Diakonia - Evangélikus Szemle, 1993
1993 / 1. szám - Summary, Aus dem Inhalt
79 DIAKONIA Lutheran Review Summary This issue examines information manipulation both from theological and non- theological viewpoints. As it may be seen from the Table of Contents, the essays approach the subject from the principles of general information theory, semantics, theology, press ethics, psychology, the arts, and biology right up to the practical visual provision of Biblical information. Assistant Professor of Theology Pastor András Csepregi addresses the universal claim of the Bible to provide basic information material. Though Scripture is not independent from the spiritual environment of its time, it is above it. Not in the sense of being simply a ’religious book’, but that it is in fact a ’document on religion criticism’. The information it carries reacts to the given age, conforms to it, reflects its complexities, the differences in the intentions of its authors, so that when interpreting the Bible message both fundamentalism and humanistic relativity must be avoided. Sándor Révész, editor of the opposition’s weekly BESZÉLŐ, in his article on the ’heterocratic media’, while avoiding the trap of political actualities, addresses the issue currently claiming most interest in Hungarian public opinion, the independence of the media and the substance of the freedom of the press. He finds democratic mass communication an endless source of conflicts, because democracy itself is a continuously improving process. He points out the dangers of ’popularization’ and ’naivization’ and the media’s inclination to present life the same way as a sport event instead of raising fundamentally essential issues. He has no illusions concerning the future (objectivity), though he firmly believes in the long-term effectiveness of the doctrine of fairness. What kind of hellish information is revealed to the person who day after day confronts the harrowing expression Publication of the Lutheran Church in Hungary Editor: D. Imre Veöreös Assistant Editor: László Bízik Editorial and Publishing Office: H—1447 Budapest P. O. B. 500 Subscriptions to the above address Annual Subscription: 720,— Fts. of a demented mind? Emőke Bagdy, renowned psychologist at the National Nerve and Mental Institute, calls this state the Tillich ’ontological reality’ in which symptoms turn into messages, into revelations of non-verbal information flowing through the metacommu- nicative channels. The essay pays special attention to the ’gates of the mind’, the eyes, the expression, and eye contact. With a comprehensive cultural historical review and heartbreaking clinical and semantic arguments the author impresses on everybody’s mind the ’courage to exist’. With scientific elegance biologist Edit Kézdy goes beyond the philosopher’s dilemma concerning determination — indetermination. Examining the nature of the genetic substance DNS, she highlights the important role of the ’error’ and man’s individuality in so far as it is capable of revolting against its role as ’surviving machine’ because the genetic information is replaced by increased mental (extragenetic), even extra- somatic information. From stones, through books to the compact disks this enables man to pursue superfluous matters, from the viewpoint of survival, such as art, games, science or religion. Pastor and cameraman János Sámuel Győry is actually interpreting Paul’s definition of ’faith comes through hearing’ when he examines the function of seeing and making seen in spreading the Bible message. This namely is more effective, more subjective and more examplary than any other information. From the fall of man, through redemption right up to salvation he places the events into the visuality system of coordinates, from ’the poor reflection as in a mirror’ to ’face to face seeing’. The author’s many ’visual’ works have this time been put into verbal form. Besides the papers reviewed above, also a full Table of Contents is included in the English and German languages.
