'Then King Darius sent this message to the people of every race and nation and language throughout the world: "I decree that everyone throughout my kingdom should tremble with fear before the God of Daniel. For he is the living God, and he will endure forever."' (Daniel 6.25-6)

The book of Daniel tells the story of four teenage friends, born in the tiny state of Judah about twenty-six centuries ago, who were captured by Nebuchadnezzar, emperor of Babylon. Daniel describes how they eventually rose to the top echelons of imperial administration.

Although forced to live in exile, Daniel and his friends remained faithful to the one true God. But they did not simply treat their devotion to God as a private matter; they maintained a high-profile witness in a pluralistic society highly antagonistic to their faith. That is why their story has such a powerful message for us. Society tolerates the practice of Christianity in private and in church services, but it increasingly deprecates public witness. If Daniel and his compatriots were with us today they would be in the vanguard of debate about the role of religion in public life.

What was it that gave that ancient foursome, Daniel and his three friends, the strength and conviction to be prepared, often at great risk, to swim against the flow?