I recorded a podcast this week with my friend Luke Norsworthy about this series. Not sure when that podcast will land, so keep an eye on Newsworthy with Norsworthy wherever you subscribe to your podcasts.
Speaking of podcasts, let me point you to two podcasts I participated in that also showed up this week.
I was on the Bonafide podcast, the final episode of the season, with my friend and former pastor Jonathan Storment. On the podcast Jonathan has been interviewing friends of his who had deconverted and left the Christian faith. In the final episode, Jonathan and I reflect back over those conversations and issues related to faith, doubt, and deconstruction.
On Jackson Taylor's REconstruction podcast I joined him to discuss prayer. Jackson's podcast is actually a videocast on YouTube, so for those who like videos you can watch that conversation. Jackson's podcast is also devoted to the issues of deconstruction and reconstruction, sharing some of Jackson's journey from faith to atheism and now back to faith.
Back to my conversation with Luke, I ended our conversation about Jordan Peterson by sharing that one of the reasons I wanted to do this series was to model a more charitable and generous way of talking on social media. As I shared with Luke, I guessed that readers of this blog had one of two reactions when I announced I was devoting Fridays to Jordan Peterson's Maps of Meaning. Many fans of Peterson were thrilled that I was giving attention to Peterson. On the other hand, haters of Peterson lamented the choice.
I knew the choice would bifurcate my readers, but I was interested in the challenge of blogging about such a controversial figure. And truth be told, dear readers, I was also interested in how you would handle the challenge. Interested and concerned. I feared that the comments on Fridays would fill up with bile, as the pro-Peterson and anti-Peterson forces would go at each other, week after week.
And that...hasn't happened. So, I want to say Thank You. You are a healthy group of people. I assume when you disagree with me strongly, as surely you must do on occasion, you do the sensible thing and just move on with your day. You have better things to do than fight with me. Exactly! That is precisely how I respond to reading things I don't like online. I have a job and a life and lots of stuff I love to do. My hours are precious, and I want to spend them wisely and joyfully. You seem to agree.
But I also hope that some of your response has been due to how I have been handling the challenge of Fridays. I wanted to show that a person can talk online about someone like Jordan Peterson without lighting their hair on fire. I think I've been both generous and critical of Peterson. Despite what everyone says is impossible, you can do both on social media. And readerships can be healthy and mature.
I think we've accomplished something quite rare here on Fridays.
For that, I'm grateful.
