Jordan Peterson’s Soul Pain…

Wisdom crieth without; she uttereth her voice in the streets: She crieth in the chief place of concourse, in the openings of the gates: in the city she uttereth her words, saying, How long, ye simple ones, will ye love simplicity? and the scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge? (Proverbs 1:20-22)

Wisdom cries out in the streets. There are many ways in which she does this, but one way Wisdom cries out, is in popular current culture and events. I believe that if anyone has ears to hear, they will perceive and perhaps even be able to interpret what Wisdom is crying out about.

A Jungian Psychologist and Canadian University professor, Jordan Peterson went from relative obscurity, to being a well known and highly sought after lecturer.

The reasons for this are manifold, but two come to mind; Peterson refused to be forced into using a “preferred pronoun” in a filmed confrontation with transgender people on Campus.

Secondly Peterson became famous for a series of lectures on Bible stories. He gave them a Jungian interpretation. These lectures have been seen by millions and have proven to be wildly popular.

In the little clip below Peterson has a very emotionally tormenting moment while discussing Christ. Jordan does not claim to be Christian, as a Jungian, He believes that all “myths” are significant, but that the Bible is the supreme “Myth” and is culturally important whether it is objectively true or not.

However, as you will see, the person of Christ is so attractive and otherworldly to Peterson, He doesn’t know what to do with him. He is troubled that He finds himself believing in Christ on some level, and doesn’t know how to ‘process’ that.

I (and a lot of other people) find Peterson’s career and even his travails (which he has allowed to be publicly known) to be very interesting and perhaps even significant.

This man is an academic, has been an Atheist throughout his career, and He is a devoted Jungian. He has been trained to think about metaphysical and spiritual matters in Jungian terms. He recognizes the symbolic, he studies comparitive religion and ancient mythology, but it is obvious that the person of Christ really touches him.

He believes that people need these “symbols” and “Archetypes” from “the narrative realm”, (The story world of religion, myths and even fables) and that they have relevance, even if they have no connection to the “objective world”, ie the real, concrete world.

But Peterson seems to be realizing that Jesus Christ touched both worlds, that Jesus lived in history and that he cannot be relegated to the world of archetypes and myths that people like Peterson are too enlightened to actually believe in, and to worship. As you can see this touches Peterson deeply and it troubles him as well.

Peterson’s interviewer, Jonathan Pageau, is a Greek Orthodox, icon carver, who has a well known podcast called “the Symbolic World”, and is trying to evangelize Peterson, or at least engage with him on Peterson’s level.

I found the original whole interview interesting, although I have problems with Pageau’s evangelistic emphasis. ( I love Pageau and often find his takes interesting, and applaud him for trying to reach Peterson.) .

To put a complicated topic in a simple box. my problems are twofold, I don’t understand why Pageau keeps talking about “hierarchy” of reality and symbolism. It could be me, perhaps I am not intellectually able to understand, but when a very intelligent man is crying in agony of soul because he is haunted by the very beauty of Christ, the concept of ‘hierarchy’ seemed to be strange direction to point him to.

My other problem is that Pageau kept trying to get Peterson to accept “Theosis”, the Greek Orthodox teaching that in the big picture, God is bringing those who believe in Him to participation in ‘godhood’. This is false doctrine.

Peterson is obviously in very much spiritual pain, and I would call on all of us to pray for his salvation.

One of the problems I see with Peterson, is that as an intellectual and highly regarded professor, and as someone who is literally being credited with bringing people to the Bible and even to faith in Christ, through his Jungian lecture series; is that He is an ‘expert’ on spirituality.Peterson even questioned openly in the interview, why it is that so many have come to a re-appreciation of the Bible thru his lectures, when there are so many churches and preachers who should have been doing that very thing.

One cannot come to know Christ, as an ‘expert’, Therefore Peterson is doubly tormented. He ‘knows’ so much more than so many about religion and the Bible and even Christ… but he also knows that He doesn’t really know Christ and is not even sure that he believes in Him.

The Words of Jesus come to mind,

At that time Jesus said, “I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. ²⁶ Yes, Father, for this is what you were pleased to do.( Matthew 11:25)

Oh that Peterson could ‘know nothing’ and know that he knows nothing!

Secondly in the entire hour and a half interview the issue of sin as a personal reality, and the true moral guilt that we all need to be saved from, never came to light.

I love Jordan Peterson, and find him interesting, and I see why so many hundreds of thousands of University students absolutely either love or hate him, but He is a sinner (as I am) and needs to know that.

I think it occurred to me that Peterson is somewhat comfortable discussing the existence of God with a Sam Harris or other noted atheists, and He is fine, sitting with a Greek Orthodox Symbologist, speaking of the “narrative world” as opposed to the “Objective world” and speaking of Christ as a perfect “Archetype”.

But for Peterson to entertain the idea of Christ being a real person, in the real world, and of Christ himself studying the soul of Peterson is unnerving and troubling to Peterson as you can see on the tape.

As another one of Peterson’s influences, Frederich Neitsche once said, “If you look into the Abyss long enough, it starts looking into you…”. If that is true of the Abyss, how much more is it true of Jesus Christ, the risen Lord and Savior, whose eyes are of fire?

I welcome any thoughts or feedback…