Emmanuel Lévinas’s philosophy of the “other” is investigated and brought into conversation
with how Jesus regarded his “other” through a Lukan perspective (the gospel of Luke) of
Jesus.
Lévinas’s philosophy of the “other” is considered. The focus of Lévinas’s philosophical
works is the primacy of an ethical relationship of the “self” with the “other”. This is described
as “ethics as first philosophy”. Lévinas (1985:98) revises Dostoyevsky’s quotation to support
the ethical responsibility of the “self” towards the “other”: “The I always has one responsibility
more than all the others”. Lévinas constantly examines the question of the infinite demand of
the ethical relationship with the “other”. For Lévinas, the “other” is truly present through
the face of the “other”. According to Lévinas, the “other” can never be fully understood and
does not become part of the “self”. The “other” Lévinas focuses on promoting the humanity
of the “other”.
The world in which Jesus lived differs radically from the world we fi nd ourselves in today.
New Testament documents were written for specific early Christian communities in specific social and cultural contexts. Using the social scientific method, the customs, perspectives, and
values related to how first-century Mediterranean people lived in their world and dealt with
an “other” are investigated. The purpose of the social scientific method, applied to the New
Testament, is to establish how the original audience understood the text when it was read
aloud. If the text and its original historical meaning are examined, the message the author
wanted to convey can be better understood.
How the “self” (or rather own group) interacted with the “other” (group) within the
first-century Mediterranean world is investigated. Examining the role of values such as honour and shame, the image of god as patron, what was regarded as clean and unclean and the function of patron-subject relationships, helps to better understand the original meaning of texts written in a first-century world. The writers of the gospels in the New Testament had different perspectives on who Jesus
was. Who Jesus was, from the perspective of Mark, Matthew, John and Luke has been examined.
Through a selection of texts from the Gospel of Luke, Jesus’s attitude and actions toward his
“other” in the Gospel of Luke are analysed. Jesus proposes and enacts a new kingdom where
everyone who is considered an outsider through the lens of the first-century Mediterranean
social world is welcome and loved. In this new kingdom of God, boundaries and advantages
created by ethnicity, gender, status, and age are nullified. Jesus notices his “other”, shows deep compassion towards those in need, and holistically restores the “other” for them to rejoin their communities.
There are many similarities between Jesus’s perspective and Lévinas’s philosophy of the
“other”. Thematic analogies are investigated concerning status and honour, the humanity of
the “other”, love as law, enmity, requirements of discipleship, social justice, and reciprocity.
Jesus’s actions and Lévinas’s theory of the “other” suggest that general reciprocity must be
applied when engaging with the “other”. General reciprocity refers to interactions that are
focused on the social interests of the “other”.
A proposal about what South Africans can learn from Lévinas and Jesus about “otherness”,
equality, and diversity is made. An approach to embrace outsiders is proposed.
This study regards values such as diversity, equality, “otherness”, general reciprocity, a
position in the face of the other, relationships, embracing foreignness, and welcoming
unfamiliarity as key principles, which form the basis of the study.
Emmanuel Lévinas se filosofi e van die “ander” word ondersoek en in gesprek gebring met
hoe die Lukaanse Jesus sy “ander” hanteer het. Die fokus van Lévinas se filosofiese werke is die voorrang van ’n etiese verhouding van die “self” met die “ander”. Deur gebruik te maak
van die sosiaalwetenskaplike metode, word Jesus se gesindheid en optrede teenoor sy “ander” in die evangelie van Lukas oorweeg. Jesus skep nuwe koninkrykswaardes en sluit mense wat
“anders” was in die familie van God in. In hierdie nuwe koninkryk word grense en vooroordele
wat deur etnisiteit, geslag, status en ouderdom geskep word, tot niet gemaak. Die raakpunte tussen Jesus se hantering van die “ander” vanuit ’n seleksie van Lukaanse tekste en Lévinas se filosofie, word bespreek. ’n Voorstel oor wat Suid-Afrikaners oor andersheid, gelykheid en
diversiteit kan leer en ’n benadering om buitestanders te omhels, word gemaak.
