Diakonie als Sprechakt.

The article "Diakonia as Speech Act" discusses various conceptions of diakonia in diakonia science. There are two main camps: the Christological mainstream and the creation-theological camp. The Christological mainstream considers diakonia as a special form of helping that is in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and is only possible for believing Christians. The creation-theological camp, on the other hand, sees diakonia as normal helping that is possible for all people and is given by God. The article discusses whether Christian motivation is a necessary or sufficient condition for diakonia. Examples are given that indicate that Christian-motivated helping is not necessarily diakonia. The question is raised of what diakonia is if it is not Christian-motivated helping. The text deals with the actions of warning and baptism, which are considered speech acts. It is explained that these actions are carried out by saying something. The author proposes the thesis that diakonial action is also a speech act, in which something abstract is done by doing something concrete. In doing so, human dignity is highlighted by acting prosocially. However, the author emphasizes that not every prosocial action automatically highlights human dignity. The thesis is supported by intuitions about diakonia and is to be examined in the second step based on biblical and theological knowledge. The article discusses the conception of diakonia and argues that diakonia should not only be understood as assistance, but rather as the highlighting of human dignity. The author refers to biblical and theological evidence that indicates that diakonia in the New Testament is understood as the proclamation of the Gospel on behalf of God. It is also pointed out that the relevant texts mention other forms of prosocial behavior such as visiting the sick and prisoners. The article emphasizes that the highlighting of human dignity can happen in various ways and does not necessarily have to be motivated by Christianity. [Extracted from the article]