Category: Parenting

38% through Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life. Positively, it is fun to listen to. Negatively, you could get the good parts from Christian sermons. Rule 1 is icky– promoting seeking ability to dominate. Contradicts good material in Rule 5 on parenting that helps kids socially.

Now in Rule 7 Jordan Peterson is condemning domination as wrong. He also rightly slams expediency. He rightly argues that Christianity has brought about a much more moral world, which many people are oblivious about.

Jordan Peterson's analysis at the end of Rule 7 of the valid criticism of unworldly and passive religious Christianity by people from the outside like Nietzsche and the inside like Dostoevsky is well done.

When Jordan Peterson says that it is psychologically far-fetched to invent your own values as Nietzsche suggests, this is similar to what Stanley Hauerwas says about modernity producing people "who believe that they should have no story except the story that they choose."

Again, Jordan Peterson is correct to see the reality of evil as the human problem that must be countenanced. He's also right to point to Carl Jung saying that the pinnacle of someone's moral hierarchy is effectively their God.

I finished listening to Jordan Peterson's 12 Rules for Life. As a Christian, I optimistically hope his work might be a catalyst to people discovering the wisdom of Jesus. I still think his first chapter is the most dangerous as it almost implies the good of domination.

As with any best-selling author or speaker, it is stimulating to think about their communication style and appeal. Jordan Peterson uses earnestness, personal stories, dictums, and psychological data. I find his use of archetypes and metaphor not as effective as a good preacher.

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