We've been going slow as I think the first twelve pages of the book are critically important. As we've seen, in the opening pages of Maps of Meaning Peterson makes his argument as to why we need to take myths seriously, and how science fails us on the most pressing existential issues of life (meaning and morality).
Having made that case, Peterson ends Chapter 1 by describing what he calls "the metamythological cycle of the way." For Peterson, this cycle is sort of the genetic code of myth, the framework for mythological drama and, therefore, meaningful action in life. If you understand this cycle you understand much of how Peterson describes the Bible, as this cycle functions as his hermeneutic. The cycle also sits behind many of his 12 Rules of life. If you want to know why Jordan Peterson tells young men to "make their bed" it is because of the cycle. To borrow from the Mandalorian, for Peterson "this is the way."
Peterson's metamythological cycle of "the way" has three parts. The first part is a description of "What is?" This part of the myth describes our current situation. The next part envisions "What should be?" This state is a vision of perfection, an idealized vision of existence. Mythologically, this state is the Promised Land, the Kingdom of Heaven, the Elysian Fields, or a political utopia. Importantly, the vision of What-Should-Be creates the moral engine of myth. As Peterson describes, the gap between What-Is and What-Should-Be answers the vital question: "How should we act?"
Beyond guidance for action, the gap between the our present state and the ideal state creates a motivational drive--a desire, thirst, hunger, and longing for the Better Place. This longing sets us on a quest and puts us on a path.
The third aspect of the cycle is Chaos, or the Unknown. Chaos represents anything that threatens to disintegrate either the ideal state or the stability of the path. For example, in the Christian myth there is a primordial fall that separates us from What-Should-Be, an expulsion from an idealized Garden of Eden. The Fall creates the gap between What-Is and What-Should-Be. And the point to be observed here is that the myth of the Fall isn't describing some historical event. The myth of the Fall is simply setting up an arena for moral action, like the groundskeepers getting the field ready for the Super Bowl or the greens mowed for the Masters.
The gap between What-Is and What-Should-Be, in the wake of the Fall, is connected by the Path. The Path leads us back to a restored Garden of Eden, to the Promised Land. And yet, Chaos, mythologically understood to be Satan or the Dragon, continually threatens the stability of the Path. On our journey back to Paradise we can become Lost. The classic example of this comes from the opening lines of Dante's Divine Comedy:
Midway along the journey of our lifeWe all do, all the time.
I woke to find myself in a dark wood,
for I had wandered off from the straight path.
Understanding this cycle is the key to understanding Peterson's thought, how he approaches the Bible, envisions the human predicament, and dispenses his advice. Simply, everyone is on the Path, everyone is moving toward some horizon of the true, the beautiful and the good. And for most in the West, this horizon is the Judeo-Christian "Kingdom of God," a world characterized by "shalom" where peace, love, and justice reign, a vision bequeathed to us by the Hebrew prophets and Jesus of Nazareth. Any decent student of Scripture can point you to the relevant texts. This vision is why every atheist and social justice warrior is, mythologically, a Christian.
And yet, the Path is difficult and fraught with dangers. Here, there be dragons. If not actual demons, then my inner demons. If not sin, then my mental health. As we journey from the What-Is toward the What-Should-Be I am, like Dante, perpetually getting lost in a dark wood and wandering off the straight path. This is Chaos, the Dragon. And the hero quest we're all on involves struggling against this chronic, daily threat. Individually and collectively.
And so, as we come to the end of Chapter 1 of Maps of Meaning, looking today at Peterson's vision of "the way," is there anything here that the church can learn from?
Yes, and I'm thinking mainly here of moderate to progressive Christian churches. To state the point plainly: We have no dragons.
As you know, in moderate to progressive Christian spaces conversations about things like sin or the devil have gone wholly missing. And without the dragon we lose the drama of the myth. Most preaching in moderate to progressive Christian churches only describes the What-Is and the What-Should-Be. We are repeatedly pointed toward the Kingdom of God, encouraged to "imagine" God's "preferred future." We are told this, over and over. This path is "the mission of God." So, we all know where we are supposed to be going. We can see the destination. We are on the path. But what we never get around to talking about, and what Jordan Peterson talks about almost constantly, is the Dragon, the Chaos that is constantly threatening. This vacuum is the reason I wrote Reviving Old Scratch, an attempt to recover the full drama of salvation for moderate to progressive Christians who have lost track of the Dragon. And if you are a pastor who has no idea how to preach about Satan in the modern world, I would encourage you to get a copy of that book. I wrote it for you.
Let me conclude by stating the contrast I want to make this way. When you lose track of the Dragon, and preach only about What-Should-Be, God's mission and preferred future, your preaching becomes aspirational as we are pointed, over and over again, toward a goal-state. Worse, the sermon bores because, as Peterson points out, everyone, even atheists, already agrees about the goal state. We all want to live in love and peace. We're already desiring the kingdom.
But when you turn to look at the Dragon, when you have us stare directly into the abyss, your preaching become fully dramatic. And this, I'd argue, is the difference between Jordan Peterson and most sermons in moderate to progressive Christian churches.
Most preaching is aspirational. Jordan Peterson is dramatic.
