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Last week in London, over 12,000 people were present The O2 paid “significant sums of money to watch (Jordan) Peterson, the rockstar of public intellectuals” and other panelists to discuss “everything from marriage… to the book of Job tells us about suffering.” Peterson began by asking the audience, “What are we all doing here?” Viewers may have had varying responses, but the biggest question was really: what are we looking for and waiting to find?
Anxiety is everywhere and people are looking for what can reconcile their fragile existence with a world threatening uncertainty. The Gospel has always offered Christ who “broke down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility… in order to create in him a new man… thus making peace” (Eph. 2:14-15 ). I think the challenge for contemporary Christian faith is that the Gospel offers non-tangible things, and therefore the tangible enters into fierce competition.
Modern men are conditioned to be educated by observed phenomena. Thus, humanity’s innate sensitivity to God is now distracted by the allure of teachings about personal development. This is nothing new, as every era has known it. Like Bunyan’s timeless Wise of the world whose board sought to replace The Evangelist message of faith:
“Why, in that village… there lives a gentleman, whose name is Legality, a very judicious man… who has the skill to relieve men of burdens like yours, from their shoulders; yes, to my knowledge, he has done much good in this way: yes, and besides, he has the skill to heal those who are a little crazy in spirit with their burdens. To him, as I said, you can go there and be helped immediately.”(1)
Today Wise of the world attempts to naturalize spiritual sensibilities in a culturally acceptable way. This attempt is remarkable for Peterson. He is urbane, intellectual, a clinical psychologist and offers many insights on biblical themes. With 7.5 million YouTube subscribers and over 600 million views, he is a true influencer who is establishing a subscriber-seeking subculture. What is particularly noble about Peterson is his honesty when he often says “I don’t know” or “I don’t understand.” Such sincere concessions make him a decently humble and sympathetic person.
When it comes to the Gospel, however, its naturalized explanations present a “Christ” who offers an “unshakable moral proposition” and the resurrection as a “metaphor” where “parts of us must die because they are in the error and then we move forward.” and are constantly reborn as a result of progress.(2) Peterson’s “Christ” symbolizes an exceptional ideal that deserves emulatory action. Peterson takes great liberty to read his own ideas into the Gospel. It’s quite bold, actually. People listen to it because they believe it is more culturally exciting than the stereotypical banality of a preacher’s sermon.
Regarding the teachings of Christ, Peterson also preached:
“These stories depict the existential dilemma that perennially characterizes human life: it is necessary to conform, to be disciplined, and to follow the rules – to humbly do what others do, but it is also necessary to exercise judgment , vision and truth. which guides the conscience to say what is right, when the rules suggest otherwise. It is the ability to manage this combination that truly characterizes the fully developed personality: the true hero..” (3)
This abstract idea of “Christ” offers a narrative that doesn’t really require faith; it requires adherence to principles that bring improvement to those who can appreciate them. This is a form of legalism. In other words, we must respect a moral code illustrated by the principles of the life of “Christ” in order to improve. Furthermore, sensitivity to conscience seems sufficient to gauge an identity with “Christ”. Peterson’s ideas about “Christ” are complex, but seductive as they are. feeling of spirituality without obeying Christ to “Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” (Matt. 3:2).
What Peterson doesn’t seem to understand is that whether you call it “chaos” or rebellion, or any other moniker describing moral failings, it is essentially a repackaging of fishing. Yet his “Christ” is more culturally appealing than the gospel’s invitation to repentance, justification by faith, and new life in Christ. This is because Peterson deals with tangible elements that are easily adopted, whereas the gospel offers intangible elements with sincere accountability.
As a psychologist, her tips for emotional well-being offer practical wisdom and insightful advice. Incorporating biblical themes into his style of self-improvement is just another view in the long history of attempts to naturalize Christian thought. Such views have always found an audience in culture because inner selfishness is not directed toward repentance but toward negotiation of fishing.
I have great respect for Peterson’s public intellectualism, but it lacks the scope of what is central to the gospel: “God shows his love for us in that, while we were still sinners, Christ is died for us” (Rom. 5:8). ). My advice to people who want to pay “significant amounts of money” to listen to Peterson is to go ahead if you want to glean psychological insights, critiques of cultural thought, and consider his advice on various topics. If you’re looking for forgiveness, new life, and ultimate fulfillment, bypass Peterson’s filters on the Christian faith and explore the gospel for yourself. Do not think that in a postmodern culture only sophisticated cultural icons can offer exciting reflections on spiritual matters.
Keep in mind that what stops most seekers from searching wholeheartedly is the fear of discovering that which will eradicate inherent selfishness. “Let not your heart be troubled,” Jesus said (John 14:1). Your personal acceptance of Christ will lead you to experience true “order” from “chaos.” You will realize deep within you what Jesus promised: “the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).
Intellectual respect and assent to a naturalized “Christ” are very different from knowing him personally. Like Bunyan’s Christian said:
“How! Think that you must believe in Christ, when you do not see that you need him! You see neither your original nor current infirmities, but you have such an opinion of yourself and of what you do, that it clearly makes you someone who has never seen the necessity of the personal righteousness of Christ to justify you before God. How then do you say: I believe in Christ?” (4)
1. John Bunyan, The pilgrim’s progress (Westwood, NJ: Barbour and Company, n.d.), 13-14.
2. Jordan B. Peterson, Christianity and the Modern World, YouTube 1:15:15 to 1:17
3. Jordan B. Peterson, Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life (Toronto, Ontario: Random House Canada, 2021), 47.
4. The pilgrim’s progress169.
Marlon De Blasio is a cultural apologist, Christian writer and author of Demanding culture. He lives in Toronto with his family. Follow him at MarlonDeBlasio@Twitter
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