"Can Christianity survive the secular age? The author answers this question and others while pointing out the parallels between our world and the story of Esther. A tale of sex, ego, and revenge, the book of Esther reveals a world where God seems absent from everyday life--a world not unlike our own. Far from the gentle cartoon we often hear in Sunday school, the story of Esther is a brutal saga of people assimilated into a pluralistic, pagan society, embracing its standards. Yet when threatened with annihilation, they find the courage to turn to God in humility. A call to spiritual awakening and to faith in an age of malaise and apathy, this book is an invitation to remember the faithfulness of God, knowing that in dark times-- as in the days of Esther or our own--God may be hidden, but he is never absent"--Back cover.