May 18, 2005

MINNEAPOLIS – The Perfect Prayer: Search for the Kingdom through the Lord's Prayer by Philip Mathias is based the shorter version of Jesus's prayer found in Luke's Gospel. In this new volume the author examines each of the six petitions of the Lord's Prayer to explore the role it plays in the prayer's aspiration: the coming of the kingdom of God, which is the core of Christian joy.

"Christianity is...the stubborn search for the kingdom of God, which involves heroism and sacrifice, and above all, the exhilaration of a journey into the unknown, ending in a marvelous discovery. Seeking the kingdom is an enormous risk, and yet it brings the greatest of all security. It is the finest celebration of human life, though it is founded on a prayerful austerity. It is the spring of the world and the summer of the spirit." –From the introduction.

"The thirty-five words in the Lord's Prayer comprise the key dialogue for millions of individuals who worship God and yearn for wholeness, seek the way of love and strive to move along the spiritual journey. The Perfect Prayer is a helpful and wise companion on the way." –The Rev. Canon Malcolm Boyd, poet/writer-in-residence at The Cathedral of St. Paul in Los Angeles.

"The basic idea of this book is brilliant. Matthias shows that the entirety of the Christian faith is encapsulated in the six petitions of the Lord's Prayer. An imaginative book!" –Herbert Richardson, former Professor of Theology at Harvard University and the University of Toronto.

Contents –
Introduction
1. The Prayer
2. Father
3. Hallowed Be Thy Name
4. Thy Kingdom Come
5. The Other Side
6. Give Us This Day Our Daily Bread
7. And Forgive Us Our Sins: We Too Forgive All Those Who Trespass Against Us
8. And Lead Us Not into Temptation
9. The Power of the Prayer
Notes

Philip Mathias, a career journalist for forty-five years, has written on subjects as varied as faith, politics, religion, business, economics, and cheese making. He has traveled to thirty countries in the pursuit of news and analysis. Mathias has authored two other books: Forced Growth (1971), which analyzed dubious and wasteful development projects in the Canadian provinces, and Takeover (1976), which documented in detail the merger of two paper-making companies. He retired in 2001 from the National Post and resides in Toronto.

Format: Hardcover 224 pages 6 x 9 inches; Item No: 0806651563; Publisher: Augsburg Books; Price: $16.99.

To order The Perfect Prayer please call Augsburg Fortress at 1-800-328-4648 or visit the web site at http://www.augsburgfortress.com/.

Augsburg Fortress