The Message: The New Testament

Rating:
Summary: I love this version!
Review: I should have checked out the inside before buying, the verses aren't numbered in this one! It's AWESOME for reading, just not so great for looking up particular stuff.

Rating:
Summary: The Bible In Deceptive New Age Terminology
Review: The Message is not a translation of biblical scripture. True translation is taking the original Greek and Hebrew texts, being very careful to preserve their true meaning as much as possible, word by word and phrase by phrase, while translating them into another language so that the exact meaning is kept intact, nothing is removed or added, and there is no discrepancy about what God is actually saying in the text. Anything outside of this is changes the true meaning of the Bible, and is re-wording God's Word.

Please allow me to illustrate to you several terms that Mr. Peterson has used in his paraphrase that show that he did not directly translate the Greek and Hebrew text, and thus has changed not just God's actual meaning of key phrases and verses, but has removed key phrases from his paraphrase that directly change the actual words, phrases, and true message of God. This then makes The Message one man's interpretation and paraphrase rather than God's direct Word.

Example 1: Please compare Matthew 6:9-13, the Lord's prayer, below with Mr. Peterson's version:

Matthew 6:9-13 from the NIV:

"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.

From 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!

Now, most people will not see what I am about to point out, until they see it explained for themselves.

Let me extract from Mr. Peterson's words here, the phrase "As above, so below." This is the key phrase here that is not a direct translation of scripture, and it does not even come close. Here is why:

This is a classic new-age term and phrase used widely in the new-age realm. It got its start, and has its main domain, in the new-age movement. It does not represent Christianity. If you do a Google search on the phrase you will see how many Wiccan, pagan, and new-age sites come up that use this phrase and its meaning. "As above, so below" agrees with the "immanent" new-age view that God is not only outside of creation, but also within creation. It means that God is "in" everyone and everything, and denotes the new-age concept of "One-ness." It is a pantheistic term. Pantheism has no place in Christianity or the Bible. And when new-agers speak of heaven, it is not the heaven that Christians know of and believe in. The term "as above, so below" is used for the new-age idea and terminology of their view of heaven. It is not the biblical view. It is a metaphysical new-age connotation that substitutes "heaven and earth" with "above and below" as being the same and one in unity, and therefore it represents a pantheistic view. It says all of the universe (the heavens and heaven), the cosmos, and the earth---everything existent in creation---is part of God, is one with God, and one with everything, in a form of new-age unity that opposes scripture and the true nature of God.

From the new-age book written by Ronald S. Miller and the editors of "New Age Journal" titled "As Above, So Below": ..." 'As above, so below; as below, so above.' This maxim implies that the transcendent God beyond the physical universe and the immanent God within ourselves are one."

Mr. Peterson should not be using this terminology to paraphrase the Bible when Christianity and God's terms and meanings are as opposite to the pagan new-age movement and their beliefs as night-time is to day-time, and as good is to bad.

This term "as above, so below" existed before Mr. Peterson chose, for whatever reason, to use it when putting the Bible into his own words. So, Mr. Peterson did not get his words from the original Greek and Hebrew text of the Bible, and therefore his words cannot qualify or be considered as a translation of scripture. If he had gotten his words from the original texts then he would not have used this phrase, because the original texts do not refer to heaven in this manner, and he also would not have removed key parts of actual scripture from his paraphrase.

Mr. Peterson again presents a similar use of this new-age phrase in place of "in heaven" and "in earth" in Colossians 1:16: "For everything, absolutely everything, above and below..."

Example 2: Mr. Peterson has directly removed key phrases and meanings from a lot of the scripture he has paraphrased. Let's look again at the Lord's prayer for a key example:

KJV:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.

The Message:
Our Father in heaven,
Reveal who you are.
Set the world right;

"Hallowed be Your name" has been totally removed, and not even rephrased and added back in with the rest of his words. "Your kingdom come" has also been removed. This essentially takes the actual words and meaning which the Lord Jesus spoke and changes what He actually said. It removes the expressed, exact meaning, and therefore it removes the value of the written text. "Reveal who you are" and "Hallowed be Your name" are not even close to having the same distinct meaning to each other. "Your kingdom come" and "Set the world right" do not even come close to having the same distinct meaning. Jesus was speaking directly of the Father's kingdom; Mr. Peterson is talking about the world in his paraphrase.

This re-phrasing of the Lord's prayer changes the Lord Jesus' spoken words and teaching into flimsy "requests" that He did not say. He was not making requests, He was teaching us, sinful people, how to we are to approach a pure and holy God in prayer. Mr. Peterson has changed the true meaning and character of the scripture here. This is not a translation of true text. No man has any right to do this. The Bible is clear about that.

Real translations do not remove key meaning and they do not change complete words, phrases, or the meaning of phrases. Otherwise, we end up with something the Lord never said, and it is being passed off as the Bible in churches all over this country. It is confusing people who are in the new-age movement when they see their exact terminology and idea of heaven being used by Christians, so that now they think that there is really little, if any, difference between their beliefs and those that we Christians have. The difference between the new-age movement and Christianity is night and day, and we all know there is enough scripture to back that up. God was very careful when he dictated to the original manuscript writers what He was saying. Mr. Peterson's paraphrase robs the meaning God intended, and this is dangerous.

This is why calling Mr. Peterson's paraphrase a Bible translation becomes very concerning. Many new Christians who have come out of the new age movement, who now know Jesus Christ as their savior, are quite shocked to see this new age term, very familiar to them, showing up in a "Bible translation."

There is plenty of warning in the Bible about removing from or adding to God's words and His distinct meanings. For example, Deuteronomy 4:2 "You shall not add to the word which I command you to observe, nor take anything from it..." Deuteronomy 12:32 "Whatever I command you, be careful to observe it; you shall not add to it nor take away from it." Proverbs 30:5-6 "Every word of God is pure...Do not add to His words, lest He reprove you, and you be found a liar." Mr. Peterson has both added meanings that are not being represented by actual scripture and he has removed key phrases and meaning from the actual scripture, thus greatly changing the meaning in many parts.

It is very simple to end up with a very different meaning that what was originally being said by removing one or two word phrases from the Greek or Hebrew text. There are other verses that Mr. Peterson has done the same thing with as the examples above, but time does not allow for that here. Anyone can compare Mr. Peterson's words to the actual Word of God and see for themselves as a personal study. For those who are less discerning, whether because they are new to Christianity or just searching for greater meaning in life, there is the risk of serious confusion and for people to be very mislead, as some already have been.

These are just a few examples of why Mr. Peterson's The Message should not be even referred to as a translation of the Bible.

The reason I am taking the time to point this out is because many just do not know about it. It is easy to accept and believe everything that comes along that is labeled "Christian", but the new-age movement is creeping into the Church and many Christians can't see it. This illustrates how very clever our Adversary, the Devil, is at pulling the wool over our eyes when we are least expecting it. Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free."

What I would like to know is, if Mr. Peterson is a Christian then why did he choose to use the new-age phrase "as above, so below" and from what source did he get it from?



Rating:
Summary: This shouldn't be called a bible
Review: This bible is a mistranslation luring christians into new age thinking and preparing them for a world religion. It mistranslates the lords prayer. It even uses new age terminology. Don't read this bible, if you own it throw it out. I urge you to please take me seriously. I'm only 15 and realize the deception in this book. If you compare the verses in this bible to other translations you will see it too. The only message this bible is teaching is the new age message.

Rating:
Summary: Understanding what God is saying has never been more clearer
Review: This Bible (paraphrased) is awesome! I own several versions of the Bible and The Message is a great addition! What intrigues me the most is that it is written in book form...there aren't any verses. Your forced to read the entire chapter in order to get the full meaning. Rather then selecting a single Scripture and trying to understand what the writer of a given book is trying to convey, I read each book of the Message Bible in it's entirety. I liken it to reading a letter from a friend. You wouldn't read just one sentence of the letter and get the whole meaning of the entire letter, would you? Also, Eugene Peterson uses modern language, correct in context with the original Scriptures, and brings the Bible to life. Compatible with a Strong's Concordance? No. Use a KJV for that. Is the Message Bible easy to read yet able to convict, encourage, and provoke thought,change,faith and hope? Absolutely! God is all over it! I enthusiastically recommend The Message Bible as an awesome tool for spiritual growth and truth.

Rating:
Summary: no chapter index for MS Reader
Review: I just purchased The Message (E.H. Peterson) and find it unusable on my PDA (MS Reader). There is no chapter index. As a result, if you want to reference John 3:16, you need to page from John 1:1 to 3:16 - page by page. When you want to get to Psalm 150:1, the task is impossible.

Typical practice with Bibles for PDAs is to index both the book (Mathew, Mark, Luke, John) AND chapter (1, 2, 3, ...) so you can turn to references vs. paging from the first chapter to the desired reference.