LTRP Note: The following news story from Religion News Service is posted for informational and research purposes and not as an endorsement of the source or the content. The Message “Bible” has had a huge impact on Christianity. Famous pastors, like Rick Warren, have quoted from it extensively, which has played a huge role in developing the present-day nearly apostate church. It’s too bad more Christians didn’t take heed to some of the warnings about Eugene Peterson and The Message over the past several years (see article links below).
Eugene Peterson – Photo: Creative Commons
“Eugene Peterson on changing his mind about same-sex issues and marriage”
By Jonathan Merritt
Religion News Service
When a journalist has a chance to interview a paragon of the Christian faith like Eugene Peterson, there’s a lot of pressure to pick the perfect questions. I’d asked him about why he was leaving the public eye and if he was afraid of death. I’d asked him about Donald Trump and the state of American Christianity. But there was one more topic I wanted to cover: same-sex relationships and marriage.
It’s one of the hottest topics in the church today, and given Peterson’s vast influence among both pastors and laypeople, I knew his opinion would impact the conversation. Though he has had a long career, I couldn’t find his position on the matter either online or in print. I did discover that “The Message,” Peterson’s popular paraphrase of the Bible, doesn’t use the word “homosexual” and “homosexuality” in key texts. Click here to continue reading.
Articles Warning About Eugene Peterson and The Message:
The New Age Implications of The Message “Bible’s” “As Above, So Below”
BOOKLET: The Message “Bible”— A Breach of Truth
WARNING: Modern-Day “Bible” Versions Used to Promote Liberal Agenda
Message Bible for Little Kids Instructs on Contemplative Meditation
RICK WARREN RETAINS UNBIBLICAL POSITION IN NEW 2012 EDITION OF THE PURPOSE DRIVEN LIFE
In publishing there is a area called Derivative Copyright. This essentially means that publishers must change the content of a periodical significantly (namely in this case, the Bible), in order to create a new version to be sold. Have you ever wondered why there are SO many Bibles in a bookstore or online? The King James Version is the only authorized version and it is not copyrighted. The NIV completely omits an entire verse in Acts 8:37 where Philip states, “…I believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” This is a true example of Derivative Copyright. Lastly, years ago I saw a television interview with Eugene Peterson who stated that the reason he wrote The Message is because—his publisher asked him to.
Woe to them who change the Word of God for their profit. See Revelation 22: 18-19. Thank you Lighthouse Trails Research for all you do!
This is why Eugene Petersen should never have written The Message version of the Bible. He changed the meaning that God intended. Homosexuality is very clearly condemned in the original versions of the Bible and it is a gross sin affecting their health, soul and mind and others around them (family}. Messianic Jews are careful never to use the Message Bible, since it is anti-semitic. It is sad to think that many evangelicals have used this version.