Posted on 05/29/2019 12:37:41 PM PDT by Mrs. Don-o
May 27, 2019 (LifeSiteNews) — Speaking with one of the best-known conservative Jews, Dennis Prager, at the PragerU summit last week, world-famous psychologist Jordan Peterson spoke of God and his views of faith. After speaking about his dislike for the question ‘Do you believe in God?’ Peterson said, “I think that Catholicism — that's as sane as people can get.”
Peterson has often been asked about his faith, if he believes in God, and he said the question has always troubled him. He promised a podcast on the matter since he has given his dislike for the question much thought.
He explained, “Who would have the audacity to claim that they believed in God if they examined the way they lived? Who would dare say that?”
“To believe, in a Christian sense,” he added, “means that you live it out fully and that's an that's an unbearable task in some sense.”
Then in one long drawn-out, rapid-fire thought, the type that has enthralled his millions of fans, he laid out extemporaneously the vision of a believer in God:
“To be able to accept the structure of existence, the suffering that goes along with it and the disappointment and the betrayal, and to nonetheless act properly; to aim at the good with all your heart; to dispense with the malevolence and your desire for destruction and revenge and all of that; and to face things courageously and to tell the truth to speak the truth and to act it out, that's what it means to believe -- that's what it means -- it doesn't mean to state it, it means to act it out. And, unless you act it out you should be very careful about claiming it. And so, I've never been comfortable saying anything other than I try to act as if God exists because God only knows what you'd be if you truly believed.”
See the full exchange of Peterson and Prager here.
Perhaps not; but you DO have to spin the following to somehow bring PROTs into GOD's graces.
"One indeed is the universal Church of the faithful, outside which no one at all is saved, in which the priest himself is the sacrifice, Jesus Christ, whose body and blood are truly contained in the sacrament of the altar under the species of bread and wine; the bread (changed) into His body by the divine power of transubstantiation, and the wine into the blood, so that to accomplish the mystery of unity we ourselves receive from His (nature) what He Himself received from ours."
--Pope Innocent III and Lateran Council IV (A.D. 1215)
I think Paul had a clue.
He indicates such in 1 Timothy chapter one.
...the Catholic Church is an enduring hierarchical body that speaks through the Magisterium to the question of what Catholics are obliged to believe.
She is also Mary, since she is the Mother of the Messiah.
Sounds mighty double minded to me!!
As you know, Catholics do not use the phrase, "I am saved".
The people rejoicing in Heaven are definitively "saved," since their state is stable and beyond change in Heaven. Here one earth, we can say "God has saved me, God is saving me, and I hope in the end God will save me."
This recognizes that all the while on this earth we are changeable --- as Ezekiel taught when he spoke of the possibility of a just man turning from good and doing evil, or an evil man turning from his evil and doing good: Ezekiel chapters 3, 18, 33, and other places as well.
The Epistle of James is addressed to brothers and sisters (adelphoi) referring to believers, both men and women, as part of God’s family. He makes it clear about a dozen times that he is talking to people who have already come to faith in Christ. Yet he warns them that they must "persevere," "believe and do not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord."
This shows that people who have once accepted Christ need to be warned not to become "double-minded and unstable in all they do."
So while living here on earth we are still changeable, and we are exhorted in love to get grip and not lose the Faith.
Otherwise, we can make no sense of Jesus' warning that, even though we are joined to Him as living branches are joined to the true Vine, we could be cut off and wither, making us dry dead branches fit to be burnt.
Nor can we make sense of the fact that all the inspired writers of the NT exhort, urge, command us to remain in Him, persevere in the Faith, cling to the Gospel which was preached to us.
Here's Jesus' disciples and new-believing Christians being warned repeatedly to stand firm: Ephesians 6:14
Matthew 24:13
Mark 13:13
Luke 21:19
1 Corinthians 10:12
1 Corinthians 15:58
1 Corinthians 16:13
2 Corinthians 1:24
Galatians 5:1
Ephesians 6:14
Philippians 1:27
Philippians 4:1
Colossians 4:12
1 Thessalonians 3:8
2 Thessalonians 2:13
2 Thessalonians 2:15
James 5:8
1 Peter 5:9
And they are likewise warned that it's possible for them to fall (1 Corinthians 10:12) -- "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don’t fall!"
He also says that those who are now believers and "free in Christ" (Gal 5) must take care lest they fall back into the slavery of sin. He gives a list of sins to illustrate his point, and then says what will happen if they go back and live that way:
"
The acts of the flesh are obvious:
sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft;
hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage,
selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like.
I warn you, as I did before,
that those who live like this
will not inherit the kingdom of God."The Tagline quote is Hebrews 10:19.
Christianity yes! Catholicism, no.
 'When I tell you what imagery found in Scripture REALLY means,' the magnificant Humpty Dumpty said, in a rather superior tone,
' it means just whomever I choose it to mean, neither more nor less;
but sometimes two or more different things at once.'
'The question is,' said Alice, 'whether you can define imagery to mean so many different things.' 'The question is,' said Humpty Dumpty, C.SS.R, S.S.L., O.F.M, S.T.D 'which is to be master - that's all.' |
Dig deeper.
Regard it as possible ---just possible--- that he's found some things you might not have noticed yet, some things you could profit from looking into.
...if you use it right.
1 Timothy 1:8
Mary is FULL of grace!!
Thanks, Mrs. Don-o.
Dr. Peterson is a researcher extraordinaire. I defer to him on most topics. But I've done extensive research on Catholicism, and "sanity" is not a word I would use to describe it.
HMMMmmm...
It's worth your time if you're interested in the way Peterson thinks about this topic.
Fascinating to see his mind at work.
“As you know, Catholics do not use the phrase, “I am saved”.”
If one does not understand imputed righteousness, sealing by the Spirit, eternal life, being seated in the heavenlies with Christ, dying with Christ, etc., of course they wouldn’t understand how that was even possible.
More merit!
More confession!
More Eucharist!
More stations of the cross!
Kiss more bones!
More works!
Throw in a brown scapular!
Beg Mary!
Give indulgences!
All for naught.
Of course they do not say it. They’ve never been taught the truth.
:o)
And no comment on the many Scriptures I cited.
I missed where it said "Hold firm, but... well, nevermind, no big deal one way or the other. At this point you've got no choice."
Love Dr. Peterson. He is honest, intelligent and speaks his mind. I've seen almost every video he has put out on Youtube.
I like what he says about Christianity. He has some great insights.
In the video, Prager, who is Jewish, asked Peterson about belief in God. It was in this context that Peterson made the comment.
Peterson is not an expert on Christianity. He doesn't claim to be. Maybe he is equating Christianity with Catholicism here. I don't know what he really meant by that quote.
If that is his opinion, I will have to disagree. I do not equate Christianity with Catholicism.
I know you teach RICA classes, but you apparently have not had very much Bible exegesis training.
You've lifted the passage in James completely out of context.
1James, a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, To the twelve tribes who are dispersed abroad: Greetings.
2Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance.
4And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
5But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him. 6But he must ask in faith without any doubting, for the one who doubts is like the surf of the sea, driven and tossed by the wind.
7For that man ought not to expect that he will receive anything from the Lord, 8being a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.
James 1:1-8 NASB
The rest of your post kinda loses it's appeal if you can't handle basic exegesis.
But your appeal to standing firm is noted.
And what are to stand firm in?
It is faith in Christ...and only Christ.
For many a Roman Catholic have already fallen as they trust in Mary as exhibited by their actions of wearing scapulars, medals, praying TO her, etc, hoping she will help them.
Instead of trusting in the eternal Son of God, they are trusting in a created being over the Son.
If it's anything other than Christ you're standing firm in....you've already fallen.
I'm late to this thread and haven't read everything. I'm sure there has been a lively discussion, as there usually is on this topic.
“That’s all you’ve got? Misrepresentaiton and mockery?”
No mockery. Reality.
(But you mocked that poor black entertainer yesterday just because he misspelled altar.)
Losing the Gospel was the single biggest failure of Catholicism.
Millions of people taught enough to get to third base, but not enough to get to home.
Thankfully, some still come to salvation despite that.
I wish it were more.
“And no comment on the many Scriptures I cited.”
It was a huge post. If I responded to your posts line by line, I’d need to add hours to my day!
Since this is FR, I knew others would focus on other parts of your post. I see it has already happened.
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