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Jonathan NgAlumnus2011
Long Island City, NY
Jonathan grew up in Kansas, where they value family, hard work and basketball. Jonathan works as a project finance attorney at White & Case and has an interest in renewable energy and social entrepreneurship. He also volunteers with Brooklyn Jubilee and New York Christian Legal Services, both of which provide free legal services to low-income New Yorkers. When he's not at work, he's following Kansas basketball and Notre Dame football, or running in Central Park.
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Walking the Walk

In the Heat of Training Camp, the Hunger of Faith

"To those who know [Minnesota Vikings defensive back] Husain Abdullah, his commitment to fasting is nothing to joke about. 'It’s really a testament to how important his religion is in his life,' Peterson said. 'It’s amazing. He’s kind of an inspiration to me in a lot of ways.'”

 

September 6, 2010 |
Categories: Article, Football

Responses

4 responses to “Walking the Walk”
David H. Kim on September 17, 2010 @ 01:14 pm:
Interesting article... thanks for posting Jonathan!
Kenny Jahng on October 3, 2010 @ 06:51 am:
Jonathan, thanks for sharing the article!

Did you notice that in order to succeed in integrating his faith and "work" he has to rely on others? Without the community around him -- coach, nutritionist, wife, team members, etc he would have a dwindling (literally dwindling waistline!) faith.

We are fortunate in our community of brothers and sisters here in Gotham to have access to such a support network and my prayer is that we can begin to lean on each other, encourage as well as celebrate each other as we learn how to better integrate our faith and "work".

Thanks again for posting the article!
Angelin Baskaran on October 5, 2010 @ 02:38 pm:
One thing I find really interesting about this article (and similar stories) is the last line:

“It’s really a testament to how important his religion is in his life,” Peterson said. “It’s amazing. He’s kind of an inspiration to me in a lot of ways.”

People (both people who'd consider themselves religious and not) seem to find certain displays of faith (such as fasting for 40 days as a professional football player) extremely admirable, but other "shows" of devout faith are looked down upon/condemned. It seems its admirable until it affects/inconveniences someone else.
Jonathan Ng on October 5, 2010 @ 03:31 pm:
Kenny -- great point about the support of his community around him. That's something I didn't really pick up on in that article, but you are absolutely right that we are unable to live out our faith and achieve meaningful growth without the support of Christian community.

Angelin -- I hear what you are saying. Perhaps what makes this display of faith admirable to the outside observer compared to others is that it: (1) appears genuine (i.e., he has been fasting since age 7 and only told one of his NFL coaches); and (2) is based on actions and not just words. In any event, when people are genuinely committed to their faith (in particular, Christians), their actions will hopefully serve as a positive testament regardless of who is watching.
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