ARE WE WILLING TO LEARN FROM A RATIONALIST THINKER?
And even if you’re a rationalist, say, and a cynic and a nihilist, and you say, well, nothing has any meaning, you still run into the problem of pain.
Because pain undercuts your arguments and has a meaning.
So there’s no escaping from the meaning,
you can pretty much demolish all the positive parts of it.
-Jordan B. Peterson-
Near the city where we live, the city of Surakarta, Central Java Province, Indonesia, there is an archaeological site consisting of five large clusters. The name of the site is Sangiran, located only about 15 km from where we live. The Sangiran archaeological site is a world heritage site recognized by UNESCO.[1] According to existing data, the ancient human fossil found at the Sangiran site is Meganthropus Paleojavanicus from 2 million to 1 million years ago during the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age.[2] Even though he is called the oldest human, apparently experts have not included him in the “Homo” group or humans in general. The name Sangiran Site became known when a Dutch researcher named Von Koenigswald conducted research in 1934, who discovered stone tools from ancient human culture in his research at the Sangiran Site. Furthermore, in 1936 the first ancient human fossils and animal fossils, bone and stone tools were discovered at the Sangiran Site.[3]
Last year my wife and I took our children (two alpha-generation children now aged 10 and 9 years) to visit the Sangiran Museum. There we hired the services of a tour guide. He explained very well. Halfway through our tour, our oldest kid asked, “Where are Adam and Eve?” The questions don’t stop there. He continued asking, “Weren’t humans from the beginning created in the likeness and image of God?” Frankly, my wife and I were not prepared for these questions. We are a little lucky because we remember in the Bible it is said that one day for God is equal to 1000 years (2 Peter 3:8). We use this verse to help us explain things to our children. Adam and Eve were created in very good condition (because they are the image of God). They were created on the last day after God had been busy with the creation process for the previous days. There were five days before Adam and Eve were created. If one day is equal to 1000 years, that means there are so many years that humans cannot measure how long the process takes. In those times, there could have been other creations that were beyond the knowledge of the Bible writers at that time. Or the emphasis of the Bible’s story about the creation of humans (Adam and Eve), is on its special side, not on its time chronology. That’s what we can convey to our son.
Reading Peterson’s writing brought back memories of the events at the Sangiran museum. The human brain’s capacity allows us to think critically and rationally, even when humans are very young, like our eldest son (FYI, our eldest son had asked us several years earlier who created God). Recently, many people, including the younger generation, are reluctant to go to church or, if I may speak openly, they choose to leave the church and give up their faith. This phenomenon is also starting to occur more often in Indonesia. I suspect that one of the main causes is the dichotomy between faith and logic which is increasingly widespread in the era of the technological revolution, especially in the digital field. The Church and Christianity are stuttering and confused in bridging this dichotomy. Unfortunately, the attitude that the church often takes is that it is too hasty to be dismissive or antipathetic when there are critical questions that are seen as “attacking” the church’s dogma or teachings.
Peterson claims that he is a rational person. In the YouTube channel containing his first lesson, he said, “I’m scientifically-minded, and I’m quite a rational person. And I like to have an explanation for rational and empirical things before I look for any other kind of explanation.”[4] However, he is someone who humbly admits the limitations of his critical and rational thinking on things that are mystical and spiritual experiences. He says, “And I don’t want to say that everything that’s associated with Divinity can be reduced in some manner to biology or to an evolutionary history, or anything like that. But insofar as it’s possible to do that reduction, I’m going to do that. And I’m going to leave the other phenomena floating in the air because they can’t be pinned down and in that category of mystical and religious experience, which we don’t understand at all.”[5]
We can build an appreciative approach to modern thinkers that emphasizes critical thinking and rationality. Maybe they don’t mean to undermine Christian faith and dogma. However, their ability to think is also a gift and privilege given by God. Peterson himself admits from the beginning of his book that, “The modern mind, which regards itself as having transcended the domain of the magical, is nonetheless still endlessly capable of “irrational” (read motivated) reactions. We fall under the spell of experience whenever we attribute our frustration, aggression, devotion or lust to the person or situation that exists as the proximal “cause” of such agitation. We are not yet “objective,” even in our most clear-headed moments (and thank God for that).”[6]
Peterson conducted extensive research into various religious myths and narratives. For him, these things have an important role in shaping the identity, awareness, and morality of individuals and society. According to Peterson, “The world can be validly construed as a forum for action, as well as a place of things and the techniques of narrative, however – myth, literature, and drama – portray the world as a forum for action.”[7] Peterson helps us to understand the God we believe in, who should give His people the stimulation and motivation to do what His will. He writes, “A god, so considered-more specifically, a potent and powerful god, one with a history constitutes the manner in which a group or family of stimuli of isomorphic motivational significance reveals itself to or grips the collective (communicated) imagination of a given culture.”[8]
There is no specific data regarding Peterson’s belief position. But for me, that is not an important thing. However, his approach and reading of the Bible from a psychoanalytic perspective, which is strongly influenced by Carl Jung’s thinking, helps us to see our Christian faith from the perspective of rationalist thinking. One of the interesting things that Peterson brings up is the idea of a Triune God. He explained, “I think the Trinitarian idea is trying to get forward the notion that the locus of the Divine is the same thing in its essence, but it exists in a multiplicity. It exists as the spirit of tradition. It exists as the living individually, in time and space, and then it exists as the spirit.”[9] He opened up my horizon when he explain that the Trinitarian spirit must be an integral part of what Christians live by in our existence in the world so that what we believe can have a positive and constructive contribution and impact on anyone.
Peterson then emphasized the awareness of living the Trinitarian spirit. He explained, “And its consciousness, that we all share. Which, you know, Jung would have thought about that as something like the capacity for the individual to realize the tragedy and redemption of Christ in their individual life. And that’s something like your capacity to voluntarily accept the tragic conditions of your existence and to move forward to something resembling Paradise, regardless of that. You know, as something that’s intrinsic to you. And I think that’s associated with the idea of the Pentecost.”[10]
I suggest we need to learn and hear the voices of appreciative rationalist thinkers like Peterson. By that we can then formulate and construct teachings and answers to criticism and questions from Generation Z and Alpha (my kids are two of them) who are highly contaminated with the internet and extreme postmodern philosophy, so that the church does not fall or get trapped in false and empty arrogance. Peterson reminds us, “Rejection of the unknown is tantamount to “identification with the devil,” the mythological counterpart and eternal adversary of the world-creating exploratory hero. Such rejection and identification is a consequence of Luciferian pride, which states: all that I know is all that is necessary to know.”[11]
[1] Sangiran Early Man Site. https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/593/.
[2] “Manusia Purba Tertua Berdasarkan Fosil yang Ditemukan Para Ahli.”
[3] https://www.kemdikbud.go.id/main/blog/2017/04/mengenal-situs-manusia-purba-sangiran.
[4] Jordan B. Peterson, Lecture: Biblical Series I: Introduction to the Idea of God. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-wWBGo6a2w&list=PL22J3VaeABQD_IZs7y60I3lUrrFTzkpat&index=3.
[5] Ibid.
[6] Jordan B. Peterson, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief (New York: Routledge), 1999, 2-3.
[7] Ibid, xxi.
[8] Ibid, 113.
[9] Peterson, Lecture: Biblical Series I.
[10] Ibid.
[11] Peterson, Maps of Meaning, xxi.
About the Author
Dinka Utomo
Dinka Nehemia Utomo is an ordained pastor of the Protestant Church in the Western part of Indonesia (Gereja Protestan di Indonesia bagian Barat or GPIB). He has served for more than 15 years. The first five years of his ministry were in the remote area of East Kalimantan, including people from the indigenous Dayak tribe in the small villages in the middle of the forest, frequently reached using small boats down the river. For more than 15 years, Dinka has served several GPIB congregations in several cities in Indonesia. He has always had a passion for equipping Christian families, teaching and guiding them to build equal relations between husband and wife, maintaining commitment, love, and loyalty, creating a healthy and constructive Christian family atmosphere, and rejecting all forms of violence and sexual violence. Dinka's beloved wife, Verra, is also a GPIB pastor. They have two blessed children. Dinka and his wife and children love to spend quality family time, such as lunch or dinner, and vacation to exotic places.7 responses to “ARE WE WILLING TO LEARN FROM A RATIONALIST THINKER?”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
Hi Dinka,
I had not heard of the Sangiran Early Man site. That would be fascinating to visit. I enjoyed reading your eloquent post and how you tackled Peterson’s thoughts on God alongside his rationalist thinking. One of the things I appreciate about Peterson is though highly intelligent he leaves room for the mystery that is God and belief. I also noted his statement, “Rejection of the unknown is tantamount to “identification with the devil,” the mythological counterpart and eternal adversary of the world-creating exploratory hero. Such rejection and identification is a consequence of Luciferian pride, which states: all that I know is all that is necessary to know.” I too had to wonder that in conjunction of other things he said about God, why do we need to know exactly where he stands when it seems so clear he is working something out, particularly in recent years. His belief seems to be both deeply personal and passionate. His desire to believe and to honor a belief that is rooted in love seems evident. Isn’t coming to faith and working out our salvation a life-long process? It makes me wonder if we rush the process too much out of fear.
Hi Jenny!
Then you must visit Sangiran on your next visit to Indonesia =)
Thank you for your comments and analysis of Peterson’s thinking. I do see him as a creation of God who has extraordinary gifts of intelligence and criticality, at the same time, on the other hand there is a kind of space in his heart for the divine. I think that’s his way of honoring God. In my view, the church also needs to appreciate and learn from people like Peterson so that the church is motivated to formulate appropriate answers and explanations for rationalists.
Hey Dinka. I love how your kids instantly used God’s Word to question what was going on around them. They were seeing something contrary to what they were taught. Great job by you and Verra in raising your wonderful children.
I also like how you emphasized the importance of reading someone like Peterson, who is a rationalist thinker. I agree 100%, sir. you brought out this insight because he helps us see our faith from a rationalist mindset, which is okay. Thank you again, Dinka.
Hello men of God!
Thank you for your encouragement. I appreciate it!
Peterson’s thinking helps me to build an appropriate response, rather than just throw it away. Sometimes, the church can learn from the rationalists to construct our theology to be relevant and to embrace younger generations.
“his approach and reading of the Bible from a psychoanalytic perspective, which is strongly influenced by Carl Jung’s thinking, helps us to see our Christian faith from the perspective of rationalist thinking”, I agree, it was fascinating to hear from this perspective on the Bible. I struggle a little with him, so thankful you drew out some of this perspective on his views. I love the inquisitiveness of your children!
Hi Jana!
Thanks for your response. I appreciate it!
To be honest, it was not easy to read Peterson’s book. But his lecturer on YouTube helped me a lot. His approach to the Bible and Christian faith is so fascinating. I think, we as Christians, can learn much from him regarding formulating our theology in this modern era.
Hi Dinka,
I have never heard of the Sangiran Museum. I will be researching it to learn more about it and the area. I absolutely love that your children are seeking answers and are asking thoughtful questions. It shows that you and your wife are doing a remarkable job. Thank you for this post. I was able to gain a different perspective of Peterson.