The Psychopathic Hijacking of Religious Moral Authority 

"The most evil people take the highest good and invert it". 🤯

I appreciate Jordan's saying: "You have to recognize that real evil is something that could attract you". Scott Peck's "People of the Lie" was written by a therapist who realized, many years ago, that the therapeutic world had lost its recognition of evil. It's well worth a read.

This is one reason I loved Lord of the Rings so much, both the books and the movies. They depict how the potential to do evil is in all of us, and at some points in the story, the battle between good and evil is an internal one, for example the scene of Galadriel's mirror, where she's incredibly tempted by the Ring, but ultimately declines it.

The line between good and evil runs through heart of every man and woman

The first clip I ever saw of Jordan was from a lecture where he talked about meeting a cold blooded killer in a prison. The conclusion to the story was that he discovered within himself how he could become a killer. It was so wise I have been hooked on his word ever since.

Absolute truth. Teach children to recognize and understand evil because by the time they’re able to read the books you suggest it might be too late.

Peterson’s explanation of things and communication skills are something of a wonder. Here is a man that thinks.

“People of the Lie” by M. Scott Peck… Best book I have read on the nature of evil, both human and demonic. Chilling. Provoking. Relatable.

It's coming back into the light (again), that the darkest, scariest people in the world are those with a savior's complex without a relationship with the Savior.

" the devil prowls like a roaring lion, seeking to devour souls."

"The Screwtape Letters" by C.S. Lewis tells a story of how evil works in a normal, average daily life. Eye opening....

Accepting personal responsibility for one's narratives and behaviours can present some of the deepest learning of the self and others.

This is what I like the most about Jordon Peterson, he's adle to articulate the views and opinions that I am unable to adequately express.

Evil is the deliberate intention to harm, deceptively hidden behind a pretense of altruistic compassion. The root of evil is deception.

Willingness to sacrifice others seems to be a decent metric for determining evil.

Very true. Time and again, I see individuals, especially on the comments section, weaponize compassion. It's most obvious when they're much more busy telling you what a horrible person you are than to show you a way out.

"The line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties either - but right through every human heart…even within hearts overwhelmed by evil, one small bridgehead of good is retained. And even in the best of all hearts, there remains…an uprooted small corner of evil." Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Gulag Archipelago

This discussion is so important. I had to learn it in a very traumatic way when, at 58, I singlehandedly discovered my brother and sister were abusing my out-of-state elderly demented mother physically, financially, mentally, and emotionally. Facing their capacities for such evil and personal / familial betrayal almost ended me; I had to climb out of a black, seemingly bottomless abyss. Very very thankfully, with excellent trauma-focused mental health support that included learning about and understanding Cluster B personalities, I now stand outside that abyss. It took seven long years to get here. I now fully comprehend evil.

I doubt that anyone fully understands evil. I’m sure Jordan has a deeper conceptualisation than most of us, but never underestimate the collective wisdom of your community. I recall a story once, the basic premise of which was that the devil was watching someone and that someone picked up a piece of the truth and the devil delighted in this. At the time I thought that sounded very odd, but listening to this reminded me of the story. It seems to me that just when we think we understand the nature of evil or even when we think we have taken another step on the journey of that discovery….we find ourselves being led down another dead end in a seemingly endless maze. The old saying, see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil comes to mind and I think the wisdom of this is that we can’t understand evil by investigating it, it’s not like other things, the more we look at it, the more it draws us in and captures our minds in its prison. I think it’s better to focus on good, on God and higher things, then from that lofty place you can look down from the mountain top and see the dark swamp where evil dwells…..far, far away from heaven. Evil lurks in the darkness and if you go into that darkness you will in all probability get lost and never find your way out again. The more you become enmeshed with it the less clearly you will be able to see. Better to back up from something at times and then you can gain a clearer perspective….this would be one of those times. So if you want to actually understand evil, set your mind on higher things, on Godly things, things that elevate the mind, the heart and the soul and take us to a healthy place, one where actual compassion, loving kindness and real humility dwells. But then maybe I am actually in the dark place and someone is holding a match in front of my eyes to trick me into thinking that I am dwelling in the light…….you will have to decide this for yourself. To put the message simply, I think evil is just a lack of light, a lack of good. It’s something that has no reality in and of itself. So it would make sense then that if we try to study it, we are trying investigate something that has no reality to it……not surprisingly many who have gone down this path have gone insane…..after all insanity is a disconnection from reality.

Thank you Dr Peterson & Ms Shrier❣️🙏🏼

Evil has to present itself as good and fun and exciting, or else there wouldn’t be any buyers. A trap without bait catches very little, if anything at all.

My god, this was beautifully talked out.

There's a series of books by Paul Levy on *'Wetiko'* which is an indigenous term for a non-local consciousness, "spirit of evil" that can possess a person to do evil things to oneself & others. It caused me to realize that spiritual house-cleaning is an essential component of sealing the doors to evil in oneself. That involves facing whatever illusions one has about oneself; to become aware of inner weaknesses within the psyche that can be used to seduce one into lines of thinking/actions/attitudes toward others that over-compensate for perceived insufficiencies. If the falsehoods within us are put under our scrutiny, they dissolve for lack of true justification for them. Give no foothold for evil to enter & squat in your house.

Jesus was unfairly crucified due to tyrant's lies... and it's still happening to this day. So concerning and so sad.

The greatest trick the devil ever played was to convince the world that it doesn't it exist, the 2nd greatest trick is convincing you that they're the good guys...

I have experienced many modern-day pharisees using the highest form of Christ's love and compassion to manipulate me on the psychopathic level, which Jordan talks about. This kind of hurt and damage is serious and needs to be talked about more so people can be free and heal from it.

I wonder if I'm evil, trying as hard as I do to fight for professionalism in the workplace, especially when I work in a school. It's crazy to me to see time-serving teachers who don't care to do a good job. Children aren't a reflection, but a lens that can be warped, broken, and harmed if teachers aren't attempting to be their best. I think about my pride, wrapped up in their achievements, in their understanding, in their enjoyment of learning. And I can only pray to do more good than harm as I fight for what I know in my soul to be right.

What I love about Jordan Peterson is his anchoring in classic texts, stories, research. By contrast, today’s woke revolutionaries reject previous learning and imagine one can be “rational” (like they imagine themselves to be) and cure mankind’s ills. The latter requires no work, no intellectual depth, no research, no reading. It does require rather sophisticated rhetorical distortion, however, which some excel at. They distort and argue like Sophists but know nothing. Peterson says look to the past, find the truth therein. They say, reject the past, look to a utopian future in which they are gods.

“You don’t understand evil until you understand how you could be enticed by it.” This is really what the doctrine of original sin is getting at. Not that we are evil as we can be, but that the worst evil we can imagine is just a series of possible decisions we are capable of making.

This video is more about religion than anything I've heard on my church

Thank you thank you thank you sooo much for this little abstract. What you have just said about how evil has to first appeal to you to attract you..... how evil [people] have to first appeal to you to attract you.... pearls of wisdom!!! The challenge for us is to be able to spot/realise them before it's too late. We should not be distracted (in whichever form distraction manifests itself for you individually) so much that we do not see evil [people] coming... Thank you Dr. Peterson.

"It comes most effectively in the guise of benevolence". So true. We must be so careful...

God bless Jordan Peterson....

Thanks for bright and useful insights Dr. Jordan Peterson. It's serious to know, study and aware of evil and develop appropriate real life base concept of evil.

I think clips of this length are very useful for viewers, because sometimes it's difficult to get into a 1,5h hour video, but when I see a discussion like that it makes me want to seek out the full format interview.

Paul's warning to the leaders of the church at Ephesus as he parted from them. ". . . I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. . ." Acts 20:29-30

The nuts & bolts of this conversation need to be spread LOUDLY far & wide, for all the people who haven't connected the dots yet.

We see sins committed on every street corner and in our own homes, yet it no longer bothers us. We've learnt to tolerate it, or worse still, accept it

Thank you for the book proposals, Dr. Peterson!

New book list for reading. Thanks.❤

Once again, JP examines the implications of Kant's Second Categorical Imperative: "So act that you use humanity, in your own person as well as in the person of any other, always at the same time as an end, never merely as a means." E.G, those masquerading as benevolent for the purpose of using you. OR, as Denzel Washington says: "When you're at your peak, that's when the Devil comes for you". Betrayal is the most common form of the Devil coming for you; betrayal of yourself is the worst kind.

I have had discussions with people who say evil doesn't exist, and whenever you talk about why people do mean things to others it is either that they have missunderstood or are mentally ill, never conciously doing things they know are wrong. Those people who say this I also have noticed tend to be mean, but passive aggressively mean. They don't want you to crack the code.

Well said Mr. Peterson❤

You need the bad guy. If you didn’t have them, you wouldn’t know you were good guy. “Half the harm that is done in this world is due to people who want to feel important. They don't mean to do harm; but the harm does not interest them. Or they do not see it, or they justify it because they are absorbed in the endless struggle to think well of themselves.” ― T.S. Eliot

Another great analysis of evil is in the novel Perelandra by CS Lewis.

The SCREW TAPE LETTERS by CS Lewis gave me a window to evil as well

The hypocrisy begins with our own misused human will divorced from the Divine Will. Your presentation is excellent, Thank you!!!

If you want to read a book about the spiritual warfare and psychological battles of the human soul without the danger of morbid curiosity and perversion of heart that can occur with sensitive souls reading the ones Peterson listed, read the ladder of divine ascent by St John Climacus. He is a desert father that lived a monastic life to discipline the self. This book is hard for modern men to stomach due to its austerity, but it is a fundamental truth of human nature and interior evil well worth the read for anyone with an ounce of spiritual maturity.

Thank you Jordan Peterson, you've no idea how much you've helped me understand not only myself but those who have forced and manipulated their way into my life to do harm and to manipulate me to get what they want. You've explained them so well here and in other posts, I'm stronger because of your brilliant mind and I will not be broken by the negative forces in my life.

The tibetan buddhist monk. Chogyam Trungpa wrote a book called, 'Cutting through spiritual materialism'. It explains in great detail how ego grabs hold of spiritual tenets and twists them to appease the ego or self-cherishing mind. This problem has always existed. It will continue to proliferate until the ego or self-cherishing is destroyed within the consciousness. Also, we can't just blame denonic beings for the faults of people.

I love this! "I'm compassionate!" No you're not, you're a psychopath! Love it!

Brilliant again, my brother!

i would have added the screwtape letters to that list, as well as the works of the marquis de sade.

I love, love, love, Dr. Jordan Peterson. His truths …I’m sorry they are so clearly seen!

I needed to hear this today !!!!!

JP back at it with the unique suits

Dr. Peterson is always spitting out knowledge and wisdom.

A perfect description of Trudeau. "Wearing is caring" and other evil slogans. I read Dantes Inferno in highschool. Since then, evil is relatively easy to spot. Since dedicating life to Vipassana, and more specifically the Sila, everything is far more obvious. The downside is that, once you're cleansed of most of your own darkness, you're pretty much surrounded by it.

Amazing analysis.... thank you.

“Whatever is done out of love is beyond good and evil.” -Friedrich Nietzsche

Fun fact, most religion hi-jacked (religious) moral authority themselves. Like it's some power besides ourselves which only they truly know all about.

Utterly profound!

As a minister, I find it ever so slightly humorous that psychologists are only 10,000+ years behind moral understanding. We’ve known how evil works since Eden.

So many great book recommendations in under 10 minutes, thanks for that

I know from my own experience that you can't fight Satan with your own strength I rely on Jehovah and his son Jesus to help me transform internally the bad potential desires within me it's not easy at all

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

That just opened my eyes to a lot of the people who either are or have been in my life.

What most get wrong is the opposite of evil is not good, it's love. That is why Jesus said that God is only truly good, love is only truly good. Relationship is the key to all, respecting and cherishing the inherent creation in all that God called very good even if they can't see it in themselves. The second creation story in Genesis is what creation would look like without the heart and what happens when decisions are made without love. Without the heart one is easily tricked as one uses other ways to assess, good for food, pleasing to the eye, make one wise. Basically using the ego to rationalize.

betrayal. yes. 🔥

James Russell Lowell's poem The Present Crisis highlights these ideas, and shows them as an easily manipulated, cyclical part of society.

The real problem is people who imagine themselves to be “good people”, full stop. How can such people be wrong about anything? How could they ever consider that maybe they have evil inside of them and it is a battle as to which inclination you nurture? How can I ever see that the real outcome of some of their well-meaning intentions is actually just as evil as those with evil intentions?

Evil wins when the person it victimizes seeks chooses to seek vengeance rather than forgiveness.

This is a very profound clip for only being 6 mins long. I think a major failing of people today is staying ignorant to true evil. In JP’s interview with Jim Caviezel and Tim Ballard, Jim made a comment that people look to the devil to learn about evil, but he looks to Christ to learn about evil. Because, the devil will always deceive you, whereas Christ is truth. What better way for the devil, or the great deceiver, to mislead people, than to hide what the true nature of evil is? Very thought provoking topic.

Its the true definition of “insidious”

Thanks

Is it though that it’s all the more striking the supposed good among us turn out to harbour as much menace as the ones who never claim to commit to a goodness of heart. So that in itself ratchets up the degree to how much evil those individuals possess …As in; let’s say, you never display acts of overt compassion, so the fact you don’t care is normalised among the group - the ones who claim to care will often add a certain level of deceit to the mix which heightens the evil we perceive of them, a betrayal of sorts.

1:47 hits hard experiencing all those phoney people using religiosity to look good but possess 0 christ like traits in my old catholic school

We call betrayal of the truth a lie. “Thaw shalt not bear false witness” (the Ten Commandments) and “do not participate in lies” (Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn).

Loved this. Played this map all the time back in the day. Even titan ai got bamboozled by the skraelings lol, had some gnarly ffa's. GGs keep up the grind

Iranian government uses Islam, Israeli government uses the Judaism, America and the West uses democracy, and human rights....

eye opening. Story of the Pharasees more relevant than ever now

We love Dante's Inferno, Milton's Paradise Lost (both with Gustave Doré's illustrations), and of course Goethe's Faust. ❤

Oh! Loved this clip!....it´s always a pleasure to listen Dr. Peterson. Interesting blazer by the way but....a purple tie would have been a better combination 😉😅

The most evil people take the highest good and invert it. 👍🏻Yes.

_"Jesus accused the Pharisees"_ -- and Jesus was 100% right!

This is so good.

If you have to go out of your way to be kind or good or "help others" to just be a "good person", your intentions are not pure. Should not have to try to be good, just simply be it.

My ex psychopath husband of 30 yrs. Double life. Who knew?

Evil is also a kin to “ ignorance “

Jordan has articulated that his attention does not experience the feeling that he is tired, he just suddenly falls asleep. This means that Jordan's attention is rogue-- it is not participating, predicting, and preparing for his internal biological, systemic, and developmental needs. In the video "How to handle a rebellious child ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ojFEZbVkALk.htmlsi=IpTpCgPff3KDVPtb" Jordan describes forcing his children to sever all connections between their attention and their homeostasis. Homeostasis is the regulating and balancing of internal biological systems, in a changing external environment, through translating internal feedback into relevant predictions and adaptations. (Jordan's daughter) Mikhaila's internalization of Jordan's rogue attention forced her biological systems to become severely imbalanced due to Jordan's relentless contradiction of homeostasis and human development needs.

The worst psychopaths manipulate you with compassion, the most evil people take the highest good, and invert it. J U S T I N T R U D E A U

I don't understand the connection between using benevolence as a facade to do evil and tearing down the posters of kidnapped Israelis captive in Gaza. The people who are tearing down the posters don't seem to even be trying to portray a facade of goodness or benevolence. The only way that would be plausible is if the people tearing down the posters are doing it bc they are the victims or defending a more "oppressed" group of people. I wish Shrier would have elaborated more on this point. Even as someone who thinks 🇮🇱 war in Gaza is justified after the horrors hamas committed, I still think it's tragic the civilian deaths in Gaza. Yes, hamas provoked this war and are fully responsible for the carnage that has happened, but I would never tear down the poster of a dead palestinian child or civilian who was killed or hurt in the conflict. The deaths of everyone in this conflict is an absolute tragedy. Even the terrorists who deserve it. Once I spoke with an Israeli navy seal who was telling me about his experience in combat. He said I killed bad people who deserved to die, but it still pains me because that person I killed has parents, siblings, family, and friends. Taking the life of someone even if they deserve it is hard and painful.

“Everything you claim to be moral is only for your self gratification” thats a great way to say it

I found the texts Dr Peteson suggested helpful. He is spot on with Dante. Dosteoveky's Notes from the Underground is a tragic story about evil's indifference. I also found this book very good: Roy F Baumeister's "Evil: Inside Human Violence and Cruelty."

He forgot the deepest taxonomy on evil - The Bible.

The devil wears prada

This is a great clip. A lot of JBP’s detractors try to diminish what he says by saying he doesn’t know much. Being able to list off 4 books like this is incredibly impressive. I’d bet most people couldn’t even list 4 books.

Another great book on this subject: The People of the Lie, by Scott Peck, who also wrote The Road Less Travelled.

This is surprisingly ironic..

I pray he accepts Christ