By a quiet soul who smiles while reading, weeps while praying, and seeks the nearness of God in silence.
I have listened to Jordan Peterson with interest and sometimes admiration. His voice has carried many through darkness, calling them toward structure, meaning, and courage. He speaks of chaos and order, of archetypes and narratives, of the Hero’s Journey and the necessity of bearing one's cross. He points to the Bible—especially Genesis—as a treasure trove of psychological wisdom, forged through millennia of storytelling.
And yet, I find myself pausing.
Not to disagree harshly, but to whisper something deeper—a difference that cannot be charted in psychology textbooks or Jungian diagrams. It’s the difference between hearing a story and hearing God.
📖 The Psalms: Not Just Expressions, But Prayers
When I read the Psalms, I don’t just see psychological catharsis. I see a man—wounded, joyful, fearful, raw—speaking to Someone who hears.
“You have counted my tossings; put my tears in your bottle.” (Psalm 56:8, NRSV)
That line doesn’t just symbolize grief. It speaks to me—because I believe it is God who remembers my tears, not just a poetic archetype.
✝️ Christ: Not Merely the Hero, But the Risen Lord
Peterson often sees Christ as the culmination of the heroic ideal—the archetype of suffering nobility. And while that may awaken a reverence in some, to me… Christ is more.
He is not just the Logos in mythic clothing.
He is not just the man who suffered well.
He is the One who rose.
He is the voice that says,
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine.” (Isaiah 43:1)
That’s not metaphor. That’s personal.
🕊️ Faith Is Not Pretending God Exists
One of Peterson’s most quoted lines is that he chooses to "live as if God exists." And perhaps that is a noble beginning. But to me, that feels like standing at the threshold without entering the house.
I don’t live as if He exists.
I live because He does.
I have cried to Him in weakness.
I have smiled at His Word like a friend’s familiar face.
I have fallen short, again and again, and found grace in the quiet.
Not meaning. Not archetype. Grace.
🚭️ Archetypes May Inspire, But God Transforms
Yes, the Bible is filled with archetypal beauty—patterns that stir the soul, themes that echo through generations. But its power isn’t in being “true enough to work.”
It is true because God spoke it. And when He speaks, the dead rise, the fearful are comforted, and sinners like me are given new hearts.
In Conclusion
I respect Peterson’s intellect, and I’m thankful for the way he’s stirred a generation to take Scripture seriously—even if symbolically. But for me, the Bible is not just a psychological survival manual. It’s not just wisdom literature for the modern chaos.
It is God’s letter. His cry. His love. His truth.
And when I read it—smiling, weeping, sometimes trembling—I am not decoding a myth.
I am meeting Someone.
Postscript: A Hopeful Watching
I think Peterson is still on a journey. Lately, there have been glimpses—moments when his voice breaks, his eyes well up with tears as he speaks of Jesus. Not as an idea, but as someone... real.
When he said, “I don’t know what would happen if you fully believed it,” and choked up, I saw a man standing on the edge of awe.
It reminds me of how C.S. Lewis described his own conversion: myth became fact. The heart finally saw what the mind had long wrestled with.
Maybe one day, Peterson will not just say, "I act as if God exists," but like the Apostle Paul, proclaim,
“I know whom I have believed.” (2 Timothy 1:12)
And on that day, heaven will rejoice—and perhaps a quiet soul like mine will too, smiling in the corner of a room, whispering prayers of thanks.
😌📖💝
No comments:
Post a Comment