Where the Jordan Peterson vs. atheists ‘Jubilee’ debate went wrong

The internet is ablaze with clips of the recent “Jubilee” debate between Jordan Peterson and 20 atheists — and many on the right are criticizing Peterson for his answers to the theological questions presented.

However, BlazeTV host Allie Beth Stuckey doesn’t believe the clips circulating on social media actually reflect Peterson’s performance.

“There were some things that he answered that I thought were really good, that I would affirm and say as well, and then there were other things that I’m like, ‘That is not at all the Christian perspective,’” Stuckey says on “Relatable.”

Peterson made four claims that the atheists were supposed to be contending with. The first claim is that “atheists reject God, but they don’t know what they’re rejecting.”

While the atheists took a major issue with this assertion, Stuckey believes they misunderstood Peterson’s point.

“Jordan did not actually claim that you can never reject that which you don’t understand. That’s not what he said. That’s what this atheist is assuming that he meant by his claim,” Stuckey says, explaining that instead, Peterson “claimed that atheists specifically reject that which they don’t understand, not that no one can reject anything that they don’t understand.”

Peterson’s second claim is that “morality and purpose can’t be found within science.”

“Maybe it’s too far to say the implication is that morality and purpose have to be from God — I would say Christianity — not just from any supernatural entity. But that seems to be the implication here,” Stuckey says. “And actually, the implication is what most of the debaters are debating against. And maybe that’s their error, or it’s a safe assumption.”

One atheist attempted to make the point that morality can’t come from Christianity, as slavery was depicted in the Bible. He also claimed that slavery ended because humans “evolved,” to which Peterson fired back, “The reason we evolved, so to speak, away from slavery was because the West was founded on Judeo-Christian morality and the presumption that every person was made in the image of God, and so slavery itself became immoral.”

“I liked the last part of Jordan Peterson’s answer there, because he is absolutely right,” Stuckey says, before diving into Peterson’s third claim — that “everyone worships something, including atheists.”

This part of the debate has gone the most viral, as an atheist named Danny, whom Stuckey calls “Reddit Timothee Chalamet,” did not appear to be arguing in good faith. Rather than really getting to the heart of the debate, he spoke over Peterson and focused on seemingly irrelevant points.

“Danny is probably trying to argue, in the same way, atheists attend to and prioritize certain things, but they don’t worship them,” Stuckey says, adding, “As a Protestant, I would say, ‘No, that is worship.’”

Peterson’s last claim is that “atheists accept Christian morality; they just deny the religious foundation of Christian morality,” which Stuckey agrees with.

“I actually think that Jordan Peterson did a lot better than some critics on social media are saying,” she says. “I enjoyed watching it, and it made me think myself, and I always welcome the opportunity to think more deeply about my faith and why I believe what I believe.”

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