I recently went to see Jordan B. Peterson on his Beyond Order: Twelve More Rules for Life book tour. I have been a follower and admirer of Dr. Peterson’s work and thought for years now, and seeing him and getting to shake his hand was deeply meaningful to me. It was like coming full circle.
Dr. Peterson’s influence on my life and outlook on the world is unparalleled with respect to “thinkers” and “intellectuals.” My family and teachers have had the biggest impact on my life and formation, but Dr. Peterson comes close behind them.
From his videos on YouTube, I have learned that a meaningful life—a life sustainable through the inevitable hardships of life and “the tragedy of existence”—is where responsibility lies. By voluntarily adopting responsibility, you take on the weight of burdens that make you stronger. It’s weightlifting, but for your being as a whole, in a metaphysical and psychological sense.
My freshman philosophy dating paper draws heavily from his perspectives on dating and marriage, and about the importance of finding a life partner and having kids. During the Q&A portion of his lecture, he was asked what advice he would give his younger self, to which he replied, “have kids sooner … and more of them.” I couldn’t agree more.
He also has profound reflections and musings about theology, specifically the Bible. Beyond Order and Twelve Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos quotes the Bible frequently, and his lecture series on the Book of Genesis has garnered over five million views on YouTube. Much has been made about his belief in God and his own personal religion (he mentioned that he doesn’t go to church, which he admitted he saw was a problem, and then recommended that the audience needs to go to church “and be involved in civic organizations in your community”), but at the very least, his reflections from a secular, scientific perspective have been highly influential to many of the religious “nones” in our day and age. I know for myself that his thoughts inspired me to take religion seriously and appreciate it even before I was a believer.
That said, my perspective on his work has changed over the years as I have put him in conversation with other thinkers. Most importantly, since I have become Catholic, I have come to see some of the things he says, specifically about the Scriptures, as being quite strange.
For instance, he says that Christ’s last words on the cross, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mt. 27:46) is an example of suffering being so bad that even Christ believed that He was abandoned by God. As Catholics, we know that interpretation is wrong, as Christ’s words quote Psalm 22:1, which is a psalm about being redeemed and saved. According to Dr. Brant Pitre, author of The Case for Jesus, it was common for Jews at the time to reference an entire Psalm by its first verse. On the Cross, Jesus was calling out that He was the fulfillment of the prophecies of the coming Messiah.
More recently, Peterson has come out and said that he believes that the Crucifixion is true. His recent video “A Wing and A Prayer” is a rational prayer of sorts as well as a call to repentance. Even so, his own personal convictions remain muddled. When asked if he believes that God exists, he replies that he “acts as if God exists.” But that leaves much to be desired—having an active prayer life and a relationship with God—which has led many Catholics to critique him and be suspicious of his project.
But in Beyond Order, his first rule—Do not carelessly denigrate social institutions or creative achievement—points towards Catholicism. In that chapter, he critiques Freud and Jung for not properly considering the role of human sociability, and instead focusing solely on neuroses being in the mind of an individual. Peterson indeed places a high value on socialization and friendship for the cultivation of a healthy person. As Catholics, we know that type of socialization is the Church, which has formed and shaped us since Christ gave Peter the keys to the Kingdom and ordered the Apostles to “make disciples of all nations.” Let us pray that Dr. Peterson is also able to forthrightly state his personal convictions, and in the process bring with him so many who need God’s grace.
Tom is a senior in the Lynch School, where he is studying Secondary Education, History, and Philosophy, with a minor in Restorative Justice. He is President of the Boston College Republicans, and President emeritus of the St. Thomas More Society. When not taking too many classes or writing for The Torch or The Free Press, Tom loves to watch sports, listen to metal music, and defend Leo Strauss against (unfair) accusations of Gnosticism.
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You may mean, How Jordan Peterson Made Me a Better Conservative?? Christians of the USA seem to have this twisted. They are not the same and so often contradictory. You want to be a better Christian? Turn to Christ. He lays out Christian priorities very plainly – MATTHEW 25:31-46 ❤🐑❤🔥🐐🔥 Warning: NOT CONSERVATIVE CULTURE APPROVED