Rowan said of dialogue that whilst he might not be able to agree with those who differ, he could say:
"I know you’re serious! And that’s dialogue for me – the recognition of the serious."
One key issue for Christians lies in the area of dialogue with others of a different faith, or often trickier still, no faith.
Dialogue requires lots of listening to understand what the person is actually saying. This becomes even more difficult when we are dialoguing with someone over what had been reported as something they said and takes wisdom and discipline when it relates to what has been reported regarding a third party.
It is far too easy to hear what someone has said rather than hear what it was that they said. The written word doesn't help as, of course, raised eyebrows, smiles and frowns are lost and without them, the nuance can also be lost. This is a difficulty that we especially encounter with our modern electronic communication modes, especially that of the social networking phenomenon and email.
Another problem we have before us is the media, which only a fool would consider to publish 'pure' and unadulterated news. Some sources are more trustworthy than others and some have an agenda and impart spin as an everyday reality.
The red tops are notorious for their spin and popularist 'dumbing down' coupled with the facile headline.
The Daily Fascist (aka Mail) always has wonderfully right-wing spin and rarely lets facts get in the way of the story they weave. Whether it be Sandhurst becoming 'non-Christian' or the latest witch hunt against a bishop who has his own views regarding the secular world, the facts and the full details rarely get in the way of a good ranting crusade. Better still, the fascists all love to rush for scythe and tumbrel to take up the cry!
The Grauniad (that wonderful source of typo's) is always good for a bit of a twee, muesli, Laura Ashley and stripped pine social working, trendy lefty viewpoint and this is good because when taken alongside the Torygraph (not as rabid as the Fascist) you are left with a pretty balance understanding of the facts.
I enjoy the Indie and the Thunderer (Times) but find myself rarely engaging with the latter since they've decided to charge for internet access.
There is too much opportunity for us to pronounce something which is inchoate and therefore potentially knee-jerk. Would that those who occupy the senior pointyhead ranks of our denomination would bear that in mind.
Pax
2 comments:
I was once told by a communist that the only paper they trusted to report accurately was the Financial Times - because capitalist businessmen needed the facts to make their investment decisions well.
Too true - it was the newspaper of choice for the old fish and chip shops too!
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