Opinions and their theological value : some observations from norm theory

Abstract

One key aspect of the discussions about what the Church will be required to learn in the coming years is the relevance that facts have for norms. As scholars we are constantly reminded that facts are not normative and should not be confused with norms. However, we often wonder how the two relate to one another. This relationship is actually fairly difficult to determine; my approach follows legal scholar Christoph Möllers’s norm theory, which Möllers presented comprehensively in his 2015 monograph Die Möglichkeit der Normen. The chief motivation behind my choice of theory is that Möllers’s approach can be directly related to ecclesiology, as I will show later in my study. My article begins by briefly outlining his approach to understanding norms in relation to facts as a relationship of essential distance and intimate proximity. I then apply his theory to ecclesiology to explain how we can employ norm theory to differentiate between the earthly Church as fact and the heavenly Church as norm, and determine their relationship as being at one and the same time indivisible and unconfused. [extract]