This study explores the relevance which the adoption of children has gained in the German and in the English speaking theological ethical discourse and proposes that a combination of normative and hermeneutical factors will contribute to an ethical assessment of adoption. A core objective of the study is to implement openness as a Protestant value into the practice of adoption placement. It is argued that theories of enablement serve as a theoretical framework for an ethics of adoption.

ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDer Ökumenediskurs des 20. Jh. ist wesentlich durch das Konzept der Konsensökumene geprägt worden; nach der Jahrtausendwende ist jedoch verstärkt von einer Ökumene der Profile die Rede. Der vorliegende Aufsatz fragt daher, was Konsens »nach« der Konsensökumene, d.h. sowohl in zeitlichem als auch inhaltlichem Anschluss an die Konsensökumene bedeutet . Zu diesem Zweck wird mit der Charta Oecumenica eines der kennzeichnendsten Dokumente der ökumenehermeneutischen Wende eingehend analysiert , woraus sich fünf unterschiedliche Bedeutungen des Begriffs Konsens ergeben .SUMMARYIn the 20th century, (...) ecumenical encounter has been dominated by the hermeneutics of consensus. However, after the turn of the millennium a change seems to have taken place in that the churches seem to prefer to stress their own unmistakable profile. What then does consensus mean after the hermeneutics of consensus ? In order to answer this question, the present essay analyses in detail the Charta Oecumenica , which is one of the most characteristic examples of the above-mentioned change , and comes up with five different meanings of the term consensus. (shrink)

This paper is based on the author's presentation at the Church Renewal Consultations of the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe (CPCE) in 2009. It suggests three preliminary hermeneutical steps on the way to a Protestant ecclesiology in touch with the latest renewal processes in the churches. The first step is to focus the Protestant church concept on the Reformers' notion of discovering the hidden nature of the church within its worldly situation. The second step goes beyond the dogmatic fundamentals (...) of the church by exploring different contexts (ethical, ecumenical etc.) in which that hidden church can be discovered. The third step is to consider worship as the heart of the church's life and at the same time as its most obvious contribution to life in public – a good starting-point for church renewal. (shrink)