Jordan Peterson

I started following Jordan Peterson right at the beginning. I was very excited when I first encountered him. The man knew a lot of interesting things. Spiritual things. Things we have not been talking about in our culture but desperately need to. 

And I, like most, thought he was a Christian. I mean after all, a man who can explain Bible stories with such insight, in a way that affects my life in a way that most preachers that I've heard throughout my life could not, has to be a Christian. I even remember hearing one of his lectures about the Bible he had mentioned that Jesus Christ was the model of the perfect man.

No doubt a Christian, right? He is just talking about it indirectly, using scientific knowledge, specifically evolutionary biology, in order to reach a wider audience and appeal to their rationality and reason. Right? 

But then it seems he always avoided the question about God. I remember him even answering that he thought it was a pointless question. I think he was doing an interview with Dennis Prager at the time.

And now it's been several years, and you see these videos occasionally where he seems to have crossed the threshold into belief in Christianity and is struggling with it--to the point where he is breaking down in tears. But it always seems the same. I kind of laugh now whenever I see Jordan Peterson cry because he has done it so much. It's like, "Oh, here goes softie again."

He's always at the edge of the door. The door is wide open, and perhaps he is poking his head through the door. But he never wants to walk through the door. I'm always like,  "Go in, man! Don't you bloody well know the door is open!" (I'm trying to say it with his accent most times if you haven't guessed.)

I've come to the point that I realized that he may never ever cross that threshold. I don't understand it, because I think he is much closer than a lot of people who profess they are Christians. He probably is nicer in his daily life and has a closer relationship with God through his struggles than many people who profess their Christians and are on autopilot.

I think this is a good lesson for many Christians.

It's important to realize that none of us becomes a Christian through our intellect. It can help, but it's just not enough. Why? Because logic and knowledge are tools. They help, but in the end they can hurt, because there is never enough knowledge you can also in a lifetime-not enough logic you can use- to bring you to absolute certainly. 

If anything, intellectualism makes you doubt because the supernatural claims of Christianity, which are essential to its truth claims, are not easily verified by logic. Indeed, the gospels seem to indicate that even the disciples who saw the miracles doubted, and in the case of Judas, the miracles Jesus performed were simply not enough to prevent Judas from betraying him. 

I think it's also important to realize that none of us becomes a Christian through our emotions, either. That may seem counterintuitive, but emotions change.  And they change quickly and fiercely. You can have the most brilliant morning studying the Bible, doing a devotional that really hits your heart and finding the peace your heart craves, and then, the next moment, you'll be yelling at the dog for scratching at the furniture, or at the cat for vomiting on your nice carpet. 

Oh, you can say you're a Christian. You can seem like the perfect Christian. You can even do miracles in the name of Jesus, but at the end of the day Jesus might not even recognize you. He may even cast you out of his kingdom because he thinks you're a big phony. 

I'd never say that Jordan Peterson wasn't brilliant. He is. He also has helped me understand my Christian faith better than many pastors have. I would also say that, as a Christian, it would be one of the most awesome things to have somebody with such great ability to reach people preach the Gospel.

It's hard, though, I'm sure because you have these pastors--you know who they are--who supposedly preach the Gospel, who end up being phonies involved in all sorts of terrible sin. 

They make you feel bad about being a Christian, especially when you have relied on their teaching and really enjoyed what they've had to say. 

I'd really like to bring this post to some sort of a wise conclusion. But that seems artificial. I still struggle with my faith. Jordan Peterson struggles with his faith.  Even Saint Paul dealt with that constant thorn in his side to remind him that His grace was enough. 

All I can think about is how Jesus says love everyone because the sun shines on the wicked, and the rain falls on the righteous.