Day 53

When we went to Devon I packed a few books and also took with me 2 copies of the magazine Third Way which had lain on my desk unread for weeks . On the way I treated myself to a copy of a Four Four Two magazine(for the uninitiated - a football magazine). While in Devon I read Four Four Two first from cover to cover. It was the first time for ages that I had actually read that kind of magazine and one of the main articles was about the Brazilian footballer Kaka who makes no secret of his Christian faith. The article described something of his life story and the difficulties he has overcome to become perhaps the greatest footballer in the world at the moment. He seemed to have a more refreshing outlook to that expressed by so many of our highly paid footballing stars.

When I had finished the football magazine I turned to Third Way. The one article that caught my attention was headed – Jesus & Socrates. The article sought to express the similarities and the differences in their two lives.

But it also did express the fact that unlike many modern philosophers Socrates actually believed that philosophy was not just a challenging academic exercise but should make a real difference to the way the philosopher lives, to the person the philosopher is becoming. Here was an obvious similarity to the challenge of Jesus to all who would follow him.

This tuned in to the frequent emphasis that Peterson gives in his writing about Spiritual Theology. What we believe should clearly make a difference to the way in which we live, to the kind of people we are becoming. If the Christians of today are to be able to speak with any kind of authority, the words must be backed by lifestyle.