What is the point of departure of theology? Is it spiritual experience or the acceptance of a religious language? Postliberal theology in the United States has revisited this debate which began in Europe in the 20th century. By following up the contributions made by phenomenologists and language philosophers, this article aims at explaining the relationship between faith, various linguistic formulations (dogmatic, liturgical, etc.), reason, and practice. Is there an extrinsic convergence of faith, (theological) reason and (evangelical) practice? Or perhaps a crucial relation amongst the three? The contributions of Jean Ladrière and Xavier Zubiri are analyzed along with those of Heidegger, Rahner, Lonergan, Barth and Lindbeck.