Twelve Rules For Life

A Christian Critique of Jordan Peterson

Jordan Peterson has challenged and revitalized our postmodern conceptions of meaning, morality and religion. But without the metaphysics of Christianity, it is unclear how some of Peterson’s optimistic claims can be grounded. The result is that he sounds like an atheist when he talks to a Christian, but he sounds like a Christian when he talks to an atheist. Without a literal God, the Jungian psychologist is essentially an atheist with extra steps. Regardless, is Peterson ultimately a friend or a foe of traditional Christianity?

The Rise and Influence of Jordan Peterson

Dostoyevsky said that without God, nihilism will reign, and so we must return to classical Christianity. Nietzsche said without God, nihilism will reign, and so we must create our own values. Carl Jung said that values seem to be built into our consciences, and we must reach into our mythological roots to discover meaning. Jordan Peterson, like his intellectual predecessors, offers the next stepping stone for the future of Western philosophy, which is an answer to existentialism and postmodernism.