Written
in 1993
in response to several requests.
|
The
Message DELETES
the reference to God's holy name, ADDS
requests not voiced by Jesus, and
changes the meaning of other verses.
Follow the link and learn more about the
phrase, "As above, so below."
|
|
Matthew
6:9-13
"Our
Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily
bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and
the glory forever.
|
The
Message:
"Our
Father in heaven,
Reveal
who you are.
Set
the world right;
Do
what's best -
As
above, so below.
Keep
us alive with three square meals.
Keep
us forgiven with you
and
forgiving others.
Keep
us safe
from
ourselves and the Devil.
You're
in charge!
|
|
The
Message distorts
the relationship between God the Father
and Jesus the Son:
|
|
John 10:30
"I and the Father are
one."
John 14:28
"...The
Father is greater than I."
|
The
Message:
"I
and the Father are one heart and
mind."
The
Message:
"The Father is the goal and
purpose of my life."
|
Riding
a spreading tide of publicity and enthusiasm,
Eugene Peterson's The
Message is sweeping into Christian bookstores,
homes and churches from coast to coast. In the
first four months after its mid-July lease,
100,000 copies of this "New Testament
in contemporary English" were printed by
NavPress. Seventy thousand books were sold.
Thousands were either donated or distributed at
reduced prices to youth leaders, Young Life staff,
and pastors who could share Peterson's message
with their followers. Apparently, most readers
were delighted. "The Message is so good it
leaves me breathless," writes popular author
Madeleine L'Engle
in her endorsement.
Considering
this ground-swell of acceptance, we do well to
ponder the question: What is
Peterson's Message?
"The
Message is the boldest and most provocative
rendering of the New Testament I've ever
read," writes Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe, general
director of "Back
to the Bible" broadcast and former pastor of
Moody Bible Church. "The
Message is certainly destined to become a
devotional classic - not to mention a powerful
pastoral tool," adds pastor Jack W. Hayford.
What
does Eugene Peterson himself say? In his
introduction to The
Message, he tells us that "This version
of the New Testament in a contemporary idiom keeps
the language of the Message and fresh and
understandable in the same language in which we do
our shopping, talk with our friends, worry about
world affairs, and teach our children their table
manners...."
This
sounds like a good idea, but what if essential
Biblical concepts are not part of our everyday
conversation? Should we then rewrite God's
holy Scriptures to fit today's more shallow and
worldly communications?
Remember,
we are dealing with God's holy unchangeable Word -
not an ordinary book. God owns His message, we
don't. Only His own, well-guarded words can be
presented as absolute truth. Yet, readers who
trust NavPress and the endorsement of Christian
leaders such Warren Wiersbe and J. I. Packer view
this book as an authentic translation of the Bible
rather than as Peterson's personal, politically
correct interpretation.
Throughout
both Old and New Testaments, God forbids us to
distort His Word.
Additions and deletions are strictly
forbidden in Scriptures like Deuteronomy 4:2
and 12:32, Proverbs 30:6, Galatians 1:8-9 and
Revelation 22:19. Acts 17:11 exhorts us to learn
from the Bereans who "examined
the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said
was true."
Eugene
Peterson would probably agree. His own
interpretation of 2 Corinthians 4:2 holds him
accountable to this timeless standard:
"We
don't maneuver and manipulate behind the scenes.
And we don't twist God's Word to suit ourselves.
Rather we keep everything we do and say
out in the open, the whole truth on display, so
that those who want to can see and judge for
themselves in the presence of God."
While
the above verse corresponds to the original Greek,
many other passages do just what The
Message promises not
to do: they "twist God's word to suit"
human inclinations. In fact, the very next
sentence (verses 3-4), fails the test. It does not
"keep... the whole truth on display."
Instead, it deletes the original references both
to "those who are
perishing" and to the glory of "Christ,
who is
the image of God."
It
doesn't take a Greek scholar to recognize the
appalling distortions of God's holy Word. Any
Bible student willing to compare Peterson's Message
with a Greek/English Interlinear Lexicon and take
time to look up key words in a credible New
Testament Bible dictionary will discover alarming
deletions, distortions and additions to the
original text.
If Peterson is right, then all our other
Bibles - the KJV, NASV, NIV, Greek-English
interlinear Bibles - are false.
See
for yourself. We have compared quotes from The
Message with corresponding Scriptures in Bible
version generally considered
"authoritative." Most of the time,
we have used the New International Version -- not
because we like the NIV or use it ourselves (we
don't), but because, in all fairness, we wanted to
choose a standard version that would come closest
to Eugene Peterson goal of an
"understandable" language. Please check
the difference yourself by comparing the passages
below from The Message with your own Bible.
To
emphasize differences, corresponding words and
phrases are underlined. Please pray for
discernment as you check the following additions
and deletions:
*
Deletes
words that imply occult spirituality.
Substitutes
more finite, human influences:
| 1
Timothy 4:1
"...in later times some will
abandon the faith and follow seducing
spirits and doctrines of demons."
(KJV) |
The
Message:
"...as time goes on, some are
going to give up on the faith and chase
after demonic illusions put forth
by professional liars." |
[We're
not just dealing with illusions. Deceiving spirits
and the timeless doctrines of demons are far more
effective in deceiving people than illusions and
professional liars.]
*
Deletes
reference to "the ruler of the kingdom
of the air" and "sinful nature:"
| Ephesians
2:1-3: "As for you, you
were dead in your transgressions and sins,
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. All of us also lived
among them at one time, gratifying the
cravings of our sinful nature[2]
and following its desires and
thoughts." |
The
Message: "It wasn't so long
ago that you were mired in that old
stagnant life of sin. 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. 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." |
*
minimizes
occult dangers, Deletes
consequences:
| Thessalonians
2:9: "The coming of the lawless
one will be in accordance with the work of
Satan displayed in all kinds of
counterfeit miracles, signs, and wonders,
and in every sort of evil that deceives
those who are perishing. They perish
because they refused to love the truth and
so be saved." |
The
Message: "The Anarchist's[3]
coming is all Satan's work. All his power
and signs and miracles are fake, evil
sleight of hand that plays to the gallery
of those who hate the truth that could
save them. And since they're so obsessed
with evil, God rubs their noses in it -
gives them what they want. Since they
refuse to trust truth, they're banished to
their chosen world of lies and
illusions." |
[Peterson's
tendency to delete the supernatural and minimize
the consequences of sin reminds me of Rom. 1:18 -
"The wrath of God is being revealed...against
all the godlessness and wickedness of men who
suppress the truth..."]
*
Deletes
references to sinful
nature and occult practices, minimizing
Satan's power:
| Galatians
5:19-21: "The acts of the
sinful nature are obvious: sexual
immorality, impurity and debauchery;
idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord,
jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like." |
The
Message: "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; trinket gods;
magic-show religions; paranoid loneliness;
cutthroat competition;
all-consuming-yet-never-satisfied wants; a
brutal temper; an impotence to love or be
loved.... ugly parodies of community. I
could go on." |
[Idolatry and witchcraft are not
the same as trinket gods and magic-show religions!
We're dealing with spiritual forces far greater
than magical illusions.]
*Adds
horoscope, as if this timeless tool of occultism
is similar to a telescope.
| Colossians
2:10: "...and you have been given
fullness in Christ, who is the head over
every power and authority." |
The
Message: "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..." (Emphasis added) |
*
Deletes
words like adulterers
and homosexual
which identify specific sins and Adds
a politically
correct reference to environmentalism.
(Recall
the environmental terminology in Eph. 2:1-3,
"filled your lungs with polluted
unbelief...")
| 1
Corinthians 6:9-11: "Do you
not know that the wicked will not inherit
the kingdom of God? Do not be
deceived: Neither the sexually
immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor
male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders
[sodomites] nor thieves nor the greedy nor
drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers
will inherit the kingdom of God. And
that is what some of you were. But
you were washed, you were sanctified, you
were justified..." |
The
Message: "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, use and
abuse the earth and everything in it don't
qualify as citizens in God's kingdom. A
number of you know from experience what
I'm talking about, for not so long ago you
were on that list. Since then, you've been
cleaned up and given a fresh
start...." [Emphasis
added] |
*
Deletes
reference to obedience
and to the
grace of our Lord:
|
Romans
16:19-21. "Everyone has
heard about your obedience [the Greek word
consistently refers to obedience or
obeying][4],
so I am full of joy over you; but I want
you to be wise about what is good, and
innocent about what is evil.
The God of peace will soon crush Satan
under your feet.
The grace of our Lord Jesus be with
you."
|
The
Message: "And so while there has
never been any question about your honesty
in this matters - I couldn't be more proud
of you! - I want you also to be smart,
making sure every "good" thing
is the real thing. Don't be
gullible in regard to smooth-talking evil.
Stay alert like this, and before you know
it the God of peace will come down on
Satan with both feet, stomping him into
the dirt. Enjoy the best of
Jesus!" |
*
Deletes "sexual
immorality." Adds
"avoids commitment and intimacy:"
| 1
Corinthians 6:18-20: "Flee
from sexual immorality. All other sins a
man commits are outside his body, but he
who sins sexually sins against his own
body." |
The
Message: "There's more to
sex than mere skin on skin. Sex is as much
a spiritual mystery as a physical fact. As
written in Scripture, 'The two become
one.' 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.' ....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]
|
[One
could conclude that "commitment and
intimacy" or "becoming one", not
marriage, set the boundaries for acceptable sex.]
*
Adds
words that qualify homosexuality, providing a
loophole for
committed
homosexuals who "love" each other. Deletes
"God gave them over...":
| Romans
1:26-27: "Because
of this, God gave them over to shameful
lusts. Even their women exchanged natural
relations for unnatural ones. In the same
way the men also abandoned natural
relations with women and were inflamed
with lust for one another. Men committed
indecent acts with other men, and received
in themselves the due penalty for
their perversion." |
The
Message: "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. 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
wretcheds." |
[This strange wording leaves a loophole for
homosexuality to be permitted if it was an
expression of love, not lust - which many gay
couples claim today. In other words, lust
becomes the sin, not the choice of a same-sex
partner. The
consequences of disobedience, "due
penalty" seems broader than "emptied of
God and love..." Historically it includes
sexually transmitted diseases as well as spiritual
death. That politically incorrect possibility is
deleted here.]
*
Distorts truth
with a contemporary bias:
| Romans
3:19-20.
"Now we know that whatever the law
says, it says to those who are under
the law, so that every mouth may be
silenced and the whole world held
accountable to God. Therefore no one will
be declared righteous in His sight by
observing the law, rather through the
law we become conscious of sin. |
The
Message:
"This makes it clear, doesn't it,
that whatever is written in these
Scriptures
is not what God says about
others but to
us to whom these Scriptures were
addressed in the first place! and it's
clear enough, isn't it, that we're
sinners, every one of us, in the same
sinking boat with everyone else? Our
involvement with God's revelation doesn't
put us right with God. What it does is
force us to face our complicity in
everyone else's sin." |
[This interpretation endorses today's false
standard of tolerance: Don't expose or criticize
another person; just deal with your own sin. It
defies God's guidelines concerning counseling,
correction, restoration and accountability - and
supports today's tendency to condone sin. See
Romans 1:32 - but not
in The Message. It deletes this important point.]
*
Deletes
"spiritual" - spiritual readiness
to receive God's resources for ministry.
Substitutes
"live creatively," usually a reference
to human resources, not God's:
| Galatians
6:1-2: "Brothers, if
someone is caught in a sin, you who are
spiritual should restore him gently. But
watch yourself, or you also may be
tempted." |
The
Message: "Live creatively,
friends. If someone falls into sin,
forgivingly restore him, saving your
critical comments for yourself. You might
be needing forgiveness before the day's
out." |
* Deletes
references to submission.
Adds
marital equality:
|
1
Peter 3:1, 7:
"Wives,
in the same way be submissive to
your husbands...
Husbands,
in the same way be considerate as you live
with your wives, and treat them with respect
as the weaker partner and as heirs with
you of the gracious gift of
life..."
|
The
Message:
"The same goes for you wives:
Be good wives to your husbands, responsive
to their needs...
The same goes
for you husbands: Be good husbands to your
wives.
Honor them, delight in them.
As women they lack some of your
advantages.
But in the new life of God's grace,
you're equals. Treat your wives,
then, as equals...."
|
*
Deletes references
to sexual immorality, repentance, tolerating
sin, the God who searches hearts and minds...
| Revelation
2:22: "I have this against you:
You tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls
herself a prophetess. By her teaching she
misleads my servants into sexual
immorality and the eating of food
sacrificed to idols. I have given her time
to repent of her immorality, but she is
unwilling. so I will cast her on a bed of
suffering, and I will make those who
commit adultery with her suffer intensely,
unless they repent of her ways. I will
strike her children dead. Then all the
churches will know that I am he who
searches hearts and minds..." |
The
Message: "But why do you let that
Jezebel who calls herself a prophet
mislead my dear servants into
Cross-denying, self-indulging religion?
I gave her a chance to change her
ways, but she has not intention of giving
up a career in the god-business. I'm about
to lay her low, along with her partners,
as they play their sex-and-religion games.
The bastard offspring of their
idol-whoring I'll kill. Then every church
will know that appearances don't impress
me." |
* Misleading
emphasis:
| Romans
15:4-5.
"For everything that was written
in the past was written to teach
us, so that through endurance and the
encouragement of the Scriptures, we might
have hope. May the God who gives
endurance and encouragement give you a
spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow
Christ Jesus, so that with one heart
and mouth you may glorify the God..." |
The
Message:
"Even if it was written in Scripture
long ago, you can be sure it's written for
us.
God wants the combination of his
steady, constant calling and warm,
personal counsel in Scripture to come
to characterize us, keeping us alert for
whatever he will do next. May our dependably
steady and warmly personal God develop
maturity in you so that you get along with
each other as well as Jesus gets along
with us all. Then we'll be a choir...
our very lives singing in harmony in a
stunning anthem to the God..." |
[No
mention of endurance
and hope
- which implies triumph in the midst of suffering,
as we remain confident that God will do all He has
promised. In light of Peterson's tendency to
minimize the disciplining side of God, his
emphasis on a warm,
feel-good God seems to distort God's revelation of
Himself. Notice, "follow Christ Jesus"
is replaced by a Jesus who "gets along with
us."]
*
Replaces
"reconciliation" (a spiritual
work based on the cross) with "friend."
Adds
"drop their
differences" (Could he be promoting a PC form
of unity?):
| 2
Corinthians 5:20:
"We
are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as
though God were making his appeal through
us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be
reconciled to God." |
The
Message:
"We're Christ's
representatives.
God uses us to persuade men and
women to drop their differences and
enter into God's work of making things
right between them.
We're speaking for Christ himself
now: Become friends with God; he's
already a friend with you." |
*
Adds a
promise not found in the original Greek:
| Romans
8:35-37:
"Who
shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall trouble or hardship or persecution
or famine or nakedness or danger or
sword?" |
The
Message:
"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:" |
The
last passage seems consistent with Peterson's
refusal to mention those "worst sins" in
the various New Testament lists of fleshly
expressions. It also helps explain his
commendation of medieval mystic Julian
of Norwich, whose teachings - often quoted by
controversial priest Matthew Fox, founder of Creation
Spirituality - fueled the fourteenth-century
flowering of pantheistic mysticism. In his article
titled "Spirit Quest"
(Christianity
Today, 11-8-93), Peterson wrote,
"Single-minded, persevering faithfulness
confirms the authenticity of our spirituality. The
ancestors we look to for encouragement in this
business - Augustine of Hippo and Julian of
Norwich, John Calvin.... Teresa of Avila - didn't
flit. They stayed."
Since
Julian of Norwich is a spiritual model to the man
who has interpreted God's Word for today, let's
take a look at what she believed.
Indeed, her teachings seem to echo some of
the cultural biases that thread through The
Message. They also fit today's uncritical
search for experiential, feeling-centered
spirituality. In his book, Soul
Friend, Kenneth Leech describes some of her
convictions:
"Because
she held strongly this belief in the closeness
of man and God, Julian has an optimistic
assessment of man and the universe, and a belief
that sin
is relatively unimportant... Moreover she
claims that 'God showed me that sin
need be no shame to man but can even be
worthwhile.' She seems to mean by this that
sins are disguised virtues, for 'in heaven what
sin typifies is turned into a thing of honor.'
" ...In
Julian's theology, we find the fullest
expression of the concept of the femininity of
God. 'God is really our Mother as he is Father,'
she says. 'Our precious Mother
Jesus brings us to supernatural birth,
nourishes and cherishes us by dying for us,
giving us the sacrament.... Her
mysticism brings tenderness and 'homeliness' to
the understanding of God our Mother.
(Emphasis added)
The
same article introduces another spiritual model.
Peterson writes that "Baron Friedrich von
Hugel, a Roman Catholic layperson, was one
of the most respected spiritual directors
in England in the early years of this
century." He devotes an entire paragraph to
this leader whom the Encyclopedia Britannica
describes as "the precursor of the realist
revival in philosophy and of the theological study
of religious feeling."
Like
the culture around us, many churches today seem to
emphasize good feelings
and subjective experience
rather than uncompromising faith
based on God's revealed truth
- the only foundation for a mature
relationship with God.
Peterson's definition for spirituality in
his article seems to reflect this drift from solid
rock to shifting sand - along with an alarming
focus on self rather than God:
"Intimacy:
we want to experience
human love and trust and joy. Transcendence: we
want to experience divine love and trust and
joy... We
hunger for divine meaning, someone who will bless
us. And so spirituality,
a fusion of intimacy and transcendence,
overnight becomes a passion for millions of
North Americans....
It is heartening that our continent is
experiencing a recovery of desire
to embrace intimacies and respond to
transcendence...."
(Emphasis added)
Peterson
rightly points out the need to discriminate
"between the true and false" as people
"ransack exotic cultures and esoteric groups
in a search for wholeness."
But what does he mean when he tells his readers to
acquire "a biblical
imagination
- entering into the vast world of the Bible and
getting a feel
for the territory, an
instinct for reality." What part did his
imagination play in the formation of
The
Message? (See
Shepherds
& Prophets who mislead their flock )
The
inspired scribes of God's holy Word documented facts
and observations.
They were led by the Holy Spirit, not personal
imagination. God was the Creator, not man. No one
should know this better than J. I. Packer, the
beloved author of Knowing
God. Yet
in his endorsement of The
Message, he uses the same questionable terms
-- words popularized by the New Age quest for
personal empowerment and unbiblical energies.
"In this crowded world of Bible
versions," writes Packer, "Eugene
Peterson's blend of accurate scholarship and vivid
idiom make this rendering both distinctive and
distinguished. The
Message catches the logical flow, personal
energy, and imaginative overtones of
the original very well indeed."
What
does Packer mean? Does the Bible really have
imaginative overtones?
Peterson's
introduction to Revelation gives that impression.
He identifies John as a pastor on Patmos, who
"is preeminently concerned with worship"
-- not sharing God-given visions of end-time
events. This first century pastor is also "a
poet, fond of metaphor and symbol, image and
allusion" who challenges "our
intelligence and imagination."
Historical
facts
and absolute truth
made the Bible unique among the world's religious
documents. Pagan myths, on the other hand, spring
from
imagination, personal feelings
and mystical experiences. Yet,
the author of The
Message repeatedly stresses the latter.
He writes, "We are after what we came
for in the first place: intimacy and
transcendence, personal friends and a personal
God, love and worship."
It
seems paradoxical that someone who desires
intimacy with God, would minimize or ignore the
main obstacles to that intimacy: our sinful
nature, our specific sins and our lack of
submission and obedience to God.
Could an answer to this paradox lie in the
strange spirituality he propounds in his article?
I
realize that Peterson's intent was "to
recapture the tone" and subtleties of the
Greek language. Whether or not he achieved that
(personally I believe that his language reflects
neither the heart of Jesus nor His followers'
fiery devotion to a holy sovereign God and the
integrity of His Word)
|
