Dr. Jordan B. Peterson and his panel of seven renowned scholars explore the purpose and importance of God’s laws, the meaning and limits of an “eye for an eye,” and what saying “no” really means in the newest episode of “Exodus,” streaming now on DailyWire+.
Peterson and company continue through their study and discussion of Exodus, the second book of the Bible and Torah, with this episode focusing on chapters 21 through 24. In the episode, they explore the significance of God’s laws in those chapters and how they establish moral order.
The panel discusses Exodus 21:23-24, which reads, “And if any mischief follow, then thou shalt give life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.” Dennis Prager, co-founder of PragerU, says that these verses are a “massive statement” in history, and he brings the topic of the nature of human evil to the conversation.
“I think it depends, to some degree, on the canniness of the interlocutor,” Peterson said of human evil. “I would say that if you’re going to entice someone malevolent back onto the path of proper being, you have to be as canny in your good as they are in their evil. That’s an echo of the notion that you should be as wise as a serpent, as harmless as a dove.”
“I don’t know what the limit to that is, because I’ve seen people in extreme situations walk the path so precisely that they could entice even someone hell-bent on malevolence out of that insistence,” Peterson continued.
Another topic Peterson and his panel discussed centered around the philosophy of punishment, what saying “no” means, and the consequences of doing something you were told not to, contributing to a broader conversation on moral order.
“‘No’ in the final analysis means if you do that, something you do not like will certainly happen to you,” Peterson said. “If that isn’t the promise behind your words when you say no, there’s no promise there at all.”
In the episode, Peterson is joined by social critic Os Guinness, Cambridge assistant professor James Orr, president of Ralston College Stephen Blackwood, president of Hillsdale College Larry Arnn, Christian thinker Jonathan Pageau, Dennis Prager, and Douglas Hedley, professor of philosophy of religion at Cambridge University. Select future episodes will include Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro.
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This is the third of eight new episodes in the series, which will be released weekly, exploring the importance of Exodus according to theological and literary scholars and showing why the book remains significant thousands of years after being written.
For a deep dive into the Ten Commandments, you can watch previous episodes here. Additionally, Peterson’s documentary “Logos & Literacy” — which explores the Museum of the Bible and the Bible’s impact on society — is available exclusively on DailyWire+.
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