In his new book, Jordan Peterson solidifies a complete transformation away from his teenage beliefs claiming “religion was for the ignorant, weak and superstitious.”
His fourth book, “We Who Wrestle with God: Perceptions of the Divine,” is essentially a Bible study, albeit one far more sophisticated and classical than your average Protestant workbook.
Peterson surveys the Old Testament, delving into the major themes from creation in Genesis and the Garden of Eden, ending with the prophet Jonah. He hints in the introduction that a forthcoming book will examine the life of Christ.
A creative and evocative read, the book is a combination of admiration for the Bible’s place in human mythology with respect for its literary themes. Its title comes from the name Israel, which means in Hebrew, “One who wrestles or struggles with God.”
“This is the story on which Western civilization is predicated,” Peterson writes. “It is a collection of characterizations not only of God, whose imitation, worship, or indeed, embodiment is held to be the highest of all possible aims, but of man and of woman, whose characters are held to exist in relationship to that God, and of society, in relation to the individual and the divine. It is, as well, the revelation of the sacrifice that makes such aim possible.”
A hefty tome at 576 pages, it is a detailed manifesto in support of the Judeo-Christian worldview underpinning Western civilization’s canon of law and culture. Yet his admiration is one of almost a sociological spectator rather than devout believer because Peterson does not confess orthodox Christian belief.
“The biblical story, in its totality, is the frame through which the world of facts reveals itself, insofar as the West itself is concerned: it is the description of the hierarchy of value within which even science itself (that is, the science that ultimately pursues the good) is made possible,” Peterson continues. “The Bible is the library of stories on which the most productive, freest, and most stable and peaceful societies the world has ever known are predicated—the foundation of the West, plain and simple.”
Because Peterson is not a confessing Christian (though his wife, who recently interviewed me on her podcast, was newly baptized Catholic), Aaron M. Renn, a Midwest-based senior fellow at American Reformer, recently wrote a piece for the Blaze News about what he calls Peterson “eating the church’s lunch.” He notes that Peterson’s popularity grew through a series of lectures and videos he gave on Genesis before hundreds of thousands of mostly young men watched—some of which stretched two hours per episode.
“The American church should be embarrassed that Jordan Peterson ate its lunch,” writes Renn, a practicing Christian. “And it’s not just Peterson; an armada of other influencers have done the same. Peterson’s success should be especially galling because his work is frequently about the Bible … Here in Indianapolis, he sold out a 2,500-seat auditorium with a minimum ticket price of over $100. The audience, in effect, paid to hear him give a sermon on Genesis. People are willing to pay Jordan Peterson to preach to them.”
Renn frequently writes on the Christian church and its failure to successfully connect with men, critiquing its inability to engage and grapple with the intellectual rigor that resonates with a masculine audience. Peterson shot to fame in part for defending white men against rabid, irrational, Marxist-infused identity-fueled attacks.
“Strangely, the church doesn’t seem to be all that interested in understanding the Jordan Peterson phenomenon, much less the rest of the men’s influencer archipelago ranging from the healthy (like former Navy SEAL Jocko Willink) to the dubious (like the infamous Andrew Tate),” writes Renn, a former senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute for Public Research. “It has continued with legacy strategies that appeal to some but are clearly not as effective as what online influencers are doing.”
Quickly after its release, “We Who Wrestle With God” topped a New York Times bestseller list, a week after it won Amazon’s lead spot. It’s clear that Peterson struck a chord with many people who enjoy his timely companion release, just as we heard word that Bible sales shot up 22% this year.
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