Listening past difference: Towards a compassionate ethics of communication

Abstract

This article attempts to contribute to the discussion about reading the Bible in a contemporary social and political context by highlighting one of the most pertinent influences on our understanding of that context, namely the global media. While the article therefore does not claim any authority in terms of Biblical hermeneutics, it hopes to make a modest contribution to our understanding of how we experience our place in a globalised world, how we make meaning out of the images and messages circulating around us every day, and how we respond ethically to the pervasive nature of global media, especially in the South African context. The central question to be answered pertains to the ethics of mediation, representation and communication in a world marked by difference, inequality and struggle. Of particular importance is the question of how we communicate with each other across the many differences that lie between us.