In a raw and deeply personal discussion on “The Jordan B. Peterson” podcast, Pastor Greg Laurie and renowned psychologist Jordan Peterson explored the complex intersection of faith and grief. You can watch it below.
As the nearly two-hour interview drew to a close, Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, Calif., opened up about the devastating loss of his son, Christopher, who died in a car accident in 2008 at just 33 years old.
“As a Christian, I believe I’ll see my son again, because he believed in Jesus,” Laurie shared with Peterson. “He won’t be in heaven because I’m his dad. He’ll be in heaven because he put his faith in Christ and he had that relationship. He’s a part of my future as well. So that gives me hope. But also, I realize that God can allow these things in our life. I don’t know why. I can’t explain it. I don’t even try to explain it.”
Peterson, author of “We Who Wrestle with God”, responded by connecting Laurie’s heartfelt testimony to the universal biblical narrative. He emphasized that while grief is profoundly painful, it ultimately serves as a powerful affirmation of life’s inherent value.
“The depth of your grief is proportionate to the magnitude of your love,” Peterson reflected. “So you might say, ‘Well, how could God constitute a world made such that a child could die?’ And then you think, ‘Well, if you have a child and the child dies and you grieve, the grief is an indication of the magnitude of the loss.’ So the fact that you grieve, that’s a testament to the value of life, even though it’s truncated.”
Laurie went on to stress that for him, faith has become most real and tangible in the darkest depths of suffering. “God made a lot of promises,” he affirmed. “I’ve put those promises to the test, including the worst thing of all, to lose a child. And I’ve seen how God had come through for me. If he hadn’t come through for me after my son died, I would have given up preaching, for sure. Why carry on? But He came through for me.”
The pastor ended the interview with a heartfelt and clear presentation of the gospel message. “Ultimately, when everything’s said and done, what’s more important than the afterlife? What’s more important than where we spend it? According to the Bible, I believe there’s a literal heaven, a literal hell and I believe we choose in this life where we will spend the afterlife.”
Though Peterson frequently engages with Christian theology, biblical stories and the moral and cultural significance of Christianity in his work, he has not publicly identified as a traditional Christian.
–Dwight Widaman | Metro Voice