Jordan Peterson, a Canadian psychologist, became popular with his book 12 Rules for Life (2018). Tom Holland is a British expert in classical and medieval history. His book Dominion (2019) traces the Christian roots of Western Civilization. These modern thinkers are talking about Christianity.
Peterson is attracted to Bible stories. His latest book is “We Who Wrestle with God” (2024), a look at the psychology of narratives in the Hebrew Scriptures. He is a student of Jungian psychology, which treats religious beliefs as helpful whether they are true or not. That likely influenced his comment, “Biblical stories make the insistence that the fundamental story is one of unity and also one of voluntary sacrifice.”
Unity and sacrifice are helpful psychology topics, but the fundamental Biblical story is about God. The grand narrative arc of the Bible is creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. As to personal faith Peterson offers, “I’m not an atheist anymore… I’ve taken the idea of God seriously for a very long time. I try to act as though God exists, and that’s essentially my definition of belief.”
Tom Holland’s book Dominion has a provocative subtitle: “How the Christian Revolution Remade the World.” He links marriage, science, and human dignity to the Biblical worldview. “We are all goldfish and the water in which we are swimming is Christian,” he said. “We may not believe that the Lord Jesus Christ rose on the third day but think of Christianity as a way of seeing the world.” Regarding faith Holland said, “I’ve been recalibrating exactly where it is that I morally, ethically, culturally come from and essentially where the whole of Western society comes from… I began to realize that actually, in almost every way, I am Christian.”
When Peterson redefines belief and Holland says “almost,” one gets the sense something is missing. They talk about Christianity without addressing its undergirding truth claims. Holland specifically sidesteps Jesus’ resurrection, the indispensable miracle for Christians. “If Christ has not been raised,” Paul writes, “your faith is worthless” (1 Cor. 15:17). Intellectuals talking about Christianity evoke an ancient scene at the Greek Areopagus where Paul held the philosophers’ curiosity until he brought up the resurrection. Some scoffed. Some wanted to talk later. But Dionysius and Damaris heard enough to believe (Acts 17).
Academic types are right to think Christianly about culture and history. But it’s hard to imagine a religious figure in a minor Roman province 2000 years ago having such an impact unless the Biblical account is true, especially the resurrection. It’s an other-worldly narrative with a personal invitation to you. You can talk about it as psychology, you can enjoy its cultural fruits, or you can believe it and be transformed. May the thinkers of our day join Dionysius, Damaris, and the rest of us, and believe.