On Jordan Peterson and God, Again

With his new book, debate about Peterson continues:

We now have a brand new book by Jordan Peterson that has many people talking: We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine. It is also likely to become a best seller. And there are already many Christians discussing it, and pointing out his many shortcomings in terms of expressing orthodox Christian teaching. This has been a long-standing criticism of Peterson, and I have written a number of articles already dealing with this matter.

As a very short summary of my earlier pieces, I have been saying the following for years now:
1) If he is not yet a biblical Christian, then we should not expect him to talk and write like a biblical Christian.
2) It would be good if we spent as much time praying for him as we do criticising him.

That too has bothered some believers, as if I am making excuses for Peterson, or refusing to look at what he has written and said. So let me speak a bit more to this. I am NOT saying that Peterson or anyone else is above assessment and critique. We are all to be evaluated and carefully looked at both in terms of what we believe and how we live. Scripture tells us to “test all things” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

My main concern is, as mentioned above, twofold. One, many Christian leaders, pastors and teachers seem shocked and upset that Peterson does not have strong, biblically based beliefs and doctrines. Well, if he was claiming to be a long-standing believer and pastoring a church or lecturing in a theological college, then yes, I too would be shocked and upset.

But that is the point: Do we know if he is a real-deal Christian? He likely does not even know himself where he stands in this regard. God certainly knows. But if he is not yet a fully converted and biblically sound believer, then yeah, I would not expect him to sound like one.

However, the Christian who is still quite critical of Peterson will claim, ‘Yeah, but look at all the influence he has! Look at how many people he is influencing!’ Yes I get that, and as such, I hope that he does become a solid Christian so that his influence can be even more positive and life changing.

The truth is, he has already helped millions of people, especially young men, in terms of personal responsibility and the like. Sure, that is not the heart of the gospel message, but it is a very good thing in itself. I would much rather have him influencing people for good in this regard than have some other well-known public intellectual influencing young men to just be reckless, wild, immoral wastrels.

One thing does appear to be certain: he really does seem to be on a spiritual journey. He is searching, he is looking. And to that end, we should pray for him. Long ago I too was on a spiritual journey. I looked in all the wrong directions admittedly (reading plenty of books on eastern religions, the New Age, the occult, and so on).

I could also have been easily written off by believers, but hopefully a few folks were praying for me back then. My parents at least would have been keeping me in their prayers. And so after a long and rather wild journey, I did finally come to see the light. Christ did reach down and save me.

That is all that I am really asking for Peterson. Yes, his Jungian psychology and so much else is certainly not at all close to the saving gospel of Jesus Christ. But the fact that he is now so committed to exploring and understanding the Bible, at least the biblical stories, it is a good start in my book.

Sure, simply finding a lot of truth and help in stories about Abraham offering up Isaac, or David confronting Goliath, does not make you a Chrisian, nor does it mean that you are now sharing the gospel. But it is a good early step in what might be a spiritual journey that culminates in him having a real encounter with Christ.

So again, I am NOT saying he cannot be criticised, he cannot be discussed, he cannot be analysed in terms of what he believes and says. In the past I have offered some criticism of him as well. But while that has been sporadic, one thing that I do every single day is pray for him.

That for me is the most important thing. By all means, assess and evaluate what he is writing and lecturing on. And there would be far more qualified folks than I to do that sort of work. But in the days ahead I may well write a few articles on his new book and what might be gleaned from it – and what also might be criticised in it.

So please join with me in praying for the man. I believe both his wife and daughter have gone even further in their spiritual journeys. Where Jordan will finally end up remains to be seen. But given that he does indeed have such a huge influence and following, it would be terrific if his much-needed message was properly based on and rounded off with a clear gospel presentation. And that can only happen if he has a clear and definitive encounter with the risen Lord, much as what Saul/Paul had two millennia ago.

A biblical example

In what might seem like a slight detour, let me address all this from a somewhat different angle. As mentioned, many Christians are concerned about Peterson, believing he is just leading people astray. Well, that may be true to some extent, if he is not presenting the whole biblical message.

But if he is getting people to at least think about spiritual truths and eternal realities, that is a step in the right direction. And more importantly, if he is inspiring folks to read the Bible for themselves – perhaps for the very first time – then that is a very good thing. We all have to start somewhere. Consider this as a form of pre-evangelism.

If however, Peterson were to insist repeatedly for years on end that we should keep at arm’s length the Bible and Christ, then we would have a very solid reason indeed to steer well clear of the guy. But as far as we know he is NOT rejecting the gospel – he just has not yet fully embraced it, it seems.

In this light, what I just read in Acts 18:1-11 might tie in here. It informs us that yes, when some folks keep rejecting the gospel, they are not only to be criticised big time, but they are actually to be shunned and condemned. This is what we read about Paul and his continued battles with the Jews, and how he turned to the Gentiles:

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.” And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Now if Peterson were just like these Christ-rejecting and gospel-rejecting Jews, then yes, we believers should want little or nothing to do with him. But that is not where he is at, and hopefully he will stay on his spiritual journey. With our continued prayers and with God’s grace, he might just yet become another Apostle Paul for our generation.

We can all pray to that end at least. I know that I am.

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