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Mark's avatar

To even read this article and comment on it is above my own intellectual level. So hopefully I’m not speaking out of place. If I’m not adding anything to the conversation, feel free to ignore me.

When Paul admonishes us to pray for those in authority, so that we may be able to live a quiet and peaceful life, it has multiple motives and results. As a part of a civilization, we individually benefit by living at peace, but also, the gospel has opportunity to freely spread. So there are both penultimate and ultimate results. In recent decades it has been fashionable for the intelligentsia (and their gullible students) to denigrate historic Christianity (both personal faith and its effect on civil society), while many of us would actually credit Christianity as being the primary underlying force for the good of humanity, education, morals, anti-slavery, women’s rights, science, freedom, and even politics. So while it would be "fun" to have Peterson surrender to be a committed and transformed believer (and mold his pronouncements to be consistent with a Biblical worldview), I am pleased that he is at least one of the few public voices around the world that is advocating against the illusion that purely secular mankind can make a just and good civilization without a guiding concept of godliness. Hopefully an acknowledgment and awakening that godliness is good for society will lead to an acknowledgement and awakening that Godliness is even better.

[ I realize this Substack is advocating for the benefits of Natural Theology, but I also can’t help but give God thanks for His special revelation and the grace of having eyes to see and ears to hear. If God didn’t graciously enable us to think rightly, not Jordan Peterson, or you or I could understand ultimate truth. General revelation is good, important, and a part of God’s plan. But it has its limitations. Sola Deo Gloria. (You’re the Natural Theologian expert, so feel free to correct me if I’m wrong in thinking Natural Theology is primarily thinking intentionally and deeply about general revelation, {which includes world history, anthropology, and philosophy} apart from revealed propositional Biblical revelation. { i.e. What we could/should understand about reality, including ultimate reality(God) if we didn’t have the Bible.} ]. Sorry, I’m educated enough to be dangerous but not enough to get it all right.

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Eric Brende's avatar

I agree that Peterson's use of the word "sacrifice" is problematic. Isn't he really talking about balancing freedom with social obligations, and pleasure with patience, and if so, aren't these really part of natural virtue? Classical liberalism, alas (see "Why Liberalism Failed" by Patrick Deneen) is pretty much defined by unrestrained liberty--unrestrained by social obligations or a sense of community. This could be Peterson's Achilles' heel.

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