In a commencement address, clinical psychologist and author issued a warning to the graduates of a Michigan college about the "devil at the crossroads."
Dr. Jordan Peterson, who is widely known as a Canadian clinical psychologist, YouTube personality, and author, gave a countercultural commencement address at Hillsdale College in Michigan on Saturday. In his speech that was met with thunderous and sustained applause, Peterson told the graduating class that they are now at a "crossroads" in life.
Peterson described the "crossroads" as a "metaphor" for when a person "[makes] a decision," Faithwire reported. He went on to say that there is an "old 'blues' idea" that one meets the devil at the crossroads. He pondered on this saying and realized that it's a "good narrative fit" especially for students who are on the brink of entering adulthood and their professional careers, a point in which they are making a change in their lives.
Peterson explained that the reason why the devil will meet someone at the crossroads is that "most fundamentally...when you come to a place in your life where you have to make a choice...you aim up or down. And there is always an agent of temptation at every choice point, enticing you to aim down."
Peterson Turns to the Bible To Demonstrate the Choice Made at Crossroads
The author and speaker then cited the Scripture in explaining how sin, or "missing the mark" happens at one's crossroads in life. He referenced the story of Cain and Abel in the Bible, in which he described Cain's sacrifices as "not in the service of the highest good." Peterson explained further that when people make insufficient sacrifices, they believe "in the deepest part of [themselves] that [they've] pulled one over God."
Peterson added that the word "sin," which is used in both the Old and New Testaments of the Bible comes from the Hebrew word "khata," which roughly translates to "to fail" or "to miss the goal." He explained that this implies that it is related to aiming and failing or refusing to aim at all.
Peterson Reveals the Reason for 'Missing the Mark'
Once again, the author and speaker turned to Scripture and cited the story of the Tower of Babel in Genesis 11, in which Noah's descendants were overcome with bride to build a structure to reach the heavens. In it, they failed to hit the mark by disobeying God's commandment to "fill the earth." Peterson explained that humans have a "continual temptation...to build complex organizations that get too high."
Peterson also cited Lucifer, the "spirit of intellect" who flew too high and challenged God, causing him to fail. His "prideful intellect" had caused him to fail. To combat this, the speaker and author urged the graduates to see the "practical" pursuit of things that are right and good.
Also Read: Jordan Peterson's Daughter Mikhaila Comes To Faith In God
Finally, Peterson warned the graduates that the world will try to tell them that having faith means abandoning logic and reason, which is not true. Instead, he explained, "Faith means the sacrifice of reason and the willingness to believe things that are patently not true...faith is a form of courage."
According to Inside Higher Ed, Peterson has recently resigned from his professorship at the University of Toronto earlier this year because of the university's "craven" diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. He has been appointed as chancellor at Ralston College in Savannah, Georgia.
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