Believing Three Ways in One God (SCM Classics) by James Barr

by Nicholas Lash

This brief interpretation of the Apostles' Creed enables readers to thoroughly understand the Creed, structurally and theologically, in the face of widespread contemporary misreading.

Genres: Theology

Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

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/...

Reviews

[Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

If one is interested in a more devotional theological treatment of the statements of the Apostles' Creed, I would recommend the meditations of Barth or von Balthasar. Lash here is working with more technical concepts that would appeal more to a theologian that is asking interpretive questions about the nature of triune and creedal discourse.

Taken for what it is, however, Lash says some great stuff. As he meditates through understanding the language of the creed, his analysis and many points is sharp and well-delivered. Additionally, each exposition leads into a kind of treatment on the practices implicit in each section of the creed, which reiterate that doctrine is lived. Believing is "Be-living."

[Bernard · Rating 2 out of 5]

A disappointment.