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Contemporary theology increasingly is concerned with 'inter-disciplinary dialogue'. There has, however, been little work done on the under-girding structures of such a dialogue. The central concern of this thesis is to explore the methodological foundations for the relation between 'theology' and 'secular discourse'. Although there are many possibilities for testing the relation between theology and secular discourse, theological anthropology and the doctrine of sin are used as the primary testing grounds because they are central to the concerns of much contemporary systematic theology as well as being areas to which the secular world has much to contribute. Alistair McFadyen's and Karl Barth's work in these areas is adopted as the particular focus of the thesis. Together their work offers a rich environment for analysing the methodological issues at stake in the relationship between theology and secular discourse. The primary aim of the thesis is to offer an approach to interdisciplinary dialogue which maintains 'the priority of God' in theological method whilst recognising that engagement with secular discourse enables theology 'to do its job better'. Drawing from McFadyen's and Barth's work in theological anthropology and the doctrine of sin, some methodological foundations for structuring the relation between theology and secular discourse are laid out and stated in a more widely applicable form.

Submitted to the Faculty of Theology and Religion Studies in fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Theology in the Department of Systematic Theology, Ethics and History of Christianity at the University of Zululand, 2005. / The title "A New Creation in Christ" served as the basis for the examination of the definitive theological and Biblical concepts of the doctrines of creation, humanity, sin and salvation. It integrated the foci of these doctrines, in constructing a paradigm for establishing what is meant by the dissertation title, 'a new creation in creation.' To understand a new creation theology requires a composite structuring of these interrelated doctrines, since no doctrine can be understood vacuously. Humanity was not created in an abstract or theoretical world, and neither were they placed in isolation from creation. Instead, they were very much a part of the created order, and were endowed with specific function or purpose. They interacted with a living world and were accorded the responsibility as its stewards. The consideration of the facets of the doctrine of creation enabled an understanding of humanity’s placement in creation, their purpose and how sin affected creation. This informs the doctrine of humanity in highlighting the biblical emphasis on humanity as the special creation of God. God created humanity in his image, and this image is an intrinsic and indispensable part of humanity's uniqueness and existence. The constitutional nature of humanity lies in its conditional unity of the whole person. Man is a unity of the physical, the psychological and the spiritual, all of which are purposed to enable him, in fulfilling the intentions of the Creator. The doctrine of sin clarified how sin affected the conditional unity of man i.e. the physical, the psychological and the spiritual dimensions. It further demonstrated the domino effect on creation. This precarious position which humanity found themselves in, required the intervention of God, through the incarnation of Christ Salvation is the free gift of God in Christ in dealing with the problem of sin, and the consequences thereof This free gift requires that a human being appropriate salvation in Jesus Christ, through the acceptance of him in faith and repentance. This background established a contextual understanding of a new creation in Christ. The definitive text for our discussion was Paul's statement in 2 Corinthians 5:17 "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has come." Paul's statement incorporates two elements of salvation. "If anyone is in Christ" is suggestive of the first element, which is the subjective nature of salvation. This involves the believer's conversion through repentance and faith. The second element is the objective nature of salvation. This is suggested in the next part of the statement "he is a new creation", which is accomplished through the redemptive work of God in Christ. The resident implication of the reference 'a new creation in Christ', is the inauguration of a new humanity that has begun in Christ. A cyclic model for the practical outworking of a new creation theology has been advocated in a threefold consideration of person hood, community and discipleship.

Text in German with summaries in German and English / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 350-377) / Die Doktorarbeit hat die Absicht herauszufinden, was Jonathan Edwards unter dem Begriff „Sündenerkenntnis“ verstanden hat und dabei die Frage nach der Bedeutung dieses Verständnisses für die Erweckungsbewegung zu beantworten. Während Jonathan Edwardsʼ Theologie und Philosophie im Allgemeinen gut erforscht ist, wurde dieser Aspekt noch nicht genauer untersucht. Zunächst wird auf der Grundlage einer chronologischen Einordnung seiner Werke Jonathan Edwardsʼ Verständnis von Sündenerkenntnis aus seinen wichtigsten Schriften erarbeitet, wobei eine Entwicklung in seinem Gedankengut deutlich wird (Qualitative Inhaltsanalyse). In einem zweiten Teil wird Jonathan Edwardsʼ Verständnis von Sündenerkenntnis mit der Theologie seiner Vorläufer, Zeitgenossen sowie Nachfolger und Gegner verglichen, wobei sich die Untersuchung auf die Bewegung des Puritanismus, die Epochen des „Great Awakening“ und des „Second Great Awakening“ beschränkt (Diachronischer Vergleich). In einem dritten Teil wird Jonathan Edwardsʼ Verständnis von Sündenerkenntnis systematischtheologisch und theologiegeschichtlich eingeordnet. Mit dieser Studie soll ein weiterer deutscher Beitrag zur internationalen Jonathan Edwards-Forschung geleistet werden. Der Ansatz dieser Forschung ist dabei historisch ausgerichtet, da er den systematisch-theologischen Begriff „Sündenerkenntnis“ auf der Grundlage der Biografie Edwardsʼ und einer chronologischen Einordnung seiner Werke zu ermitteln sucht, um ihn dann in einem diachronischen Vergleich mit Verständnissen aus verschiedenen zeitlichen Epochen zu vergleichen und so den Begriff „Sündenerkenntnis“ in einem theologiegeschichtlichen Kontext einordnet und versteht. / The thesis tries to answer the question, how Jonathan Edwards understood the term “conviction of sin”. The intention is to find out the significance of his understanding of this term for the revivalmovement of his time. While numerous studies have been done on his theology and philosophy, this aspect has not been thoroughly examined yet. Based on a chronological assessment of his works Jonathan Edwardsʼ understanding of conviction of sin is established from his major works (qualitative content analysis). This reveals a development in his thought-system. In a second part Jonathan Edwardsʼ understanding of conviction of sin is compared with the theology of his predecessors, contemporaries and opponents. This examination is limited to the time of the Puritans, the “Great Awakening” and the “Second Great Awakening” (diachronic comparative analysis). In a third part Jonathan Edwardsʼ understanding of conviction of sin is assessed in a systematictheological way and classified historically. The author intends to make another German contribution to international Jonathan Edwards Studies. This research is historically focused, because of the fact, that the term “conviction of sin” is analysed by means of the biography of Edwards and a chronological classification of his works to compare it with meanings of different historical epoches and classify it in its theological historical context by that approach. / Christian Spirituality, Church History and Missiology / D. Th. (Church history)