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Summary: The Lord's Prayer for the New Millennium
Review: The New Testament did not provide lawyers with a very good Press, with Christ condemning lawyers for their concern for the "letter of the law" rather than its "spirit".The latest work of this distinguished lawyer avoids that criticism. It gets to the substance of the ordering of human affairs and relationships. The author was born in Sri Lanka in 1926 and is Vice-President of the International Court of Justice. He is a Doctor of Laws from the University of London and has been a practicing lawyer for fifty years. He was a judge in Sri Lanka and later a University Professor of Law in Melbourne. His position on the World Court provides him with a view of the entire world given to few.That world view is set forth in horrible and frightening detail in the text:environmental destruction; nuclear and chemical weapons; and the genocidal racism of "ethnic cleansing". He brings a well developed Christian mind to assessment of the prospects of the world as it approaches the new Christian millennium. By means of a clear, careful, thorough and step-by-step appraisal of the words of the Lord's Prayer and of their meaning and significance the judge offers "a vision for personal and global transformation": necessary because "Never before has humanity possessed the power to destroy itself"; nor seemed more likely to do so. To the task he brings a wide understanding of many cultures and religions and a deep and broad understanding of human history. The breadth of his learning is shown through the vast range of references to and citations from thinkers from many religions and cultures over many centuries. G.K. Chesterton once said that Christianity had not failed because it had not been tried. Weeramantry urges everyone to try. He proposes that all Christians, and all humanity, should come to understand fully The Lord's Prayer so that, once properly understood and then tried in application, the principles set forth for our guidance by Jesus Christ will be expressed in our actions and provide that "Bridge to a Better World" which is so desperately needed if earthly disaster for all mankind is to be avoided. Having regard to the responsibility which the USA now bears as the only super-power in the world, publication in Missouri by this citizen of the world was most appropriate. PETER M. ROACH, Barrister, Hobart, Australia
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