Suchergebnisse

Starting from an analysis of Francis Schuessler Fiorenza's argument for a political theology based on the notion of the church as a community of interpretation, this essay argues that, from a Protestant perspective, the church in modern societies should be seen, both theologically and sociologically, as institution or organization, rather than as community (1, 2). The church is faced not only with a diversity of interpretations of tradition, but in fact with a legitimate diversity of interpretive aims, and therefore modes (3). The essay suggests that the specific mode of interpretation of the ethical tradition aiming at participation in the public discourse should be understood as contextualization (4), and the church properly understood as institution or organization in the life-world in modern societies (5) can not only contribute meaningfully to ethical public discourse but also facilitate public moral action (6).

The essay offers a critical assessment of Francis Schuessler Fiorenza's influential concept of the church as a community of interpretation. A first section focuses on his argument that processes of the interpretation of tradition within the church can actually contribute to normative discourse in the public sphere. The way in which Fiorenza, engaging with Habermas, develops his idea of political theology somewhere between discourse ethics and hermeneutical reconstruction is explored critically. Against this background, a second section then focuses more specifically on Fiorenza's concept of a community of interpretation, both from a social and an ecclesiological perspective. It is argued that the notion of community remains unclear. It can be understood as institution, organization or life-form. The concluding argument is that the question how the reinterpreted ethical traditions of Christianity can contribute meaningfully to public discourse calls for greater clarity concerning this notion of community.