Jordan Peterson Commencement Speech at Hillsdale College
Fantastic and inspiring, Jordan. The most inspiring commencement speech we have ever heard. It has moral and spiritual overtones but is done rationally and scientifically. Great balance and very practical. Even though Jordan is not a priest or a pastor, he does a better job than many pastors selling the ideal of pursing the highest good, which is God and His holy law (Litigation Tool #09.001).
Throughout this talk, he keeps reminding the people that they shouldn’t be vain or presumptuous and never think they are greater than others and always try to help others rather than merely criticize them as being different. In spiritual terms, he is emphasizing the MOST important Christian virtue, which is humility. That is what he means when he says we are responsible for EVERYONE, rather than merely self. We cover the virtues of Christian humility on the following video linked on the opening page of our website:
Secular Praise of the Main Virtue of Christianity: HUMILITY-why your mind is closed and how to open it.
By emphasizing humility, Jordan is also indirectly advocating equality of treatment (Form #05.033), which is the foundation of all societies, including animals:
“Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.”
[Phil. 2:4, Bible, NKJV]
In this speech he equates the biblical flood of Noah with personal chaos caused by our own sin. Even the most seasoned and experienced pastor does the same thing. See the following sermon on our opening page, for instance:
Getting Out-Tim Keller
https://sedm.org/getting-out-sermon-by-tim-keller-of-the-gospel-coalition/
Jordan also equates the biblical Babylon to the secular analogy of “the state gone mad”. He characterizes the state of “being mad” in the case of government as a government that thinks it is one or more of the following:
- Places itself ABOVE anyone and everyone else. In other words, rules from above rather than serves from below, just as Jesus commanded in Matt. 20:25-28.
1.1 ALL ARE EQUAL under REAL law and the government can never abuse any kind of law to place itself ABOVE anyone and everyone else. See Form #05.033.
1.2 Franchises, by the way, are the MAIN legal mechanism for abusing law to create or enforce INEQUALITY between the GOVERNED and the GOVERNORS. - Places itself equal to or above the true and living and ONLY God or, by implication, any of His holy laws. In theological terms, this is called IDOLATRY, and it is described in:
Socialism: The New American Civil Religion, Form #05.016
https://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/SocialismCivilReligion.pdf - Being lawless or unaccountable for any aspect of its performance in protecting the people. See:
Your Irresponsible, Lawless, and Anarchist Beast Government, Form #05.054
https://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/YourIrresponsibleLawlessGov.pdf
As a psychologist, Peterson would certainly know on a personal level and a governmental level what it means to “go mad”. We would have to agree wholeheartedly with him. Below are many examples why:
Government Corruption, Form #11.401
https://sedm.org/home/government-corruption/
He extends the metaphor of Babylon by equating it with hell and relegates those in charge of it to the role of Kings of hell (Satan) who would rather “reign in hell than serve in heaven”. This is the same thing that the devil in the following video says:
Devils’ Advocate-What We Are up Against-SEDM
https://sedm.org/what-we-are-up-against/
Whether he knows it or not, Jordan is actually preaching the Christian gospel just as we do here, even as a formerly atheist psychologist turned Christian. He’s just doing it using secular and scientific terminology in a way that appeals to a much larger audience than merely Christians. This is quite admirable and something that even many Christian churches don’t do as well he does in this case as a neophyte Christian.