In this book, Rick McKinley does a good job at using a frequently found metaphor in Scripture—the metaphor of Exile—as a way in which to approach the Church’s place in the U.S.A. at this point in history. Rather than agreeing with much Christian mass media that the U.S.A. is a Christian nation, McKinley proposes that we live in a post-Christian nation, and as a result, God’s people are called to live differently than we have in prior seasons and times. For McKinley, living in the U.S.A. is not living in Jerusalem, but in Babylon.

With this framework in mind, McKinley takes his readers on a journey through Scripture and through culture, helping Christians in the 21st century in the U.S.A. to live in the way that the Exilic people of God have been called to live. Rather than baptizing Babylon or burning Babylon, McKinley offers the biblical alternative of finding ways in our lives as Christians to both bless and resist Babylon!

The latter section of the book deals specifically with practices that Christians have been practicing throughout Church history and should be practicing today in light of our place in culture and in the world at large.

This work was somewhat elementary at times, and McKinley sometimes fell into the habit of writing in a roundabout way; in other words, he could have shortened the length of the book by being more concise (but perhaps he did not feel as though he had enough content to create a full-length book if he did not write in this way—and I can relate to that). All in all, this book was helpful in reminding me that culture at large is not something that we approach the same way in every circumstance. Sometimes. we bless Babylon. At other points, we resist Babylon. All the while, we seek the peace of Babylon, while pledging our allegiance to Christ, the Prince of Peace and the King of Kings!