The original risk: overtheologizing ethics and undertheologizing sin

Area of Science:

• Theology
• Ethics
• Anthropology

Background:

• Theological ethics risks failure if it abandons critical modern rationality.
• Engelhardt's approach narrowly defines reason, potentially limiting ethical discourse.
• Traditional views of sin as negation of human holiness are critiqued.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a renewed theological ethics grounded in liturgical anthropology.
• To re-evaluate the concept of sin within Christian ethics.
• To integrate the doctrine of justification by faith into ethical frameworks.

Main Methods:

• Critical analysis of existing theological ethical approaches.
• Reinterpretation of sin through the lens of justification by faith.
• Emphasis on anthropological and ethical expressions of biblical messages.

Main Results:

• Sin is redefined as the negation of divine holiness, not human holiness.
• Theological ethics must embrace critical rationality, not abandon it.
• Justification by faith provides a framework for understanding sin's secondary nature.

Conclusions:

• Renewed theological ethics centers on experience, confession, and recognition of injustice.
• Sin is best understood in light of liberation, justification, and grace.
• The core of Christian ethics lies in relational experience with God and others, not ritual or morality.