By Rev. Dr. Ed & Janice Hird
-a article for the Light Magazine
Why have Dr. Jordan Peterson’s videos been
watched by almost a billion people since 2017? Other Canadians rarely have this
kind of social media coverage. His
regular 8.56 million subscribers have been closely following his
spiritual/psychological journey regarding the meaning of the Bible. God seems to be using him to soften millions
of young people to the gospel and even to do the ‘unthinkable’ -- attending
church. In this book, he throws down the
gauntlet to Dr. Richard Dawkins and the new atheism.
In Peterson’s new book, he has become absolutely
fascinated with the Bible and its shaping of western culture:
…the biblical corpus, the
compilation of drama that sits at the base of our culture and through which we
look at the world… is the story on which Western civilization is predicated.
The biblical stories are maps of meaning. These maps function at the psychological,
scientific, and spiritual levels. True meaning is found in narrative,
particularly the biblical accounts. Being
made in God’s image is Peterson’s core theological and psychological starting
point. The Bible reveals a true moral
order that can be ignored and subverted at our own peril. The voice of conscience is very close to the
voice of God, the still small voice: “…the possibility of establishing a
relationship with God by attending to conscience.” This will result in people being “in some
sense reborn, and become new people.”
The word Israel given to Jacob means wrestling
with God. Peterson sees this wrestling
with God as our true destiny that we are wise to embrace. To refuse this call is to hide our light
under a bushel and embrace hellish chaos.
Will Jordan help bring about a revival of
biblical marriage instead of living together? This book helps young people
realize that marriage is not just a piece of paper but rather is a deep-rooted
covenant involving the very core of our social identity. As he says, “why would
anyone with any sense not want their sexual relationship consecrated?” To
embrace the responsibility of marriage and family is to choose a life-giving
adventure.
God appears to approve of sex, if only in the
context of consecrated, covenantal relationships—but, of course, why would it
be otherwise?
Jordan Peterson speaks of Jesus revealing his
divine identity during the Transfiguration. He moves back and forth seamlessly
in discussing the Old and New Testament.
The Kingdom of God is a major theme in his book. “Elijah is delivered
into the Kingdom of God.” Christ as King
of Kings is “by definition, the spirit or essence of sovereignty, its very
embodiment.”
In his book, he uses the metaphor of ‘upward’
for spiritual connection with God and societal transformation. As Jordan
mentions, “life is well portrayed as a series of uphill journeys.” Upwards
for Peterson is about aim and purpose versus nihilism and despair: “We aim at
the upward target we deem central…” Upward represents the Promised Land.
Carrying our cross and embracing suffering is the Upward path of adult
maturity:
To “pick up the cross”—that means to
voluntarily face the reality of mortality and malevolence and to struggle
uphill nonetheless.
Aim and character development are deeply
connected: “character is nothing more than the habitual embodiment of aim.” Where
we aim is all about voluntary sacrifice: “the sacrifice that makes such aim
possible…” Without such sacrifice, society becomes ruled by sexual hedonism and
tyranny. Covenantal Kingdom faith is all
about upward sacrifice:
This is an act of faith as well as one of sacrifice:
faith, because the good could be elsewhere; sacrifice, because in the pursuit
of any particular good we determine to forgo all others.
Because Peterson is Jungian, he both embraces
the gospel and perhaps redefines it subjectively:
God himself does the same with his son, a
sacrifice played out as the Passion of Christ—an offering and transformation
that brings about the end of the dominion of death, harrows hell, and
reconciles the sinful progeny of Adam to their heavenly Father.
At face value, it looks as if Peterson is
affirming Jesus as God’s Son, who sacrificed his life for us on the cross,
breaking the power of death and sin.
Does Peterson’s new love for the Bible and Jesus trump his allegiance to
Jungian psychology? Does he believe that
Jesus physically rose from the dead? Has
he encountered Jesus in a life-transforming way? We hope so. If so, he may become the next
C.S. Lewis for our very lost generation.
Rev. Dr. Ed
and Janice Hird, co-authors of God’s Firestarters
