In a recent conversation between popular intellectual figure Dr. Jordan Peterson and conservative writer Andrew Klavan on DailyWire+, a discourse emerged that encapsulates the significant transformation of understanding God over time and the resulting experiential relationship. The discussion also explored the gratifying journey towards becoming the self one was destined to be. The discussion unfurled the layers of postmodernists’ theories, therapy, psychology, religion, and embracing the joyous journey of self-evolution.
Andrew Klavan initiated the conversation by articulating his struggles with postmodernists’ theories, which project the premise that we cannot know anything and language is meaningless. Dr. Jordan Peterson concurred on the idea that knowledge cannot be obtained through words alone. Klavan, sharing his personal life experiences, conveyed how he refrained from embracing God during his turbulent times, fearing that it could just be a crutch to escape his unbearable agony rather than a real spiritual epiphany.
Diving into the nuances of Freudian theories and therapy’s role in his life, Klavan acknowledged the salvific power of the loving relationship he had cultivated with his older mentor than the insights from therapy sessions per se. This made him inclined more towards psychology and believe in the power of stories.
Bringing up the role of fiction in his life, Klavan narrated how a line from a Patrick O’Brien adventure novel triggered him to offer a prayer in gratitude for his journey from excruciating darkness to the radiant light of happiness. This innate act of acknowledging and thanking God further enhanced the quality of his life, illuminating everything brighter and clearer, he noted.
Dr. Peterson, interpreting Klavan’s narrative, defined this entirely transformative experience as a manifestation of gratitude. Peterson further criticized Freudian theory and Marx’s perspective that religion was merely a shield against death-anxiety or a refuge for the victimized poor. He deployed three solid counter-arguments dismantling these theories, convincing that the religion’s challenging obligations and confrontation with malevolence is fundamentally worse than confronting death itself.
Klavan agreed, arguing that Freud’s God-as-father-projection theory holds as much water as the belief that bread was created to put off the fear of hunger. According to Klavan, all our desires have corresponding answers in the world, and just like the relationship between the eye and the light, our moral sense is a result of evolution in relation to a pre-existing moral order.
Sharing his post-baptism experience, Klavan asserted that knowing God has brought immense joy and vitality in his life. He pointed out that this transformative journey towards self-realization is joyful and recommended everyone to experience it. The conversation concluded with Klavan’s profound insight – the only evidence for love, and indeed God, is experienced over time.
This enlightening discourse served as a fitting reminder that self-evolution and God realisation are a journey, not a destination, and it is this journey that brings joy and vividness into life. The intricate tapestry of psychology, theology, sociology and literature presented by Dr. Peterson and Klavan in the conversation succeeds in offering profound insights into the myriad dimensions of human existence. The bold defiance against the mainstream hypotheses of Freudian and Marxist theories further underscore the intellectual prowess of the speakers.
