The Message is Not a Bible Translation

9 Reasons Peterson's Work Functions Like a Commentary

Prologue

Before I get into the heart of my review of The Message, I want to offer an important comment regarding Eugene Peterson the man. Despite my concerns about the theology he inserted into The Message under the pretense of “translation”, I have no reason to doubt Peterson is a brother in Christ Jesus. Peterson has made some serious mistakes in his book, but he is a brother nonetheless. I also have a couple good friends who have spent time with Peterson in his cabin in MT. Everyone who has met Peterson describes him as a generous and genial person… and of this I have no reason to doubt.  Therefore, the following critique is focused solely on the substance of Peterson’s work in the Message and not his eternal relationship with God.

Preface

To give a bit of context, following is a short video of  Eugene Peterson wherein he discusses his philosophy of Bible translation for The Message. This video is from the 2007 Symposium by the Sea at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, CA.   You may still be able to find the full interview online, but for the sake of brevity, I have included only the part of the interview related to his translation.

Since the full release of The Message in 2002, Eugene Peterson’s work has certainly captured the attention and passion of many readers. Almost immediately I noticed kids in my youth group and adults in my church turning to The Message as their primary translation. I also observed pastors, including the popular teacher Rick Warren, using The Message as their primary text for preaching. As a man given the responsibility to teach God’s Word, I responded by beginning my own investigation of Peterson’s work so that I could give the proper spiritual direction to the people who look to me for guidance. This post will lay out some areas of concern that all pastors, teachers, and followers of Jesus should take very seriously.

Problems With Peterson’s Philosophical Approach

The vision for Peterson’s work is expressed well in this direct quote

“While I was teaching a class on Galatians, I began to realize that the adults in my class weren’t feeling the vitality and directness that I sensed as I read and studied the New Testament in its original Greek. Writing straight from the original text, I began to attempt to bring into English the rhythms and idioms of the original language. I knew that the early readers of the New Testament were captured and engaged by these writings and I wanted my congregation to be impacted in the same way. I hoped to bring the New Testament to life for two different types of people: those who hadn’t read the Bible because it seemed too distant and irrelevant and those who had read the Bible so much that it had become ‘old hat.'”

Before I post the nine main issues with the actual text of Peterson’s Message, I think it is important to give a quick survey of his translation philosophy.

1. Peterson’s assertion that the New Testament was written in the “street language” of the day is misleading.

Arthur L. Farstad writes:

As a Bible translator and editor myself, I must disagree. Yes, God did use the koine or common Greek dialect of the first century. However, it was written by men whose minds were saturated with the truth and beauty of the OT Scriptures. Also, who would say that the Sermon on the Mount, the Upper Room Discourse, Romans 8, First Corinthians 13, the Book of Hebrews, or Revelation 5—to choose a few famous texts—are in “street language”?(Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Volume 9: vnp.9.2.71)

By “updating” the Scripture in a modern “street” language, Peterson removes the historical and religious context resulting in a book far removed from the day and culture in which it is written. This qualitative decision may give some readers a fun reading experience, but it will not give a realizable understanding of the Scripture.

2. Peterson has confused the mission of a Bible translator with the mission of the Holy Spirit.

As Peterson moved from seminary teacher to pastor, he encountered a congregation that had little interest in reaching the Scripture. In the introduction to The Message he writes:

“The first noticeable difference was that nobody seemed to care much about the Bible, which so recently people had been paying me to teach them. Many of the people I worked with now knew virtually nothing about it, had never read it, and weren’t interested in learning. Many others had spent years reading it but for them it had gone flat through familiarity, reduced to clichés. Bored, they dropped it. And there weren’t many people in between. Very few were interested in what I considered my primary work, getting the words of the Bible into their heads and hearts, getting The Message lived. They found newspapers and magazines, videos and pulp fiction more to their taste.” (The Message, Introduction)

Peterson’s concern for the spiritual life of his congregation is admirable. His hope was that The Messagewould serve as a tool to get people interested in reading the Bible. Peterson’s underlying assumption is that his “translation” can do something the Holy Spirit is unable to do – give people a passion to read The Word. In reading The Message, I am drawn to the conclusion that Peterson has a diminished view of the Holy Spirit. The Message often eliminates the personhood and ministry of the Holy Spirit as the third person of the Trinity who is given by Jesus as the beginning and source of our faith.

Galatians 3:2–4 (ESV)

² Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

Galatians 3:2–4 (NIV11)

² I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? ³ Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? ⁴ Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain?

Galatians 3:2–4 (The Message)

² Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you? ³ Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? ⁴ Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!

Notice that in verse 2, Paul says we received the Spirit by believing in the Gospel. In Peterson’s “translation”, we receive “new life” — not the Spirit —by believing. And for no reason found in the Greek, Peterson removes the Spirit in verse three.  

According to Peterson, the Christian begins their life in Christ, not by the person of the Spirit, but by “God.”  Again, this is not an issue of selecting a varient translation, it is simply Peterson’s opinion and, for whatever reason, he does not want to mention the Spirit in this passage and so Peterson removes all mention of Him. I’ll explore this issue in depth at the end of this post.

3. Peterson believes the Bible, without his interpretive skills to modernize it, is insufficient to transform lives.

Peterson writes, “There is a sense in which the Scriptures are the word of God dehydrated, with all the originating context removed—living voices, city sounds, camels carrying spices from Seba and gold from Ophir snoring down in the bazaar, fragrance from lentil stew simmering in the kitchen—all now reduced to marks on thin onion-skin paper” (Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading: 88).

Peterson’s belief that the Bible is the “dehydrated” word of God leads him to eliminate important context; religious, historical, and spiritual, and not even the onion-skin is left for the reader to consume.

A second consequence of Peterson’s belief is expressed well by Tim Challie on his blog:

“While this is true, at least to some extent, what Peterson fails to mention is that this is exactly how God intended to give us the Scriptures. God never refers to His Word as “dehydrated” or in any way deficient. Yes, we need to invest time and effort in knowing, studying and understanding them, but we do so knowing that the Scriptures, exactly as they are, are just what God desired that we have. Any fault we perceive in them is a fault within us.”

4. The Message utilizes a form of Mystical Liberalism

My contention in my analysis is that Peterson divorces the Scripture from its historical context and strips the Bible from its ultimate meaning. In the hundreds of comments I have received over the years, not a single defender of Peterson’s work contests the facts; they only argue that, despite the evidence, The Message has had a profound and personal impact on their “spiritual life”—how they define these terms is beyond my understanding.  Nonetheless, no one has shown concern for the dissolution of historical context, but seem only to care that they have had a spiritual catharsis when reading The Message.  With this in mind, I was reading through Francis Schaeffer’s book, The Escape From Reason and ran across the following statement which connects the dots between Peterson’s philosophy of ‘translation’, the impact on modern readers, and the Mystical Liberalism of the late 20th century.  He asserts that radical liberal theology can be set out like this:

Francis Schaeffer’s view of Upper Story Mysticism

Upstairs [above the line] with the vacuum we have been talking about, the radical liberal theologians have no idea that there is anything that really correlates with the connotation borne along by the word god.  All they have is a semantic answer on the basis of a connotation word.  Up above, the radical theology is left with the philosophic other — the infinite, impersonal everything.  This brings us in Western thought into proximity with the East.  The new theologian has lost the unique infinite-personal God of biblical revelation and of the Reformation.  Much liberal theology of the current thinking has only god words as a substitute.

T. H. Huxley has proved to be a discerning prophet in all this.  In 1890 he made the statement that there would come a time when men would remove all content from faith and especially from the pre-Abrahamic scriptural narrative. Then: “No longer in contact with fact of any kind, Faith stands now and forever proudly inaccessible to the attacks of the infidel.”  Because modern theology has accepted the dichotomy and removed the things of religion from the world of the verifiable, modern theology is now in the position grandfather Huxley prophesied. Modern theology now differs little from the agnosticism or even the atheism of 1980.

So then, in our day, the sphere of faith is placed in the nonrational and nonlogical as opposed to the rational and logical; the unverifiable as opposed to the verifiable.  The new theologians use connotation words rather than defined words — words as symbols without any definition, in contrast to scientific symbols that are carefully defined. Faith is unchallengeable because it could be anything — there is no way to discuss it in normal categories [emphasis mine].

Schaeffer, Francis A. The Complete Works of Francis A. Schaeffer : A Christian Worldview. Westchester, Ill.: Crossway Books, 1996.

As you read each of the posts in this series take note of the words above which I have emphasized in bold.  Knowingly or not, Peterson’s ‘translation’ paradigm reflects the concerns expressed by Schaeffer.  

Peterson’s translation approach seems to fit with the idea that contextualization of the Bible, even to the exclusion of the historical context, is of utmost importance so that the reader can personalize the message.  

Words, in Peterson’s paraphrase, are given a connotative meaning devoid of a denotive absolute and consequently the reader is better able to understand the words Peterson uses, but they are hindered from understanding their historical meaning and insulated from external verification.

5. Finally, even if the Bible is God’s “dehydrated” Word, the solution is not Peterson’s “street-language” commentary.

What we need is utter dependence on the living Water, the Spirit given by the Father, who brings freshness to the written Word so we can drink it into our life. Peterson’ solution to spiritual apathy is to transform the Bible rather than transform people.

Based on all I have read, it seems that Peterson, confronted with a people apathetic to God’s Word, relied on his own ability to transform the Scripture rather than doing the hard work of teaching and allowing God to transform the people. In contrast, compare Peterson’s approach to an actual paraphrase-translation like Kenneth S. Wuest’s “The New Testament : An Expanded Translation”.  His translation is prefaced as follows;

“THIS translation of the New Testament, unlike the standard translations such as the Authorized Version of 1611 and the American Revised Version of 1901, uses as many English words as are necessary to bring out the richness, force, and clarity of the Greek text. The result is what I have called an expanded translation. It is intended as a companion to, or commentary on, the standard translations, and as such it complements them in several important respects.”

Challies writes the following based on his comparison of the ESV. His conclusion stands for both the ESV and Weust’s paraphrase.

“It is interesting and helpful, I think, to compare Peterson’s philosophy of translation to that of the English Standard Version. In the preface to the ESV we read,

“The ESV is an ‘essentially literal’ translation that seeks as far as possible to capture the precise wording of the original text and the personal style of each Bible writer. As such, its emphasis is on ‘word-for-word’ correspondence, at the same time taking into account differences of grammar, syntax, and idiom between current literary English and the original languages. Thus it seeks to be transparent to the original text, letting the reader see as directly as possible the structure and meaning of the original.”

Note the difference. The ESV seeks, in so far as possible, to bring the original text before the reader. Peterson seeks to bring about the understanding and response of the original reader. The ESV values words while Peterson values response. [emphasis mine]”

In short, even when you choose a paraphrase, select one that values words over reader-response.

With this basic understanding of Peterson’s approach, the next section will move into a direct verse by verse comparison that will demonstrate why The Message functions NOT as a translation or even a paraphrase, but it truly functions, and should only be read, as a commentary.

Peterson’s Approach Yields a Commentary

In what follows, I’ll use a verse by verse comparison to demonstrate why Peterson’s version is not a translation or even a paraphrase. Rooted in his “translation” philosophy, Peterson has produced a “Message” which is a commentary that reflects his personal theology.

1. Peterson inserts his own dogma that is nowhere in the Greek or taught anywhere in Scripture.

a. Peterson adds the denominational dogma of baptismal regeneration.

Romans 6:1–3 (ESV)

¹ What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? ² By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? ³ Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Romans 6:1–3 (NIV11)

¹ What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?

Romans 6:1–3 (The Message)

¹ So what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? ² I should hope not! If we’ve left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? ³ Or didn’t you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! That’s what baptism into the life of Jesus means.

and

1 Corinthians 10:2 (ESV)

² and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,

1 Corinthians 10:2 (NIV11)

² They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.

1 Corinthians 10:2 (The Message)

² They went through the waters, in a baptism like ours, as Moses led them from enslaving death to salvation life.

and

Colossians 2:11–12 (ESV)

¹¹ In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:11–12 (NIV11)

¹¹ In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, ¹² having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.

Colossians 2:11–13 (The Message)

¹¹ Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you’re already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin. ¹² If it’s an initiation ritual you’re after, you’ve already been through it by submitting to baptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. ¹³ When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! Think of it! All sins forgiven,

and

1 Peter 3:20–21 (ESV)

²⁰ because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water. ²¹ Baptism, which corresponds to this, now saves you, not as a removal of dirt from the body but as an appeal to God for a good conscience, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

1 Peter 3:20–21 (NIV11)

²⁰ to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ,

1 Peter 3:19–21 (The Message)

¹⁹ He went and proclaimed God’s salvation to earlier generations who ended up in the prison of judgment ²⁰ because they wouldn’t listen. You know, even though God waited patiently all the days that Noah built his ship, only a few were saved then, eight to be exact—saved from the water by the water. ²¹ The waters of baptism do that for you, not by washing away dirt from your skin but by presenting you through Jesus’ resurrection before God with a clear conscience.

b. Peterson inserts words, phrases, and entire concepts that change the meaning of the passage. See especially v. 35 where the concept of “sin” is added and changes the teaching of this verse.

Romans 8:35–36 (ESV)

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? ³⁶ As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

Romans 8:35–36 (NIV11)

³⁵ Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? ³⁶ As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”

Romans 8:35–36 (The Message)

³⁵ Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: ³⁶ They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.

c. Peterson replaces the theology of eternal life with the psychology of satisfying life.

John 3:16 (ESV)

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 (ESV)

¹⁶ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

John 3:16 (The Message)

¹⁶ “This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life

d. The hope of “crossing over” into eternal life has been replaced by Peterson’s “giant step” toward life.

John 5:24 (ESV)

²⁴ Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

John 5:24 (NIV11)

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.

John 5:24 (The Message)

²⁴ “It’s urgent that you listen carefully to this: Anyone here who believes what I am saying right now and aligns himself with the Father, who has in fact put me in charge, has at this very moment the real, lasting life and is no longer condemned to be an outsider. This person has taken a giant step from the world of the dead to the world of the living.

e. And, all too often, Peterson replaces the hope of salvation with the promise of self-actualization.

Acts 16:31 (ESV)

³¹ And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.”

Acts 16:31 (NIV11)

³¹ They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

Acts 16:31 (The Message)

³¹ They said, “Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you’ll live as you were meant to live—and everyone in your house included!”

2. Peterson neglects the person of the Holy Spirit.

Similar to Peterson’s theology of water baptism which ignores the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit’s baptism, Peterson often removes mention of the Spirit or depersonalizes Him. Peterson’s translation erodes the foundation for Trinitarian theology (NOTE: this point will be reinforced in point 9 below).

Acts 20:22 (ESV)

²² And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there,

Acts 20:22 (NIV11)

²² “And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there.

Acts 20:22 (The Message)

²² “But there is another urgency before me now. I feel compelled to go to Jerusalem. I’m completely in the dark about what will happen when I get there.

and

1 Corinthians 2:11–13 (ESV)

¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ¹³ And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.

1 Corinthians 2:11–13 (NIV11)

¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.

1 Corinthians 2:11–13 (The Message)

¹¹ Who ever knows what you’re thinking and planning except you yourself? The same with God—except that he not only knows what he’s thinking, ¹² but he lets us in on it. God offers a full report on the gifts of life and salvation that he is giving us. ¹³ We don’t have to rely on the world’s guesses and opinions. We didn’t learn this by reading books or going to school; we learned it from God, who taught us person-to-person through Jesus, and we’re passing it on to you in the same firsthand, personal way.

and

Galatians 3:2–4 (ESV)

² Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? ³ Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? ⁴ Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain?

Galatians 3:2–4 (NIV11)

² I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? ³ Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? ⁴ Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain?

Galatians 3:2–4 (The Message)

² Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God’s Message to you? ³ Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren’t smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? ⁴ Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!

This includes his obfuscation of the relationship between the Father and Son.

John 14:28 (ESV)

²⁸ You heard me say to you, ‘I am going away, and I will come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

John 14:28 (NIV11)

²⁸ “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.

John 14:28 (The Message)

²⁸ “You’ve heard me tell you, ‘I’m going away, and I’m coming back.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I’m on my way to the Father because the Father is the goal and purpose of my life.

Here the nature of Jesus as fully divine is reduced to Jesus being the expression of the divine.

Colossians 2:9 (ESV)

⁹ For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,

Colossians 2:9 (NIV11)

⁹ For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form,

Colossians 2:9 (The Message)

⁹ Everything of God gets expressed in him, so you can see and hear him clearly. You don’t need a telescope, a microscope, or a horoscope to realize the fullness of Christ, and the emptiness of the universe without him.

3. Peterson neglects the historical role of Israel as a context for the New Covenant.

Here the “house of Israel” is just “the neighborhood.

Matthew 10:6 (ESV)

⁶ but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.

Matthew 10:6 (NIV11)

⁶ Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

Matthew 10:6 (The Message)

⁶ Go to the lost, confused people right here in the neighborhood.

 Sons of Israel is replaced by “the chosen.”

Romans 9:27–28 (ESV)

²⁷ And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, ²⁸ for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay.”

Romans 9:27–28 (NIV11)

²⁷ Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: “Though the number of the Israelites be like the sand by the sea, only the remnant will be saved. ²⁸ For the Lord will carry out his sentence on earth with speed and finality.”

Romans 9:27–28 (The Message)

²⁷ Isaiah maintained this same emphasis: If each grain of sand on the seashore were numbered and the sum labeled “chosen of God,” They’d be numbers still, not names; salvation comes by personal selection. ²⁸ God doesn’t count us; he calls us by name. Arithmetic is not his focus.

Peterson’s neglect of Israel includes his consistent practice of editing out references to the Torah (Law).

Psalm 1:1–2 (ESV)

¹ Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; ² but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.

Psalm 1:1–2 (NIV11)

¹ Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, ² but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night.

Psalm 1:1–2 (The Message)

¹ How well God must like you— you don’t hang out at Sin Saloon, you don’t slink along Dead-End Road, you don’t go to Smart-Mouth College. ² Instead you thrill to God’s Word, you chew on Scripture day and night.

and

John 1:17 (ESV)

¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:17 (NIV11)

¹⁷ For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

John 1:17 (The Message)

¹⁷ We got the basics from Moses, and then this exuberant giving and receiving, This endless knowing and understanding— all this came through Jesus, the Messiah.

And he removes important language regarding the relationship between Jew and Gentile.

Romans 10:12–13 (ESV)

¹² For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. ¹³ For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:12–13 (NIV11)

¹² For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, ¹³ for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Romans 10:11–13 (The Message)

¹¹ Scripture reassures us, “No one who trusts God like this—heart and soul—will ever regret it.” ¹² It’s exactly the same no matter what a person’s religious background may be: the same God for all of us, acting the same incredibly generous way to everyone who calls out for help. ¹³“Everyone who calls, ‘Help, God!’ gets help.”

4. Peterson removes various references to sexual sin.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 (ESV)

⁹ Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 (NIV11)

⁹ Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men ¹⁰ nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

1 Corinthians 6:9–10 (The Message)

⁹ Don’t you realize that this is not the way to live? Unjust people who don’t care about God will not be joining in his kingdom. Those who use and abuse each other, use and abuse sex, ¹⁰ use and abuse the earth and everything in it, don’t qualify as citizens in God’s kingdom.

 and

1 Corinthians 6:17–18 (ESV)

¹⁷ But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. ¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body.

1 Corinthians 6:17–18 (NIV11)

¹⁷ But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. ¹⁸ Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

1 Corinthians 6:17–18 (The Message)

¹⁷ Since we want to become spiritually one with the Master, we must not pursue the kind of sex that avoids commitment and intimacy, leaving us more lonely than ever—the kind of sex that can never “become one.” ¹⁸ There is a sense in which sexual sins are different from all others. In sexual sin we violate the sacredness of our own bodies, these bodies that were made for God-given and God-modeled love, for “becoming one” with another.

5. Peterson diminishes the history of idolatry in Israel.

Psalm 22:11–13 (ESV)

¹¹ Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. ¹² Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; ¹³ they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.

Psalm 22:11–13 (NIV11)

¹¹ Do not be far from me, for trouble is near and there is no one to help. ¹² Many bulls surround me; strong bulls of Bashan encircle me. ¹³ Roaring lions that tear their prey open their mouths wide against me.

Psalm 22:11–13 (The Message)

¹¹ Then you moved far away and trouble moved in next door. I need a neighbor. ¹² Herds of bulls come at me, the raging bulls stampede, ¹³ Horns lowered, nostrils flaring, like a herd of buffalo on the move.

In Peterson’s version, he leaves out the city name of Bashan.  However, Bashan is an important city name because it lets us know that the bulls in this chapter are not real animals, but represent the god’s of this city who were depicted as bulls. By using the city name of Bashan, the Psalmist is letting us know that he is surrounded by demonic beings which prefigures Christ on the cross surrounded by demonic forces seeing his death as their victory. All of this important meaning is lost because of Peterson’s overemphasis on making the passage “relevant” to the modern reader.

Here is another example where Peterson conflates the cult practice of ideology with buying a souvenir or collecting Hummel figurines.

Romans 1:23; 26–27 (ESV)

²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; ²⁷ and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Romans 1:23; 26–27 (NIV11)

²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

²⁶ Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷ In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Romans 1:23; 26–27 (The Message)

²³ They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.

²⁶ Worse followed. Refusing to know God, they soon didn’t know how to be human either—women didn’t know how to be women, men didn’t know how to be men. ²⁷ Sexually confused, they abused and defiled one another, women with women, men with men—all lust, no love. And then they paid for it, oh, how they paid for it—emptied of God and love, godless and loveless wretches.

and

1 John 5:21 (ESV)

²¹ Little children, keep yourselves from idols.

1 John 5:21 (NIV11)

²¹ Dear children, keep yourselves from idols.

1 John 5:21 (The Message)

²¹ Dear children, be on guard against all clever facsimiles.

6. Peterson often distorts the reality of the spirit world with a spiritualized worldview.

The Scripture is clear that deceitful spirits are real, but Peterson turns them into illusions.

1 Timothy 4:1 (ESV)

¹ Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,

1 Timothy 4:1 (NIV11)

¹ The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

1 Timothy 4:1 (The Message)

¹ The Spirit makes it clear that as time goes on, some are going to give up on the faith and chase after demonic illusions put forth by professional liars.

and

James 3:15 (ESV)

¹⁵ This is not the wisdom that comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

James 3:15 (NIV11)

¹⁵ Such “wisdom” does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.

James 3:15 (The Message)

¹⁵ It’s the furthest thing from wisdom—it’s animal cunning, devilish conniving.

7. Peterson emphasizes a sin “lifestyle” where the Scripture emphasizes a sin “nature.”

Mark 14:38 (ESV)

³⁸ Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Mark 14:38 (NIV11)

³⁸ Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”

Mark 14:38 (The Message)

³⁸ Stay alert, be in prayer, so you don’t enter the danger zone without even knowing it. Don’t be naive. Part of you is eager, ready for anything in God; but another part is as lazy as an old dog sleeping by the fire.”

and

Romans 8:6 (ESV)

⁶ For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 8:6 (ESV)

⁶ For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

Romans 8:6 (The Message)

⁶ Obsession with self in these matters is a dead end; attention to God leads us out into the open, into a spacious, free life.

and

Ephesians 2:1–3 (ESV)

¹ And you were dead in the trespasses and sins ² in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— ³ among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.

Ephesians 2:1–3 (NIV11)

¹ As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, ² in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. ³ All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath.

Ephesians 2:1–3 (The Message)

¹ It wasn’t so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. ² You let the world, which doesn’t know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. ³ We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It’s a wonder God didn’t lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us.

and

Galatians 5:19–21 (ESV)

¹⁹ Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, ²⁰ idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, ²¹ envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19–21 (NIV11)

¹⁹ The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; ²⁰ idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions ²¹ and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Galatians 5:19–21 (The Message)

¹⁹ It is obvious what kind of life develops out of trying to get your own way all the time: repetitive, loveless, cheap sex; a stinking accumulation of mental and emotional garbage; frenzied and joyless grabs for happiness; ²⁰ trinket gods; magic-show religion; paranoid loneliness; cutthroat competition; all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a brutal temper; an impotence to love or be loved; divided homes and divided lives; small-minded and lopsided pursuits; ²¹ the vicious habit of depersonalizing everyone into a rival; uncontrolled and uncontrollable addictions; ugly parodies of community. I could go on. This isn’t the first time I have warned you, you know. If you use your freedom this way, you will not inherit God’s kingdom.

and

Colossians 2:11 (ESV)

¹¹ In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ,

Colossians 2:11 (NIV11)

¹¹ In him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ,

Colossians 2:11 (The Message)

¹¹ Entering into this fullness is not something you figure out or achieve. It’s not a matter of being circumcised or keeping a long list of laws. No, you’re already in—insiders—not through some secretive initiation rite but rather through what Christ has already gone through for you, destroying the power of sin.

8. Peterson follows the trend of other gender inclusive “translations” by virtually eliminating the word “Lord,” and replacing it with a softer gender neutral “God” or “Master”.

In eliminating the word Lord in the New Testament, Peterson diminishes the connection between the Hebrew YHWH of the Old Testament, which is most often translated into English as Lord, with the Greek Kurios of the New. The Greek Kurios is used 717 times in the New Testament and Peterson only translates it 27 times as Lord.  In most every case, he uses “Lord” when it refers to God from the Old Testament, but then he translates Kurios as “Master” in relation to Jesus.

1 Corinthians 12:3–5 (ESV)

³ Therefore I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says “Jesus is accursed!” and no one can say “Jesus is Lord” except in the Holy Spirit. ⁴ Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit; ⁵ and there are varieties of service, but the same Lord;

1 Corinthians 12:3–5 (NIV11)

³ Therefore I want you to know that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. ⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord.

1 Corinthians 12:3–5 (The Message)

³ For instance, by using your heads, you know perfectly well that the Spirit of God would never prompt anyone to say “Jesus be damned!” Nor would anyone be inclined to say “Jesus is Master!” without the insight of the Holy Spirit. ⁴ God’s various gifts are handed out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit. ⁵ God’s various ministries are carried out everywhere; but they all originate in God’s Spirit.

This passage has some particularly confusing aspects in that Peterson chooses to translate Kurios as “Master” in verse 3, but then he does not translate it at all in verse 5.   And as it relates to the previous point number 2, Peterson again demonstrates his consistent bias against the Spirit by refusing to translate the word Spirit as a unique person of the Trinity, and instead he inserts the word “God” to make the passage read “God’s Spirit.”¹

 9. Peterson’s offers an inaccurate and misleading translation the Greek term πνεῦμα (spirit).

The Greek word πνεῦμα is used 379 times in the New Testament, and despite Peterson’s assertion that New Testament writers used the “language of the street,” the word “spirit” is often used in ways that were foreign to the Greek and Roman culture. This is especially true as the term “spirit” was used in connection with the Divine presence of God.

…there is as yet no instance of the concept of a πνεῦμα ἅγιον in secular Gk. Here biblical Gk. has coined a new and distinctive expression for the very different, suprasensual, supraterrestrial and in part personal character and content which πνεῦμα has in Judaism and Christianity. An expression of this kind was bound to remain alien to the immanentist thinking of the Greek world.

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, ed. Gerhard Kittel, Geoffrey W. Bromiley and Gerhard Friedrich, electronic ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1964-).

Therefore, a good translator will take into consideration the uniqueness of “spirit” within the revelation of the Scripture.  Peterson’s inability to recognize this counter-cultural term results in a translation that is more “relevant” to his readers but distorts the biblical theology of “spirit.”

To help establish this point, I have examined all 379 NT occurrences of πνεῦμα, and found 110 passages that illustrate what I believe to be the most egregious errors in Peterson’s “translation” philosophy. The seven categories for these 110 verses are as follows:

1. The Human “spirit” is removed by Peterson.

2. Peterson diminishes the importance of Spirit-empowered community.

3. Peterson inserts “spirit” when “πνεῦμα” is not in the original text.

4. Demonic possession is underplayed.

5. Satan, spiritual beings, and Spiritual Warfare are downplayed in the lives of the Saints.

6. The “Holy Spirit” is removed and/or depersonalized by Peterson.

7. Peterson improperly translates “πνεῦμα” as “angel.”

Below is a PDF document with all 110 verses listed in both the English Standard Version (ESV) and the Message.  I provide this research document in full so that each reader can discern the veracity of my claims against The Message.

Spirit In Message Morethancake

192KB ∙ PDF file

Download

Download

To my subscribers, please feel free to discuss the content, suggest corrections or other topics for study in the comments section below.

Summary & Guidelines

My survey of The Message exposes confusing and misleading marketing surrounding Peterson’s work. Had Peterson decided to publish his work as a commentary, I would probably not even bother writing about it. In summary, here is a summary and guidelines for using The Message.

1. The Message is neither a translation nor is it a paraphrase taken directly from the Greek and Hebrew.

2. The Message is a commentary; no more reliable and no more authoritative then the commentaries of John Wesley or John Calvin.

3. The Message should never be the primary source for Scripture reading. For alternatives, see my recommendations below…

   Bible Translation Buyers Guide

4. If you enjoy reading The Message, that is fine.  I am in no way suggesting Peterson’s book is not useful.  However, read The Message with the understanding that despite the slick marketing it does not meet the standard for a reliable translation.

5. Pastors should not use The Message in services as a substitute for reading the Scripture. In many cases, this usage gives the impression that The Message is a viable “translation” alternative.

1. see Journal of the Grace Evangelical Society Volume 9: vnp.9.2.73 and Chafer Theological Seminary Journal Volume 9: vnp.9.1.144]