Theology as grammar of faith. The hermeneutic programme by Ernst Fuchs.

This essay develops the proposition that Ernst Fuchs' hermeneutics has a phenomenological intention and can be understood as a revision of Bultman's programme of existential interpretation. An analysis of the essentially existential character of the language of existence, which is central to this revision, shows that Fuchs deliberately makes use of a poetic, creative and equivocal terminology. In doing so, he intends his theology to serve as a critical and constructive grammar for the language of faith. This accounts for the particular charm of Fuchs' writings, as well as for the difficulties and problems his texts represent.