This is a great book on discipleship in a hostile culture, and I really appreciated many of the thoughts, probably because they chimed with my own thinking on the topic. Larry Osborne also has a way with words, and there are a lot of great one-liners and quotations in the book ("After all, it takes a mess to have a miracle."; "We’re supposed to weep with those who weep. We’re not supposed to smother them with banal truisms, out-of-context Bible verses, shallow advice, and links to our favorite podcasts.")

So the book was very helpful, and very readable: it is divided into short chapters and written in a very accessible way.

Why do I only give it a three-star rating? Despite being very readable and helpful, it doesn't really live up to its billing of looking at the life of Daniel and applying it to living in our modern-day Babylon. The writer does touch off from the life of Daniel in most chapters, but then jumps off all over the Bible to make his case, sometimes barely mentioning Daniel. As I'd bought it to help me in preparing a preaching series on Daniel, that was a slight disappointment.

I wouldn't, however, want that to prevent anyone from buying or reading the book: it is a great read, and a helpful book for anyone thinking about discipleship in our current-day world. ( )

This book used the Biblical Daniel during the Babylonian captivity as the epitome of these 3 characteristics. A really great read with Biblical references. 224 pages ( )

Title: Thriving in Babylon
Author: Larry Osborne
Pages: 224
Year: 2015
Publisher: David C. Cook
My rating is 4 out of 5 stars.
Read any newspaper, listen or watch TV and it doesn’t take anyone too long to realize that our society has gone through a major decline. People are hopeless. Some are applauding actions or remarks that not too distant in the past would not have found an audience. Babylon in our society seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. Read the Old Testament passages referring to Babylon to help you understand the reference to life today in America.
I have noticed an increase in books referring to Babylon and some of them are quite good; others are not. Larry Osborne has written a book with a subtitle, “Why Hope, Humility, and Wisdom Matter in a Godless Culture.” He is referring to characteristics of a man from ancient times, a young Jewish man who was exiled to Babylon centuries ago. While Daniel underwent intense training in many subjects, the main lesson Daniel reminds us of is that no matter what happens we can stay true to the One God we love and adore.
The book has sections titled, “Daniel’s Story”, “Prepared for battle” and “Hope: Where Courage is Birthed” to name a few. There are actions we can take that will influence our culture and bring glory to God even if we never know the end result of what He tells us to do. The author shows readers what Daniel did with his life in his situation and then shares with us what we can do today in our society.
You might find ideas that are challenging and that would be okay. You may find areas in the book with which you and that is okay too. Go to your Bible and read Daniel chapters 1-6 so you can refresh your heart and mind with God’s truth and discern what you’re reading in Thriving in Babylon. One of the main ideas really is He hasn’t called us to run scared or silent. He has given us Daniel as an example of what we can do or how we can live today that will impact hearts for Christ.
A friend and I have been studying Daniel for a while, long before some of these books were published. It is no accident that authors are trying to encourage and exhort us not to hide, be silent or forget Who we serve! We are our society’s Daniels of today. We need to seek Him for the courage, wisdom and strength to face the furnace or lion’s den that seeks to devour our faith! Remember as you read Daniel he didn’t know the outcome of his actions before he obeyed God. Daniel lived a life of faith that influenced leaders of large kingdoms, and we can most certainly live a life of faith in which others will be influenced or challenged to come away from the lifelessness of Babylon to Christ, our living Hope!
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