I really like Jordan Peterson’s YouTube videos. I think he has a very sharp mind and his knowledge of history and the world is refreshing. His thinking is a reflection of a very clinical logical worldview.
I watched the Jordan Peterson video on Introduction to God series. I took notes, as best I could, (he tends to ramble a bit). In this case I think he missed the boat and might be a bit out of his element when it comes to biblical Christianity. My first impression was that of the courageous Don Quixote riding out on his trusty steed Rocinante to do battle with the windmills. I appreciate Peterson’s effort and it took me a while to get why he seems to be so scattered and frustrated in trying to get his head around the “genesis” of how the idea of God and the bible came to be.
As they say a picture is worth a thousand words and the famous painting by Raphael which came to be known as The School of Athens might best sum up Peterson’s problem. The painting 
represents the rub between the Aristotelian approach to looking at the foundational truths of the world and the Platonic view. Aristotle is pointing down looking at all the particulars (all the parts) of reality and trying to come up with an underlying theory of how all the pieces fit together into a coherent theory (a very scientific approach), whereas Plato is pointing up, which represents his thinking that there are foundational truths which come from outside the material world and are imposed on all the parts. Peterson is trying to wrestle with the concepts of God, scripture, religion and the spiritual side of reality from a very clinical Aristotelian perspective which cannot work when it comes to things which transcend the material universe.
represents the rub between the Aristotelian approach to looking at the foundational truths of the world and the Platonic view. Aristotle is pointing down looking at all the particulars (all the parts) of reality and trying to come up with an underlying theory of how all the pieces fit together into a coherent theory (a very scientific approach), whereas Plato is pointing up, which represents his thinking that there are foundational truths which come from outside the material world and are imposed on all the parts. Peterson is trying to wrestle with the concepts of God, scripture, religion and the spiritual side of reality from a very clinical Aristotelian perspective which cannot work when it comes to things which transcend the material universe.
Poor Jordan is possibly overthinking that which may be very simple. He is looking at religion and all the various distortions and myths surrounding the concept of God and trying to find a theory about why humans would invent such thought much like he would try to come up with a theory as to why people suffer from a common mental disease. Maybe humans worship the moon or the Pharaoh or a pagan image because as Augustine taught “Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.”, all humans are imbedded with the knowledge of their Creator but that knowledge has been distorted by our sin nature and dysfunctional spiritual DNA that has come down to us from Adam.
We must remember that in the garden God told Adam that in the day that he ate the forbidden fruit he would die. Yet Adam lived to be 930 years old. So is this one of those contradictions Jordan refers to? No, in reality Adam was created after the image of the triune God, so Adam was a triune creature, a physical body, a soul (the thinking, feeling, reasoning part) and a spirit (a non physical part which has the ability to connect with the spiritual nature of God). In reality the spiritual part of Adam died on the day he ate and the other parts began to experience entropy which ultimately resulted in physical death many years later. Could it be that we are all born with a dead spirit yet are left to operate with a facsimile of the spirit, what Paul refers to in Romans chapter 2 as the conscience.
Romans 2:14-15 (ESV) 14 For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. 15 They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them….
So maybe William of Occam (Occam’s Razor) is correct in saying that in most cases the simplest explanation is the right one. Maybe the reason humans have a need to look for an ultimate authority figure to worship and follow is because we were created by a transcendent, infinite, all powerful, immutable, loving, omniscient, completely just Being. A Being who Anselm would identify as the maximally greatest Being which could exist in the imagination or reality. That Being identified Himself to Moses as Yahweh, I Am, that I Am. Maybe it’s just that simple and we don’t have to search for a common pathology to explain the God of the bible.
As an example of a faulty reasoning might be the situation with the worldwide flood of Noah. It is 
a fact that ancient cultures around the globe have accounts of flood in their history. Hundreds of ancient societies from China, Peru, Scandinavia, Central Africa, the American Indians, to Australian Aboriginal tribes, all have some version of a flood story. Even though many these stories have been distorted over time most have similarities to the biblical flood account. A boat, a family, animals, birds, days floating in seas, landing on a mountain etc.
a fact that ancient cultures around the globe have accounts of flood in their history. Hundreds of ancient societies from China, Peru, Scandinavia, Central Africa, the American Indians, to Australian Aboriginal tribes, all have some version of a flood story. Even though many these stories have been distorted over time most have similarities to the biblical flood account. A boat, a family, animals, birds, days floating in seas, landing on a mountain etc.
Now when we look at this evidence, is it logical to try to discern what psychological phenomena has caused humans across the world to suffer from this flood delusion, or would it be more logical to assume that maybe theses stories were based on a real event………wait for it……………….… a worldwide flood. Again the simple answer might be the most efficient.
Getting back to the idea of spirit, which I would submit is what Jordan Peterson would call dreams, or mysteries, again the bible teaches that people are born spiritually dead or at least spiritually damaged to the point of that they cannot understand biblical truth properly. This is 
why Jesus in his conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus told his skeptical friend that he “must be born again”, not physically as the puzzled religious leader assumed but a spiritual rebirth or as theologians call “spiritual regeneration”. Christian theology teaches that the individual cannot, CANNOT, understand biblical truth without having a “quickened spirit”, an alive fully functional spiritual component, an ability to understand spiritual things.
why Jesus in his conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus told his skeptical friend that he “must be born again”, not physically as the puzzled religious leader assumed but a spiritual rebirth or as theologians call “spiritual regeneration”. Christian theology teaches that the individual cannot, CANNOT, understand biblical truth without having a “quickened spirit”, an alive fully functional spiritual component, an ability to understand spiritual things.
Unfortunately it seems Jordan Peterson is not spiritually regenerate and is handicapped with respect to understanding God and the bible. He does an admirable job with what he has to work with but is limited in the metanarrative, the big picture, of who and what God is and how he has and is interacting with the material universe. As we mentioned in the analogy of the School of Athens. Plato had it right in respect to the “forms” or truths coming from a place outside of the material universe.
This brings us to the question, what is spirit? The reality is that the “spirit” is the real stuff and the material universe, all space, time, matter and energy, is a temporary artificial construct, created for humans to live in as God prepares some for the next phase of existence.
Einstein formulated a relationship between matter and energy (matter is just reformed energy), space is not an empty void (space is a created thing in which matter and energy operate), and time is the measure of change within matter. Therefore the spiritual realm is a spaceless, timeless, immaterial dimension which is beyond our comprehension. Paul called it the “third Heaven”, 2 Corinthians Chapter 12, a place he was taken to and he wasn’t sure if he was in his body or out of it, but he could not speak about it because there are no words or language to describe it.
There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in your philosophy. Hamlet Act 1, scene 5,
Eventually Peterson gets to the bible and the topic of in the beginning and the logos.
He seems to be very impressed with the incredible structure of the bible and the 60,000 + links between verses and presents a graphic representation of the astounding complexity of the bible, yet still credits a series of human writers and editors for its seemingly supernatural attributes. In some respects he seems to have bought into the Graf-Wellhausen Documentary Hypothesis and the now discredited skepticism of the 19th century German Higher Critics.
Who wrote Genesis?
The Real Jesus Refuting the Myths David Lutweiler
Finally Peterson jumps into the bible and begins to examine the concept of the logos and the beginning.
John 1:1 (ESV) 1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
“the Word” The Greek term logos referred to a message, not just a single word. In this context it is a title which the Greeks used to describe “world reason”.
Logos, Greek: “word,” “reason,” “plan” or “purpose”.
Viktor E. Frankl, the author of Man’s Search for Meaning was an Austrian Jewish neurologist and psychiatrist as well as a Holocaust survivor. He is credited with being the founder of Logotherapy 
a psychiatric therapy which is centered around “logos…. Purpose”. As a prisoner in the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz for 6 years he saw that prisoners, even those in poor physical condition, who had hope and purpose in their lives seemed to do much better than those, who were in superior physical condition buy who had lost hope and purpose for survival . He observed the phenomena that men, one after another who gave up hope or had no purpose for existence died, sometime within days of their loss of purpose, while men who looked forward to being reunited with their wives, children or freedom survived. His Logotherapy was focused on helping mentally dysfunctional people find purpose in their lives.
a psychiatric therapy which is centered around “logos…. Purpose”. As a prisoner in the Nazi death camp of Auschwitz for 6 years he saw that prisoners, even those in poor physical condition, who had hope and purpose in their lives seemed to do much better than those, who were in superior physical condition buy who had lost hope and purpose for survival . He observed the phenomena that men, one after another who gave up hope or had no purpose for existence died, sometime within days of their loss of purpose, while men who looked forward to being reunited with their wives, children or freedom survived. His Logotherapy was focused on helping mentally dysfunctional people find purpose in their lives.
1:1 In the beginning was the Word. He did not have a beginning Himself, but existed from all eternity. As far as the human mind can go back, the Lord Jesus was there. He never was created. He had no beginning. Believer’s Bible Commentary
1:1. In the beginning. This opening statement is a repetition of the opening statement of the Bible (Gen 1:1). When time began, the Word was already in existence. Was the Word. This unique name for Christ (Gr logos) occurs only four times in the New Testament as a name (1:1, 14; I Jn 1:1; Rev 19:13) and is utilized only by John the apostle. Since words reveal the thoughts of one person to another, Christ as the Eternal Word is a revelation of God to man. KJV Bible commentary.
When it comes to the beginning, the Law of Causality says everything that happens has to have a cause. What is the cause of the begininng of the material universe. “Why is there anything at all?”, or, “Why is there something rather than nothing?” has been raised or commented on by philosophers including Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, who called it the fundamental question of metaphysics.
The skeptics always seem to avoid the question of what was before the “beginning” and what was the cause of the material universe. Science, the 1st and 2nd laws of thermodynamics make an infinite universe impossible. Therefore there must be a beginning and a cause for the beginning. The first few verses of the Gospel of John makes it clear that at the beginning, the logos already existed and is the cause of the beginning. Modern secular philosophy has danced around this truth with all kinds of bait and switch arguments which never seem to deal with the absolute truth that “ex nihilo nihil fit”, “out of nothing nothing comes”.
Why would a universe and a world pop into existence from absolute nothing with no cause and how can all the laws of logic, mathematics and nature all supported on a razor’s edge by hundreds of cosmological constants spring out of total randomness?
The present amount of “actual” science ie. information science (In the Beginning Was Information, Dr. Werner Gitt), irreducible complexity (Darwin’s Black Box, Dr. Michael Behe), the discovery of the incredibly complex DNA molecule by Watson and Crick, and the constantly unfolding discovery of Intelligent Design in the material world certainly point to a Creator and not some random cosmic accident.
Peterson many times makes reference to our ape ancestors and this evolutionary journey he and many skeptics dream
about, the “goo to you via the zoo” story which the progressives are in love with.
about, the “goo to you via the zoo” story which the progressives are in love with.
This is the issues in which the biblical Christian cannot compromise. Darwinian evolution is not something the bible is consistent with. Jesus constantly referred to the Books of Moses, the Pentateuch, the creation account, the Noah Flood and the Fall, which cannot include a ape to human ancestry. Theistic evolutionists (God used evolution to bring about the human race) try to meld Darwin and the bible but they must reject much of biblical teachings and many like Peterson try to claim the bible is just a bunch of books written by ignorant stone age goat herders who created stories to explain how the world came to be.
So I gues
s the Son of God, the preincarnate eternal Creator, who existed before the beginning, who walked with Adam in the garden in the cool of the evening, did not understand science, or was lying when He talked about the first human, or was just delusional. I and millions of biblical Christians don’t think so.
s the Son of God, the preincarnate eternal Creator, who existed before the beginning, who walked with Adam in the garden in the cool of the evening, did not understand science, or was lying when He talked about the first human, or was just delusional. I and millions of biblical Christians don’t think so.
Jordan Peterson has a tendency to conflate religion and Christianity.
The word Religion can be traced back to the Latin religio(n- ) ‘obligation, bond, reverence’, and Latin root religare‘to bind’. The original word picture was that of a man trying to throw a rope up to God and pulling himself up. This is a very accurate discription of the world’s religions. All are man’s bastardized distorted forms of Judea/Christianity. The Pharisees and OT “religious” leaders turned the original relationship between Abraham (his descendants) and Yahweh, into a man centered, works oriented system of religious duties, ceremony, and financial scams. and this seems to be the pattern of “religious” groups.
Romans 4:2-5 (ESV)
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
2 For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. 3 For what does the Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” 4 Now to the one who works, his wages are not counted as a gift but as his due. 5 And to the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness,
In many ways the NT “church” devolved into the same mess of people trying to do things to get to Heaven via good works and human effort. After teaching Christian History for many months I was struck with the fact that it was a miracle that authentic biblical Christianity survived the spiritual 
dysfunction of the church of Rome, not to speak of all the heresies, false Christianity, and cults.
dysfunction of the church of Rome, not to speak of all the heresies, false Christianity, and cults.
3 Popes at one time, religious wars, the inquisition, Holy Roman Empire, thousands of martyrs, bible burnings, apostasy, Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, Christian Scientists ( Mary Baker Eddy), and the list goes on.
Then there all the other world religions that have captured the minds of humans. Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, American Indian religions, African tribal religions, Aboriginal religions, Pacific Islander worship etc. All centered around man trying to jump through a series of hoops to make themselves worthy of some sort of spiritual reward.
The thing is, Christianity is not a religion. Authentic biblical Christianity is a relationship initiated by God in which or works, good or bad, have nothing to do with our position with God. Our slate is wiped clean by the vicarious substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on the cross. He takes our sins upon Himself and we are justified (declared innocent) by the Supreme Judge of the 
Universe. Once we come to understand this truth and accept and believe in the Good News, the Gospel, the death and resurrection of Jesus as payment for our transgression against a Holy God, we instantly are spiritually regenerated and restored to that original spiritual vitality that Adam had before the Fall. At that point we are spiritually alive to do good works.
Universe. Once we come to understand this truth and accept and believe in the Good News, the Gospel, the death and resurrection of Jesus as payment for our transgression against a Holy God, we instantly are spiritually regenerated and restored to that original spiritual vitality that Adam had before the Fall. At that point we are spiritually alive to do good works.
Ephesians 2:4-10 (ESV)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
And this is the really cool part which Jordan Peterson in all his clinical diagnosis is missing. This free gift has nothing to do with religion, Christ is the moving party and this grace is offered to all who will accept it, even a vile fallen dysfunctional sinner like me.
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