Von Gott reden – aber wie?

The article was given as a farewell lecture at Reutlingen School of Theology. Following Karl Barth’s famous question about the possibility to talk about God, it examines the way in which the Old Testament speaks about God, in the name of God, and to God. Taking up a proposal of Paul Ricoeur it distinguishes between narrative, Torah, prophecy, wisdom reflection, and psalm prayer as main forms of discourse and considers consequences for contemporary theology. Finally, it draws attention to the limits of any linguistic representation of God, which is always speech on the edge of silence.