From natural theology to religious knowledge of God: Henri Bouillard's project of fundamental theology

This article is devoted to the work of the French theologian and philosopher Henri Bouillard (1908-1981). In resistance to the Catholic anti-modernism of the first half of the 20th century, he laid the foundations of historical theology. He was also the inspirer and theorist of modern fundamental theology, which replaced traditional apologetics. Whereas classical apologetic treatises interpreted Revelation on the basis of Enlightenment rationalism as scientifically established fact, modern fundamental theology, in an effort to show the inner connection between fact and the meaning of Revelation, placed the idea of God at its center. A. Bouillard’s theology became a kind of new hermeneutics of the Word of God in correlation with the hermeneutics of human existence. His name is also associated with the turn from Catholic teaching on the natural knowledge of God to modern theology of religions.