcasting and its discovery by the churches and as developed in academe. It has been established that dialogue is an attitude whereby an individual accords an equal status to the partner in dialogue, and that such a dialogue is fundamental to human life. Both Buber and Bakhtin hold that ‘life by its very nature is dialogical’.
Challenges of Christian Communication and Broadcasting, 1999
For those who associate religion with superstition, blind faith, irrationality or an institution ... more For those who associate religion with superstition, blind faith, irrationality or an institution that makes outrageous moral demands, religion is a word that simply puts them off. But for those who do not view religion with such suspicion, it is held in great reverence. They find it useful for their lives. Despite the attempts by rationalists, Marxists and atheists to do away with faith and religion as unnecessary, as that which burdens human beings, it has survived. Many studies show that religion is gaining a central place in society, and it is even coming back with a vengeance, as Michael Amaladoss observes: There is a growing awareness that all knowing is conditioned by a variety of human factors and that any pretension to objectivity and absoluteness in knowledge is misplaced. The transcendent has refused to disappear, and, faced with the risks and uncertainties of life, people seem to be turning again to religion in some form (1996: 68)
Challenges of Christian Communication and Broadcasting, 1999
The unending conflicts between the Christian churches have been a cause of great scandal to the m... more The unending conflicts between the Christian churches have been a cause of great scandal to the message and mission of Christ and the churches themselves, which preach forgiveness of one’s enemies, love of one’s neighbour, peace, unity and common sister/brotherhood. In the gospel of John, Jesus prays, ‘that they may all be one’ (John 17:21). There are several other appeals for unity in the Epistles of St Paul (Eph. 4:4–5, Gal. 3:27–8, 1 Cor. 1:12–13, etc.), from which the churches then had wandered far away, and in many instances they are still wandering two thousand years later. But now more and more churches are involved in the process of ecumenical dialogue and some have gone further to dialogue with even non-Christian religions.
The concept of inter-religious dialogue has found a respectable place in disciplines like theolog... more The concept of inter-religious dialogue has found a respectable place in disciplines like theology, anthropology and the social sciences in general. While academics are proud of this development, some of the media practitioners are beginning to ask themselves whether they could play a role in the process of dialogue with other religions. The following article tries to see whether religious broadcasts can offer any possibility. It also tries to examine the communication, theological and philosophical basis for such broadcasts. Dear presenter, Today is the last day that I will ever listen to your broadcasts, because you are preaching the words of the devil and not of God. How can anybody be saved without believing in Christ? How can you call ourselves a Christian...?” “... I beg you to stop your broadcasts today and stop misleading people by teaching that other religions too contain truths...?” “... I have been a Hindu all my life, but after discovering the Saviour of the world, The W...
Challenges of Christian Communication and Broadcasting, 1999
Religious broadcasting is a specialized kind of broadcasting, as are sports, classical music, dra... more Religious broadcasting is a specialized kind of broadcasting, as are sports, classical music, drama, news and current affairs and so on. It has been established that broadcast communication, especially in the sphere of social broadcasting, is dialogical. The discussion of the nature of Christian religious communication in Chapter 4 showed that while the principles of Christian communication as practised by Jesus and as shown in the documents of the Church were ideally dialogical, it was not the case in the actual practices of Christian communication, or as pointed out more precisely by Michael Traber, in Church communication. We can now examine whether such a problem exists also in the sphere of religious broadcasting. That is to say, after establishing that radio and tv broadcasting in the social sphere is fundamentally dialogical, does one find similar dialogical elements in the sphere of religious broadcasting? Do religious broadcasters treat their audiences as individuals, as persons, in the way they construct their programmes? What model/s do religious broadcasters employ in their broadcasting?
Challenges of Christian Communication and Broadcasting, 1999
The historical emergence of inter-religious dialogue out of ecumenism in the churches, with speci... more The historical emergence of inter-religious dialogue out of ecumenism in the churches, with specific reference to the Catholic Church, and problems arising out of Christian religious communication have been discussed and clarified. It is important now to clarify what is meant by dialogue. The theory and concept of dialogue from a philosophical perspective should establish it as that which gives coherence and thematic unity to the aims and concerns of ecumenism, inter-religious dialogue and a theology of communication. I will try to show that those aims, as mediated through the concept of dialogue, all converge towards the same goal: that of a just and peaceful community of people where the ‘other’ is given the status of an equal partner regardless of religion, nationality, gender or ability.
Challenges of Christian Communication and Broadcasting, 1999
Dialogue among and between various Christian churches and dialogue of churches with non-Christian... more Dialogue among and between various Christian churches and dialogue of churches with non-Christian religions is grounded in the communicative practices of each institution. Any practice of dialogue has to be justified on the communicative practices of that institution. But do the churches as institutions have any specific kind of communication? Is there such a thing as Christian religious communication, church communication and/or theology of communication? Is Christian communication also about community? What is the relationship between religion and communication? An important question with regard to the relationship between religious communication and ecumenism and inter-religious dialogue is how the idea of ‘one human family’ or ‘one human community’, which appeared in the previous two chapters, fits into the study of the principles and practices of Christian communication.
Challenges of Christian Communication and Broadcasting, 1999
There are three reasons for attempting to establish Christian principles of communication at this... more There are three reasons for attempting to establish Christian principles of communication at this juncture. The first is to relate them to the concept of dialogue, both ecumenical and inter-religious. The second reason is to examine these principles and compare them with the actual practices of Christian communication within churches, and to project them as normative principles of communication. The third is to establish parallels and similarities between the ideal principles of Christian communication drawn from the communicative practices of Jesus, and the discussions in the secular academic field, known as theory of communicative action.
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Papers by DOMINIC EMMANUEL