Man's Relationship with God is basically a study of relationships. Bold, daring, devout, elegant, it examines in fascinating detail man's relationship with God, his 'indwelling' as the author calls this, and his 'indwelling' with mankind. Although David Wagstaff modestly disclaims his book as a work of scholarship, it is in fact very scholarly indeed. It searches essentially for the truth.
It is more than scholarly, however. To those concerned with the things of the spirit it is thrilling, gripping, compulsive. I write neither as a lawyer nor as a philosopher, although having studied logic and metaphysics for my first degree at the University of Edinburgh, I have ever been fascinated by philosophical doctrine and argument. Nor do I write as a lawyer. Nevertheless, my long experience in the world of Celtic studies, especially in the realms of Celtic and thus comparative religion, has made me fully aware of the archaic and essential need for law in any stratified and innovative society such as that of the Celts, our ultimate ancestors in Europe. Celtic law, like Celtic religion, to which the earlier and the later Celts were passionately dedicated, was in the hands of the tripartite group of learned men - Druids, Prophets, Poets. Amongst these the Druid was supreme. The Druid taught that the well-being of the land, the country and, indeed the Cosmos itself, depended on the right behaviour of the ruling classes, especially the kings. Non-moral behaviour by the ruler brought about cosmic chaos – seasons became hostile, crops failed; rivers and estuaries were devoid of fish, cattle perished. Only the removal of the wrong-doer, or his penance, could restore cosmic order and general well-being. Right must be done and seen to be done. Far from being barbaric, druidic precepts had a truth about them which seems to foreshadow the Christian ethic itself. Their ethical teaching was enshrined in triadic form - 'worship (fear) the gods, do no evil, be manly'. Down all the ensuing centuries of war and change and technological evolution this message holds good; it shines through the pages of this book.
Man’s Relationship with God is not only a 'tract for our times'; it is timeless. It concerns the essential human dilemma, the reconciliation of the self with God, the nature of indwelling and its problems. It is a remarkable work in which the author's legal expertise is combined with and perhaps tempered by his own unquestioning love of God. I am glad to have had the privilege of observing its creation.
Anne Ross,
Aberystwyth
August 1, 1995.