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Stop Asking Jordan Peterson If He Is A...
The Cosmic Heretic
 August 30 2024 at 02:12 am
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Christians seem to be obsessed with extracting a confession of faith out of him. He doesn’t want to do it. And even if he does, there is a bigger problem. His belief is not the same as yours. It’s tricky to navigate a conversation on religious belief and theology with Jordan because he uses the same language they do. Statements like, “The truth will set you free,” “Christ rose from the dead,” and “Heaven is real.” And it is precisely this fact of common language that fools many Christians into presuming Jordan actually means what they themselves mean by those words. In a recent interview with John Rich, the country singer asks Jordan point blank if he has “turned over his life to God.” And Jordan said, “I did that a long time ago.” I can almost hear the exuberant cheers coming from Christians all across America. So I’m sorry to burst your bubble, but Jordan didn’t mean what you think he meant. The central meaning is understood, I’ll agree. The phrase, “turn our lives over to God,” means that we dedicate our lives to the precepts of the highest good, the voice of conscience that calls us to the highest aim. Jordan agrees with that. But what he means by “God” is not what John Rich meant by “God.” Similarly, when Jordan says something like “Heaven is real” or “Hell is real,” Christian think they know what he meant, but they don’t. To Jordan, at least according to what he has said publicly, heaven and hell are not actual places the soul goes to in the afterlife. They are states of being—mentally, physically, and spiritually—that are experienced in this life. Jordan has clearly stated (on the Iced Coffee Hour podcast) that he does not speculate about the afterlife because it is beyond his capability to know anything about it. I’m tired of Christians trying to impose their theology on him, especially because I think he understands Christianity better than they do. After the interview with John Rich came out, the Christian corner of the internet exploded with presumptuous, clickbait-y, arrogant titles, like: • "John Rich HUMBLES Jordan Peterson..." • "John Rich's WARNING to Jordan Peterson..." It makes my blood boil. Finally, stop asking Jordan if he is a Christian because, clearly, he doesn’t want to talk about it. He told John Rich that his personal faith is a private matter and shouldn’t be displayed for all to see. What he really cares about is the message he is putting forth, and he trusts that it will be the clear fruit of his spiritual life.

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