Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
Religious Music & Entertainment
Bishop Barron on Jordan Peterson: He Urges Young Men to ‘Act Like a Hero’ [VIDEO ADDED]

Bishop Barron on Jordan Peterson: He Urges Young Men to ‘Act Like a Hero’ [VIDEO ADDED]

Last updated on: March 21, 2018 at 1:53 pm by Kate O'Hare

Bishop Barron on Jordan Peterson: He Urges Young Men to ‘Act Like a Hero’ [VIDEO ADDED] 2018-03-21T13:53:37-08:00 Kate O'Hare

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Every now and then, as the primordial ooze did before it, the heaving, fetid quagmire of social media will burp out something wonderful. Among these are fellow YouTube stars Bishop Robert Barron and Canadian psychologist Jordan Peterson.

In his latest column for Word on Fire, Bishop Barron addresses the Peterson phenomenon, how, as he puts it, “a mild-mannered psychology professor from the University of Toronto,” became a YouTube phenomenon and the mentor and champion of millions, especially disaffected young men.

As Barron notes, Peterson is much like a personal favorite of mine, Joseph Campbell, a writer of books on myth and legend (and a former Catholic, as Fr. Dwight Longenecker explains here). He most famously sat down with PBS’ Bill Moyers in 1988 for a series called “The Power of Myth,” at George Lucas’ Skywalker Studios. Lucas offered up the location because Campbell’s work on the hero’s journey inspired the first three “Star Wars” movies (that’s 4, 5 and 6, two-and-one-third of which are amazing; feel free to omit anything that came afterwards).

As Barron writes:

In many ways, Peterson is doing for this generation what Joseph Campbell did for the previous one, namely, reintroducing the archetypal psychology of C.G. Jung in an appealing and provocative manner. Jung’s theorizing centered around what he termed the archetypes of the collective unconscious, which is to say, those primordial instincts, insights, and memories that influence much of our behavior and that substantially inform the religions, philosophies, and rituals of the human race. The Jungian template enables Peterson to interpret many of the classical spiritual texts of Western culture in a fresh way—those very texts so often excoriated by mainstream intellectuals as hopelessly patriarchal, biased, and oppressive. It also permits him to speak with a kind of psychological and spiritual authority to which young people are not accustomed but to which they respond eagerly.

UPDATE: Here’s the video version:

Peterson has written a bestselling book, “12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos,” which Barron describe as “bracing and satisfying reading.” Peterson combines excellent scholarship in psychology and neuroscience with the practical experience of being a clinical psychologist treating patients.

I’ve been listening to him reading the audio version — which is fascinating, sprawling and, ironically,coming from a not-quite-believer, some of the most interesting and compelling Bibilical exegesis I’ve ever heard.

In his native Canada, Peterson gained notoriety by challenging the imposition of speech codes, thereby becoming an erudite champion of free speech.

The current Peterson craze can be traced to an interview he did on British television with, as Barron says, “a hopelessly biased social-justice warrior,” which went viral, with millions of views.

If you have the time, it’s both disconcerting and a hoot.

He’s also given many lectures, which are available across YouTube and on his own channel.

While Barron endorses Peterson’s book and work, he does have a caveat:

So do I thoroughly support Jordan Peterson’s approach? Well, no, though a full explication of my objection would take us far beyond the confines of this brief article. In a word, I have the same concern about Peterson that I have about both Campbell and Jung, namely, the Gnosticizing tendency to read Biblical religion purely psychologically and philosophically and not at all historically. No Christian should be surprised that the Scriptures can be profitably read through psychological and philosophical lenses, but at the same time, every Christian has to accept the fact that the God of the Bible is not simply a principle or an abstraction, but rather a living God who acts in history. As I say, to lay this out thoroughly would require at least another article or two or twelve.

On balance, I like this book and warmly recommend it. I think it’s especially valuable for the beleaguered young men in our society, who need a mentor to tell them to stand up straight and act like heroes.

Click here to read the whole article.

Peterson is rather cagey about his own religious inclinations, giving a variety of vague answers. This may be due to a honest, ongoing process of discernment or to an unwillingness to be pigeonholed. Either way, it’s a topic of conversation.

In an interview for his podcast, Catholic commentator Patrick Coffin tried to pin him down — saying he thought Peterson was a “crypto-Catholic,” but didn’t quite get a straight answer.

Here’s an earlier video in which Peterson struggles with the question:

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Don’t miss a thing: head over to my other home, as Social Media Manager at Family Theater Productions; and check out FTP’s Faith & Family Media Blog, and our YouTube Channel.

Previous Post

February 26, 2018

Chris Pratt Attacked for Praying for Heart-Attack Survivor Kevin Smith

Next Post

March 1, 2018 Pre-Oscars, PBS' 'Frontline' Takes on 'Weinstein'

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category books breaking news digital media Faith practice food interview jane the virgin media movies music NFL Pope Francis Showbiz 101 social media sports technology television Uncategorized video

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz