Early in the book, Wright states that character transformation is the ultimate goal of a believer after salvation. If character was the goal and its achievement was through self-discipline, what would differentiate Christianity from other religious thoughts? World religions that emphasize discipline, self-sacrifice, and virtue are ubiquitous and essentially founded on the ideal of man's effort to attain the Divine. This, however, does not undermine the essential role of self-discipline in the Christian life. The apostle Paul describes his lifestyle in subjecting his flesh to a lifelong pursuit of eternal reward: “No, I smite my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself may not be disqualified for the prize." However, it is by contemplating Christ that we conform to His image and manifest His character through His transforming power. "All of us, who contemplate with unveiled faces the glory of the Lord, are transformed into His image, into a ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the