{"id":34032,"date":"2023-11-09T22:50:28","date_gmt":"2023-11-10T06:50:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/?p=34032"},"modified":"2023-11-09T22:50:28","modified_gmt":"2023-11-10T06:50:28","slug":"pondering-at-leisure","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/pondering-at-leisure\/","title":{"rendered":"Pondering At Leisure"},"content":{"rendered":"

In a conversation with my dad this week, he asked what we were reading in our DLPG class.\u00a0 \u201cMaps of Meaning<\/em>, by Jordan Peterson,\u201d I replied. He said he was familiar with the title, as it is one of his grandsons Nic\u2019s favorite books.\u00a0 Nic was a philosophy major and often could be found in a coffee shop with his professors, enjoying conversation about the class readings and pondering the writings of authors such as clinical psychologist and professor, Jordan Peterson.\u00a0 My dad said he enjoys talking to Nic about his various readings, because then he doesn\u2019t have to read the books.\u00a0 Nic can summarize them and also deliver concise reviews and assessments. I found myself wishing Nic had time to meet with me this week, as, similar to my dad, I would appreciate a summary and concise review of Peterson\u2019s Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Maps of Meaning<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Jordan Peterson, in his book, Maps of Meaning<\/em>, has tried to create a detailed, all-encompassing manual to describe how people make meaning in their lives. He draws upon psychology, mythology, religion, and philosophy and some of his main themes touch on chaos and order, archetypes, religion and belief, the hero\u2019s journey, and the power of language and communication.[1]<\/a> Peterson\u2019s motivation for writing can be seen in roots reaching back to the collapse of his ideals as a youth. Describing this time, he said, \u201cAll my beliefs \u2013 which had lent order to the chaos of my existence, at least temporarily \u2013 had proved illusory; I could no longer see the sense in things. I was cast adrift; I did not know what to do or what to think.\u201d[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

In response to this original collapse, Peterson has delved into an extremely descriptive and thorough discussion of human morals and belief, political insanity and the human capacity for evil, and human fear of the unknown and the lengths we will go to maintain our sense of order.[3]<\/a> Maps of Meaning <\/em>is lengthy and not easily summed up and described. One reviewer noted, \u201cThis is not a book to be abstracted and summarized.\u201d The reviewer went on to \u201cexpress the hope that curious souls would nevertheless discover this curious book and savor it \u2019at leisure.\u2019\u201d[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

Thoughts upon Encountering Peterson\u2019s Writings<\/strong><\/p>\n

Engaging Peterson\u2019s book launched me into my own train of thought regarding how we as human beings create meaning in our lives. Sometimes we grasp desperately for meaning, fearful of losing our perception of stability and control. Other times, we strive to create meaning, confident in our individual and communal \u201cmap making\u201d skills. I wondered, \u201cHas God wired us to seek meaning?\u201d And if so, how do we know where to seek? Could it be that God has also wired into us the answers to our quest for meaning?<\/p>\n

I think we are created to find meaning in God.\u00a0 But I do wonder, if this is true, why do so many people seek meaning elsewhere? I\u2019ll leave this topic for a future blog, but at the moment I\u2019m curious and I wonder, given our human desire to seek meaning, what opportunities exist for the church to offer relevant experiences for people in which they can encounter the One who wired them for meaning?<\/p>\n

An Opportunity for the Church?<\/strong><\/p>\n

In our current postmodern context, many of our traditional structures for understanding the world and our place in it have been deconstructed, causing us to desperately seek meaning in a variety of explored and unexplored territories.[5]<\/a> What role might the church currently play in offering maps for humans desperate to know the Creator of all meaning? In his book, The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices, <\/em>Casper Ter Kuile discusses the importance of establishing routines and rituals that give our lives significance.[6]<\/a> Could this idea provide the church with valuable fodder as we rethink ways to build new and relevant ministry models for experiencing and knowing God?<\/p>\n

I wonder if, in listening carefully and creatively to God, we in the church could offer both new and traditional models of spiritual practices, everyday routines, rituals, and rhythms to nurture deep relationship with God and one another? How might we create a compelling invitation to find rootedness in our Creator and understand our place in God\u2019s creation.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

These are things I would like to give more thought to, as our world seems hungry not only for meaning, but for guideposts to hold that meaning, peace to assure us we don\u2019t have to understand all meaning, and love to secure us in the one who creates meaning.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/strong><\/p>\n

Jordan Peterson\u2019s Maps of Meaning<\/em> initially caused me some anxiety, as the thick volume sat on my desk and as I began to break open the cover. However, after some thought, I\u2019ve changed my mind on the book and my approach to it. I plan to continue pondering Peterson\u2019s ideas, as well as the ideas he spurred in me, well into the future and at a very slow pace, perhaps even over a cup of coffee with my nephew Nic, for these are topics to enjoy, explore, and prayerfully ponder, \u201cat leisure.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> ChatGPT, OpenAI, https:\/\/chat.openai.com\/<\/a>, \u201cGenerate a summary of the themes of the book Maps of Meaning<\/em>, by Jordan Peterson.\u201d<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Jordan B. Peterson, Maps of Meaning: The Architecture of Belief<\/em> (New York, NY: Routledge, 1999), xiv.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Peterson, ix-xxi.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Kelefa Sanneh. “Sort Yourself Out, Bucko.” The New Yorker<\/em>, vol. 94, no. 3, 5 Mar. 2018, p. 70. Gale Academic OneFile<\/em>, link.gale.com\/apps\/doc\/A529962013\/AONE?u=newb64238&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=3a6ec059. Accessed 8 Nov. 2023.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Stephen R. C. Hicks, Explaining Postmodernism: Skepticism and Socialism from Rousseau to Foucault<\/em> (Redland Bay, QLD: Connor Court Publishing Pty Ltd, 2004), 188.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Casper Ter Kuile, The Power of Ritual: Turning Everyday Activities into Soulful Practices<\/em> (New York, NY: HarperOne, 2020).<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> I recognize that churches across the globe are following God well in offering spiritual nurture and guidance to people seeking God. I also recognize the need for new ways of thinking about and developing ministry opportunities in the current context of our Western world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a conversation with my dad this week, he asked what we were reading in our DLPG class.\u00a0 \u201cMaps of Meaning, by Jordan Peterson,\u201d I replied. He said he was familiar with the title, as it is one of his grandsons Nic\u2019s favorite books.\u00a0 Nic was a philosophy major and often could be found in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1778],"class_list":["post-34032","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-peterson","cohort-dlgp01"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34032","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/157"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34032"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34032\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34033,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34032\/revisions\/34033"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34032"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34032"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.georgefox.edu\/dlgp\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34032"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}