Spiritual Living in a Secular World: Applying the Book of Daniel Today

Is persecution part of the Christian believer's life? Yes, says Ajith Fernando, and the Old Testament contains a book devoted to helping believers cope with it. It's the Book of Daniel. Fernando's _Spiritual Living in a Secular World_ does much to rescue the Book of Daniel from its imprisonment in the children's section of the church. Fernando engagingly shows that Daniel is not just a bunch of "Bible stories," but is compellingly relevant to the life-and-death matters that Christians face. As is now well-documented by Paul Marshall's award-winning book, _Their Blood Cries Out_ (Dallas: Word, 1997), Christianity is the most persecuted religion on earth. That fact makes Fernando's _Spiritual Living_ even more important for study in these times.Ajith Fernando is well-qualified to write this book. He is a Sri Lankan pastor with plenty of experience in facing opposition because of his Christian faith. Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is an Indian Ocean island of mixed peoples, including Tamils and Hindis, and mixed faiths as well, including Muslims, Hindus and Christians. Sri Lanka has also experienced more than its fair share of violence, as seen in the years-long warfare between government troops and the Tamil separatist guerillas. Confine all of these diversities and tensions onto one island, produce an outstanding Christian pastor-writer from that background, and such a person is likely to provide the rest of the Christian church good guidance for dealing with adversity. That's what this book does. How ought believers to live in the midst of persecution? It's a relevant question for Christians, in all times and circumstances. After all, it was no less than the Apostle Paul who wrote, "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3.12). And it was Jesus Christ himself who said, "Servants aren't greater than their Master: if they have persecuted me, they will percecute you" (John 15.20)Originally written for Jews in their dispersions after the Babylonian exile, the stories reported in the Book of Daniel now give Christians a set of role models in disarming the powers of hate, befriending opponents, de-fusing confrontation, cooperating with hostile authority when possible, and-when necessary-suffering willingly for the principles of biblical faith. Fernando explains the Daniel stories clearly and compellingly. And he illumines the Book of Daniel's message by using similar stories from his own experience, from the church in Sri Lanka and from Christians around the world. One pastor-friend of mine says that Fernando's illustrative stories alone are worth the price of the book. Chapters 1 through 6 of Daniel provide models of various strategies in dealing with opposition from other human beings, especially from government. Fernando's at his best here. This material makes up the bulk of the book, and is quite well-done. The author does not devote as much attention to the difficult second half of the Book of

Ajith Fernando has a knack for making the Bible come alive through different examples and personal challenges. Here, he uses the character of Daniel, a man highly successful through many changes of political leadership, to illustrate how God uses people who are faithful to him. The true gem of this book is that it makes the book of Daniel applicable in very concrete ways in current times.

Is persecution part of the believer's life? Yes, says Ajith Fernando, and the Old Testament contains a book devoted to helping believers cope with it. It's the Book of Daniel. Fernando's _Spiritual Living in a Secular World_ does much to rescue the Book of Daniel from its imprisonment in the children's section of the Church. Fernando engagingly shows that Daniel is not just a bunch of "Bible stories," but is compellingly relevant to the life-and-death matters that Christians face. As is now well-documented by Paul Marshall's award-winning book, _Their Blood Cries Out_ (Dallas: Word, 1997), Christianity is the most persecuted religion on earth. That fact makes Fernando's _Spiritual Living_ even more important for study in these times.Ajith Fernando is well-qualified to write this book. He is a Sri Lankan pastor with plenty of experience in facing opposition because of his Christian faith. Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is an Indian Ocean island of mixed peoples, including Tamils and Hindis, and mixed faiths as well, including Muslims, Hindus and Christians. Sri Lanka has also experienced more than its fair share of violence, as seen in the years-long warfare between government troops and the Tamil separatist guerillas. Confine all of these diversities and tensions onto one island, produce an outstanding Christian pastor-writer from that background, and such a person is likely to provide the rest of the Christian church good guidance for dealing with adversity. That's what this book does. How ought believers to live in the midst of persecution? It's a relevant question for Christians, in all times and circumstances. After all, it was no less than the Apostle Paul who wrote, "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3.12). And it was Jesus Christ himself who said, "Servants aren't greater than their Master: if they have persecuted me, they will percecute you" (John 15.20)Originally written for Jews in their dispersions after the Babylonian exile, the stories reported in the Book of Daniel now give Christians a set of role models in disarming the powers of hate, befriending opponents, de-fusing confrontation, cooperating with hostile authority when possible, and--when necessary-- suffering willingly for the principles of Biblical faith. Fernando explains the Daniel stories clearly and compellingly. And he illumines the Book of Daniel's message by using similar stories from his own experience, from the church in Sri Lanka and from Christians around the world. One pastor-friend of mine says that Fernando's illustrative stories alone are worth the price of the book. Chapters 1 through 6 of Daniel provide models of various strategies in dealing with opposition from other human beings, especially from government. Fernando's at his best here. This material makes up the bulk of the book, and is exceedingly well-done. The author does not devote as much attention to the difficult second half of the Book of D

Is persecution part of the believer's life? Yes, says Ajith Fernando, and the Old Testament contains a book devoted to helping believers cope with it. It's the Book of Daniel. Fernando's _Spiritual Living in a Secular World_ does much to rescue the Book of Daniel from its imprisonment in the children's section of the Church. Fernando engagingly shows that Daniel is not just a bunch of "Bible stories," but is compellingly relevant to the life-and-death matters that Christians face. As is now well-documented by Paul Marshall's award-winning book, _Their Blood Cries Out_ (Dallas: Word, 1997), Christianity is the most persecuted religion on earth. That fact makes Fernando's _Spiritual Living_ even more important for study in these times.Ajith Fernando is well-qualified to write this book. He is a Sri Lankan pastor with plenty of experience in facing opposition because of his Christian faith. Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, is an Indian Ocean island of mixed peoples, including Tamils and Hindis, and mixed faiths as well, including Muslims, Hindus and Christians. Sri Lanka has also experienced more than its fair share of violence, as seen in the years-long warfare between government troops and the Tamil separatist guerillas. Confine all of these diversities and tensions onto one island, produce an outstanding Christian pastor-writer from that background, and such a person is likely to provide the rest of the Christian church good guidance for dealing with adversity. That's what this book does. How ought believers to live in the midst of persecution? It's a relevant question for Christians, in all times and circumstances. After all, it was no less than the Apostle Paul who wrote, "everyone who wants to live a godly life in Jesus Christ will be persecuted" (2 Timothy 3.12). And it was Jesus Christ himself who said, "Servants aren't greater than their Master: if they have persecuted me, they will percecute you" (John 15.20)Originally written for Jews in their dispersions after the Babylonian exile, the stories reported in the Book of Daniel now give Christians a set of role models in disarming the powers of hate, befriending opponents, de-fusing confrontation, cooperating with hostile authority when possible, and--when necessary-- suffering willingly for the principles of Biblical faith. Fernando explains the Daniel stories clearly and compellingly. And he illumines the Book of Daniel's message by using similar stories from his own experience, from the church in Sri Lanka and from Christians around the world. One pastor-friend of mine says that Fernando's illustrative stories alone are worth the price of the book. Chapters 1 through 6 of Daniel provide models of various strategies in dealing with opposition from other human beings, especially from government. Fernando's at his best here. This material makes up the bulk of the book, and is exceedingly well-done. The author does not devote as m