Popular philosopher Jordan Peterson has delivered an impassioned call for Christian churches to do more to reach out to young men.
Peterson, who has a huge online following, posted a video on his YouTube channel in which he says the Church needs to do more to target that particular demographic.
In what is a pointed message he says the Church should stop trying to save the planet and stop fighting for social justice but instead "attend to some souls",
Explaining what he believes to be the role of the Church, he said: "The Christian Church is there to remind people, young men included, and perhaps even first and foremost, that they have a woman to find, a garden to walk in, a family to nurture, an ark to build, a land to conquer, a ladder to heaven to build, and the utter terrible catastrophe of life, to face stalwartly in truth, devoted to love and without fear."
In a direct message to those in church leadership, he said: "Invite the young men back, say, literally, to those young men, 'you are welcome here. If no one else wants what you have to offer, we do. We want to call you to the highest purpose of your life. We want your time and energy and effort and your will and your goodwill. We want to work with you to make things better, to produce life more abundant for you, and for your wife and children and for your community, and your country, and the world'."
The Canadian academic then outlines the way he believes young men should be targeted.
"To the churches...Protestant - you're the worst at the moment, Catholic, Orthodox, invite young men. Put up a billboard, saying young men are welcome here.
"Tell those who have never been in a church exactly what to do, how to dress, when to show up, who to contact and most importantly, what they can do. Ask more, not less of those you are inviting. Ask more of them than anyone ever has. Remind them who they are in the deepest sense, and help them become that.
"You're churches for God's sake. Quit fighting for social justice. Quit saving the planet. Attend to some souls. That's what you're supposed to do. That's your holy duty. Do it now, before it's too late. The hour is nigh."
The video has already been viewed almost 700,000 times but not everyone has received the message well.
In response to his call, Tyler Huckabee, senior editor of Christian magazine Relevant said: "We can all agree that modern life has a lot of pressure that is taking toll on all of us and the effects on men have been particularly difficult to understand and overcome.
"But Peterson's prescription to this problem is basically the essay-length version of a 'do better' tweet, offering the same grab bag of warmed over 'be a real man' bravura you could find on pretty much any Facebook meme with John Wayne's face on it. This sort of 'try harder, guys!' cheerleading may be helpful for some men, but it's not 'why the Christian Church is here' and it's certainly not the Gospel."
Jordan Peterson's faith has often come under question. Often speaking highly of the Bible, his answers to question of his own Christian faith have often been cryptic.
Speaking to Premier in 2018, he said he lives his life 'as though God exists'.
