An Orthodox Perspective on Jordan Peterson’s Journey Towards Faith

[@leonkennedy9263]

I'm not sure I ever would have found my way out of atheism if it wasn't for Jordan Peterson. His Bible lectures gave me a lot to think about, and that eventually snowballed into Orthodoxy. Lifelong devout Christians often fail to take seriously how important it can be for secular folks to have a long trail of breadcrumbs leading to The Eucharist. Only once I accepted that scripture was symbolically true in interesting ways that were useful in the world was I able to begin to crucify my intellect enough to believe in the fullness of Christ.

[@0i0l0o]

Absolutely.

[@Blockhead140]

God uses people as he wills. He is fair judge. Glory to God!

There's really no reconciling the two if JP doesn't believe that the death and resurrection of Christ are true literal history.

[@AncientFaithMinistries]

That seemed to be the conclusion that they came to in the discussion as well, although while still holding out hope for Peterson's eventual conversion.

[@drooskie9525]

You should see the discussion with him and Alex O'Connor. The main problem is what does "true literal history" even mean. Like, what does it mean when someone says "yeah but did it REALLY happen?" because, as he correctly points out, most christians in the West are basically closet atheists (they act and think like materialists). He said that he suspects that, yes, jesus walked out of that tomb. but he doesn't understand what that means - and, to be fair, the eyewitness accounts indicate too that it was a mystery. there is no forensic analysis of Jesus' resurrection.

[@joglou7247]

This is a great example of ...' No one likes a Gossip '

[@MartyRodriguezOrthodoxMarine]

I Believe In The Name of The Father and of The Son and of The Holy Spirit. Like Metallica Once Sang : " Nothing Else Matters. " KRISTOS ANESTI ☦️🕊🕯🙏☦️‼️

[@paxonearth]

I've grown very weary of those Christians who love to bash Peterson simply because he hasn't yet verbalized exactly what Christians want him to verbalize. Is there any person in recent history who has convinced so many people, primarily young men, to take God, Jesus, and the bible seriously? The man can barely utter a single sentence about Christ without breaking into tears. If only the bulk of the Christian world was so moved by the power of Christ.

[@Blockhead140]

My recommendation: If you’re going to judge Dr. Peterson, judge him by his fruits.

[@paxonearth]

Thank you. "You shall know them by their fruits." Has there ever been a simpler, more exact method of assessing whether or not someone is doing God's will?

[@nastjavo]

Honestly..i think that this, what JP is gonna do and other celebrities, is just some kind of distraction.

[@Death2Compromise]

Ordaining a female deacon, celebrating the Soviet loving Met. Sergious by Kiril, blessing of Hindu temples by GOARCH, now this? Not a good look.

[@bobbobberson5627]

It seems like for Peterson the logical conclusion of his worldview(according to him) would be to embrace Orthodoxy. The fact that he hasn’t (along with the millions he has made) makes me think he is not operating in good faith.

[@MrTonemaster]

Could you all just get off the JP train? This title is ridiculous.

[@AncientFaithMinistries]

Its not much of a train… I believe the live show last night was the first time we’ve ever had a discussion on Jordan Peterson.

[@MrTonemaster]

@AncientFaithMinistries I guess between this and Pageau, I've made the comment. JP has a strong mind that is stuck and he is quite self obsessed. Time to move on

[@johnnyd2383]

@@AncientFaithMinistries Why is he of any importance to Orthodoxy.? Are you running out of the subjects to talk about.?

[@Skipsul]

@@johnnyd2383 Quite a number of young men and young families have come into our parish because of Peterson, and I hear the same from friends in other parishes. We have to be able to meet them where they are when they arrive, and having some understanding of the part Peterson played, and what he said, is important.

[@AncientFaithMinistries]

@@johnnyd2383 A significant number of recent converts were led to Jonathan Pageau through Jordan Peterson, and then through Pageau to the Orthodox faith. They discuss this pipeline further in the full talk.

[@donhaddix3770]

hmm. orthodox promote orthodox as more edified than others. problem is orthodox latch onto non biblical concepts. monasticism is not biblical, for example. Self-sacrifice is one of the major themes of the New Testament. Jesus modeled it for us in the way He lived. Though He was God, He did not demand His rights as God, but demonstrated servant leadership in everything He did (Philippians 2:6-8). He said to His disciples, “Whoever wants to be first must be your slave-just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:27-28). Some people through the centuries have defined self-sacrifice as extreme forms of bodily punishment we must undergo in order to please God. Some branches of pseudo-Christianity have encouraged all manner of physical deprivation and abuse as though self-inflicted punishment could make people right with God. Certain sects of monks and nuns have lived in abject poverty, rejected legitimate marriage, and taken vows of silence that are nowhere suggested in Scripture. These are akin to the man-made laws that Jesus despised (Mark 7:7-9; Colossians 2:8). They do not represent the kind of self-sacrifice the Bible requires. Jesus clarified the path to godly self-sacrifice in Luke 9:23, saying, “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” The kind of self-sacrifice that pleases the Lord is the natural result of having taken up our cross to follow Jesus. A cross always represents death. So, in order to take up a cross, we must be willing to die to ourselves, our agendas, and our rights. When we crucify our fleshly desire to be our own boss, we begin to make decisions based on what Jesus would have us do (Galatians 2:20; 5:24). The greatest commandments require self-sacrifice. The first commandment is that we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. The second is to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40). We can do neither of these while still demanding our own way. We must sacrifice our rights and desires in order to fully obey God. Biblical self-sacrifice is being willing to set aside one’s own desires for the good of others. Galatians 5:13-14 says, “You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” When we willingly limit our freedoms, set aside our own rights, and pursue the best interest of those God has called us to serve, we are being self-sacrificial biblically. Self-sacrifice demands that we daily die to the passions of our flesh that are in opposition to God’s will for our lives (Romans 6:6-7; Galatians 2:20). We don’t do this in order to appease God or earn His favor. We already have that because of Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:4-7). We choose it because we know it pleases our Father and we want to be more like His Son (Romans 8:29).

[@johnnyd2383]

Monasticism existed even during the OT times. We have numerous examples in the Bible of people going outside in the wilderness in order to meet God, starting with Moses. Lord Jesus Christ went into wilderness before starting His ministry on the Earth. Some of the Apostles themselves were celibate, not married and preached that being better option if one can handle it. All those are foreshadows of the monastic call. You must be speaking out of your ignorance of the Bible or out of your lack of discernment.

[@joshuap969]

Orthodox wrote the Bible and live it in the Church, the Pillar of Truth and Body of Christ. . All others picked it up but lack the context.

[@donhaddix3770]

@johnnyd2383 it existed but was never taught in the bible. celibacy either. the bible says go into your closet to talk with God. that is not monasticism, Christ and the apostle were very active in the world. monasticism is focus on self, not others. your creating a false equivalence.

[@donhaddix3770]

@joshuap969 false claims.

[@benkai343434]

@@donhaddix3770 be very, very careful not to cast judgements on other Christians based on Sola Scriptura when there is nothing in the bible that states Sola Scriptura is true outside of a mistranslation of a handful of verse in Timothy.

[@rameybutler-hm7nx]

Jordan peterson seems a little fake. He reminds me of G.S. Street only not as interesting. But I will pray for him.

[@Martin-hd2tr]

He seems a lot of things but fake isnt one of them.

[@rameybutler-hm7nx]

@@Martin-hd2tr really? He strikes me as the actor master thespian type. Oh well.

[@KGraceSpeaksKea1335]

​@@rameybutler-hm7nxHe's Freemason thus the juxtaposition.

[@lemilemi5385]

SHILL

[@KGraceSpeaksKea1335]

Freemason. There's a lot of them on social media and in your local communities. Its not only governance and MSM.

[@anathamon]

I wish he (jp) would quit putting out bible studies, cause i’m pretty sure he’s not a christian (i’ll leave it up to god). When it comes to the bible, he doesn’t really seem to get it. He’s very cagey and does not give straight answers when confronted with the question.