Theology on the Way to Emmaus

by Nicholas Lash

One of Professor Lash's great gifts is that of asking awkward questions and not allowing solutions of theological problems to pass as accepted answers simply because they sound plausible and are passed on without rigorous examination. This collection of recent studies, some previously unpublished, is eloquent testimony to that gift, but without ever losing sight of the fact that theology is not only on the way, but on the way to the consummation of the experience of Easter. Of the book Professor Lash The story of the disciples on the way to Emmaus can serve as a parable for the task of Christian interpretation. Those disciples, like the rest of us, had some difficulty in 'reading' their history and the context of 'recognition' the occasion on which things began to make sense, was not some 'religious' event in a sacred space, but an act of human hospitality. The first two essays treat problems which confront all current the tension between the constructive and critical responsibilities of the theologian, and the relationship between the theological diversity and the unity of faith. There then follows a group of four essays dealing with aspects of the relationship between scripture, theology, and the problems of Christian living, that is to say, of 'hermeneutics' or 'fundamental theology' The next pair, which complement each other, are rather more philosophical or theoretical in character, and the final group considers more directly doctrinal questions concerning (respectively) religious experience and the doctrine of God, christology, resurrection, ecclesiology, and Christian hope.

Genres: Theology

252 pages, Paperback

First published November 2, 1986

About the author

Nicholas Langrishe Alleyne Lash was an English Roman Catholic theologian. The son of a brigadier in the British Indian Army, Nicholas Lash served in the Royal Engineers from 1951-1957. He then studied at Oscott College (of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham) and was ordained a Roman Catholic priest. He did not remain a priest for long, however, as he received permission to leave the priesthood and marry in 1976. At University of Cambridge, he became a Fellow of St Edmund's College (1969) and served as dean of the college (1971-1975). He also became a Fellow at Clare Hall (1988, and emeritus in 2001). He held the post of Norris-Hulse Chair of Divinity at Cambridge from 1978 to 1999. Brilliant and imaginative, Nicholas Lash was the author of numerous theological books and a regular contributor to The Tablet. A loyal and obedient Roman Catholic, Lash voiced strong but measured criticism of authoritarian practices among leading figures in his tradition, arguing for open debate on a variety of topics, including the ordination of women. In 2017, a papal knighthood was conferred upon him by Pope Francis.

References:

*https://www.st-edmunds.cam.ac.uk/news...

*https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/1317...

*https://www.indcatholicnews.com/news/...