Hermeneutical Theology
Hermeneutical theology is an approach to theological inquiry arising from the work of Karl Barth and Rudolf Bultmann around the midpoint of the twentieth century. The movement materialized in the works of Gerhard Ebeling, Ernst Fuchs, and Eberhard Jüngel as they engaged with the broader ‘linguistic...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology
2025-06-01
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| Series: | St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.saet.ac.uk/Christianity/HermeneuticalTheology |
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| Summary: | Hermeneutical theology is an approach to theological inquiry arising from the work of Karl Barth and Rudolf Bultmann around the midpoint of the twentieth century. The movement materialized in the works of Gerhard Ebeling, Ernst Fuchs, and Eberhard Jüngel as they engaged with the broader ‘linguistic turn’ in philosophical thought. The central claim is that God is constituted by an event of self-interpretation. In most of its variations, the self-interpretation happens within the horizon of human language (i.e. as the ‘word’ of God), thereby offering a distinct type of access to the divine being. This means that God’s self-interpretation is simultaneously God’s self-revelation, which humanity receives as the self-address of God.
The specific places where God’s self-interpretation and self-revelation happen are designated as unique types of ‘language-events (Sprachereignissen)’ or ‘word-events (Wortgeschehen)’. Both posit a concrete correspondence between the form (Gestalt) and content (Sache) of language, which allows for a direct kind of understanding upon being addressed. These events are typically understood to be of a poetic nature, such as in the modes of metaphor, narrative, or parable. The reception of these ‘language-events’ does not, however, include an automatic, rational comprehension of the speaker (i.e. God). The task of theology, then, is to understand the ‘meaning’ of God, and to develop correlating concepts to events of God’s self-revelation. |
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| ISSN: | 2753-3492 |