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Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God (1 John 4:1, NLT).
Have you heard of Jordan Peterson? If not, you probably will soon.
Peterson (born June 12, 1962) is a Canadian psychiatrist lauded as a savior of masculinity and, according to the New York Times, is becoming the most influential public intellectual in the Western World. He has a large YouTube™ following, he speaks and gives interviews in a vast array of public and e-forums, and his “book of manhood” (my moniker), or the actual title 12 Rules For Life. . . An Antidote to Chaos has sold over 10 million copies worldwide.
When I picked up 12 Rules, I instantly thought Peterson insane, with the book’s last chapter titled — PET A CAT WHEN YOU ENCOUNTER ONE ON THE STREET. The book has sold ten million copies.
HHHHMMMHHM!
(Confession: Only out of curiosity, since I hate cats, did I read the chapter.) I found this sentence as a balm to my soul. . .
I began this cat-related chapter with a description of my dog. Otherwise, the mere mention of a cat in the title would be enough to turn many dog people against me, just because I didn’t include canines in the group of entities that should be petted.
Peterson discusses how we minimize other people who have differing viewpoints. I agree with him on this point — the minimization of others’ ideas and not that we should stop and pet random cats on the street.
The New Yorker titled an article about Peterson as Jordon Peterson’s Gospel of Masculinity. The article outlined Peterson’s fight against the liberal ideas of pronoun reusage, political correctness, and the degrading of masculinity in our culture.
At the end of chapter eleven in 12 Rules, Peterson says to men, “Toughen up, you weasel!” Men (and women) love Peterson because he’s a skilled, fearless, and intellectual debater of conservative values.
Jordan Peterson’s latest book is about God, not men.
It’s titled We Who Wrestle with God and is a skillful and lengthy commentary on the beginning books of the Bible. Below is his take on the first few verses of Genesis. . .
Genesis opens with a confrontation. God is “moving” upon the face of the “waters.” What does moving mean? It means God is mobile, obviously. Less obviously, moving is what we say when we have been struck by something deep. God is what has encountered us when new possibilities emerge and take shape. God is what we encounter when we are moved to the depths.
Peterson doesn’t claim to be a follower of Jesus, but he does respect the Bible.
As I’ve read his writings, my thought has been, “He’s a backward progressive.” Most progressives write about the doubts they have about the Bible, but Jordan turns it around and finds reasons to expel his doubts about the Bible.
Read Peterson if you have time, or wait for my monologues about him in future Interruptions.
When pressed for specifics about his actual beliefs about Jesus, Peterson typically gives evasive answers. I respect his searching heart and the honesty of his writings, but we should all test the “Spirit” of his content, whether in ink or electronic.
And pray for him to know Jesus as his Lord and Savior.