Dr. Jordan Peterson is a 60-year-old Canadian clinical psychologist and professor emeritus at the University of Toronto. Before that he taught at McGill and Harvard Universities and just resigned last fall as a full psychology professor at U of T.
Besides writing hundreds of academic papers, Peterson has authored several books beginning with, Maps of Meaning (1999) and 12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos (2018). The latter became a best-seller and he went on a world tour to promote it. More recent books have been Political Correctness Gone Mad (2018), Peacemaking among Higher-Order Primates (2018) and Beyond Order: 12 More Rules for Life (2021).
As a result of his popular (but controversial) books and views, Peterson has also become a media personality, effectively using social media (his YouTube broadcasts have over 5 million subscribers and 415 million hits). His views on cultural and political issues have been described as conservative-leaning. He describes himself as a “traditionalist and classic British liberal”. One political commentator described Peterson as “the most influential public intellectual in the Western world”. He has travelled at home and abroad to debate intellectuals on topics of religion and politics before overflow audiences.
His family’s journey
Peterson has been married to Tammy for 33 years and have a daughter (Mikhaila) and son (Julian). In 2019, his wife was diagnosed with a rare type of kidney cancer. Two surgeries later, she is now cancer-free, very grateful and “very religious”. So, did God use a disease to open her spiritual eyes?
Peterson’s daughter, Mikhaila (29), had a rather sudden spiritual experience last year. “I found God,” she said on her popular podcast. She then explained how she had been struggling with four major problems in her life. At that time, she met a Christian who encouraged her to seek God and ask Him “to reveal Himself” to her. She did and (to her amazement) her problems were all resolved the next day.
Was it a coincidence? Someone has said, “When I pray, coincidences happen.” For Mikhaila, she has also felt a peace or “sense of calm” like never before. Her experience was also confirmed by a vivid dream. So, did God use a combination of life problems to open her spiritual eyes? And what effect have Tammy’s and Mikhaila’s experiences had on their famous husband and father?
His own journey
As a teenager growing up in Edmonton, Alberta, Peterson believed that “religion was for the ignorant, weak and superstitious”. He no longer believes that. For many years, he described himself as an agnostic or someone who doesn’t know if God exists or not. He now sees himself as a Deist who believes intellectually that God exists but has not yet made a personal commitment to Him and become a true Christian.
Peterson’s interest in Christianity has led him to lecture extensively on biblical themes from a psychological viewpoint. He even says that “he acts like a believer now” but it terrifies him to think of going further. When asked if he believes in God, Peterson responded: “I think the proper response to that is no, but I'm afraid He might exist.”
However, in another interview when asked if he was a Christian, he responded, “I suppose the most straightforward answer to that is yes.” In a recent YouTube video called Message to the Christian Churches, Peterson defends the church but also challenges churches to welcome young men back into their fold to join “us” (interesting choice of word) and to “attend to their souls”.
In recent years, Peterson has struggled with his own health problems. In 2016 he had a severe reaction to certain foods. Over the next three years, he developed an addiction to the drug his doctors prescribed. During this time, he suffered from anxiety and depression. Dissatisfied with his treatments in Canada, Peterson travelled to Europe for further help. His health has since improved but he still lives with some pain.
Will God use this pain, this time of confusion, and the experiences of his wife and daughter to open his spiritual eyes too? I hope and pray so. One thing is for sure—God is very good at bringing something good out of something bad… if we let him.
