When Christians approach studying the book of Daniel, they most commonly think about beasts and complex prophecies. But what is the value of the stories from the first half of the book? Dr. Terrell Carter takes a look at these stories and what they tell us about God and ourselves, about living in horrible situations, and responding to unimagined pressure and hardship. How does one maintain a strong relationship with God while living in a land and in a society where one's values are not the norm? Daniel and his friends are confronted with such circumstances in these stories from the early chapters. Certainly the stories are examples both of moral and ethical decision making and of God's miraculous activities, but they are also stories that give us an understanding of God. When and why does God intervene? What does this mean about God's activity-and ours - on this troubled planet? You'll find in this book that the stories so commonly told in Sunday School are not just a matter of wonder, but are dealing with the basic questions of human life and of God's sovereignty, of our duty and God's action. This book is suitable for Bible study groups as well as for individual reading.