JP recently appeared on “Jubilee”, the YouTube channel known for having “debate-ish” videos: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pwk5MPE_6zE
The setup here is they will take some person and surround them with tens of their opponents, so you have “Jordan Peterson vs 20 Atheists”.
In this exact video, one of the people asks JP if he’s a Christian and he replies “Don’t be a smartass!”
I haven’t seen someone that espouses so many Christian values and philosophy while trying to hold it at arm’s length. Is this just part of the usual JP tactic where you call into question any terms used in a discussion to sound deeply philosophical?
He seems to have an atypical relationship with Christianity and I can’t decide if that’s some genuine crisis he has OR if he just pretends to hold this stance just to add one more slippery facet to his behavior.
If nothing else, it’s very odd.
That’s the grifters secret.
A lot of the New Atheists (and adjacent intellectuals) are doing this type of sophistry where they’ve doubled back on their old positions and claimed to be “culturally christian”. It’s partially an admission that they are uncomfortable with the direction secular, progressive society has taken in the past 20 years or so.
He’ll never answer any question because it’s an easy way to avoid being pinned down on any position, which makes him immune to all criticism (in his eyes).
Grifters gotta grift
his only purpose for the right is to draw in more socially/incel men to right wing circles, hes funded by russia. hes a propaganda mouthpiece, much like rogan and shapiro is.
I’ve listened to Jordan Peterson a lot in long form conversations. This is my generous interpretation of his views.
Peterson believes that all humans have a hierarchy of values and desires.
Eg you go to work in order to get money in order to get food in order to live in order to play tennis in order to enjoy yourself…
At the top of this hierarchy is the thing that you’re ultimately after in life. Jordan defines this thing as “god” and defines the pursuit of it “worship”. Therefore, everyone has a god and everyone worships.
He also believes that the past doesn’t really exist, as much as our societal memory of it. He would say that the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible is “True”, because it is the archetypal brotherly rivalry that we all embody in some sense.
Putting this together. The Bible is “True”. Everyone has a “God” they have a personal relationship with and that they “worship”.
He is essentially defining things such that everyone is a Christian. Then he says that people just don’t understand what Christianity really is.
He is essentially defining things such that everyone is a Christian.
My high school friend who became a religious weirdo, said to me that I’m Christian because I’m a good person, dosen’t matter if I said that I’m Atheist. By that logic everything good is Christian because h label everything he found good as Christian.
He also refuses to admit that most Christians wouldn’t define God in the way that he does.
Peterson is in practice an atheist that has successfully monetised right wing religious conservatives, and can’t risk alienating that base by admitting that he doesn’t have belief in anything close to resembling the way that they do.
I can’t fucking stand Jordan Peterson, I’ve never seen him go through a whole debate without being a disingenuous, obnoxious prick. When he knows he’s backed into a corner, he pulls out the reductio ad absurdum (what is “is”). The only other fake intellectual I hate more is Ben Shapiro and his “Gish Gallop”.
I can’t speak for him but lots of people follow whatever religion’s values and may appreciate the metaphors of their sacred texts without engaging in the rituals or belonging to the religion as a community/organization.
What’s dumber is the video origionally was called 1 christian vs 20 atheists, and you see in the video at least one atheist brought up the video title that they all knew before they started. (In other words, Jordan Peterson specifically volunteered to play the christian in a video that when he agreed to it was called, 1 christian vs 20 atheists) Then later demanded they rename the video.
But further its simple, JP preffers to attack people’s specific stances, from a nebulous position where he never has to give his own stance because he can’t defend his own stance.
Peterson retreats to a politically convenient solipsism whenever challenged on anything. He is not a serious person.
I think that’s a really accurate characterization. He has mastered the art of speaking without communicating.
Because Christianity is a ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ religion and doesn’t have a singular meaning. The various Bibles don’t all agree on interpretation and even the four gospels each give differing accounts of Jesus’ character.
He’s Schrodinger’s Christian. Mother fucker is so slippery, getting a straight answer out of him is akin to trying to nail jello to a wall. Good luck.
JP is an atheist, but he recognizes the value in other people believing in Christianity. This is because the myths and symbols reinforce his worldview to people who (he views) aren’t smart enough to get there with reasoning.
Also, like all Western Chauvinists, he can’t let go of the idea of “Christendom”.
JP is an atheist
He won’t readily admit to that either. He somehow sits in the void between atheists and theists.
Agnosticism is a thing. He might be off in his own weird non-declarative void-like corner but the whole intermedium isn’t like that.
JP expresses a belief in a deity.
That makes him a theist, even if that deity isn’t how we would typically conceive of god.
“God is conscience <that exists beyond the ideal as a social construct>”
Reading “god is conscience” in Kermit’s voice was surprisingly hilarious
“What do you mean ‘belief?’ What do you mean by ‘in?’ What does ‘a’ mean?”
That’s just his go to when he realizes he’s going to be mocked. Or he’s about to be proven stupid.
Guarantee you his definition of “god” would have changed had someone called him on his bullshit about Elisha or Jonah. (They expressed a view that one’s conscience is “the voice of god”… not god…)
“Oh, you’re really something aren’t you?”
“I am, and you’re nothing, aren’t you?”
Mr Smarty Pants got destroyed.
“I don’t want to talk with this guy!”
Fuck Peterson…. He’s a white supremacist.
“I don’t like that question. I don’t LIKE that question. I don’t like THAT question…!”
It’s not odd. He’s a hypocritical grifter and should be ignored by all. The framing of this post is concerning. This is not a man people should listen to
I was just gonna go with “Who gives a shit?” but you put it better.
He’s an opportunist. A fraud.
