Rating: 
Summary: Can't/Won't/Don't Read The Bible??? Try THE MESSAGE...
Review: Okay, let me just say this now: I LOVE this book and I highly recommend it.I recommend it to people who read The Bible often and have 87 other versions on their shelves. But I also (highly) recommend it to those who never read the Bible and don't know much about it. Sure, I agree with what a lot of the reviewers are saying, that the Bible is poetry, and Peterson's translation utterly destroys that poetry. Well, okay, I'll go with that. But, look, the King James and the NIV and all the other (closer to original, "poetic") versions of the Bible aren't going anywhere. I'm not about to throw those versions out and neither, probably, is anyone else. The Message, however, gives me a different look at what I already know, (and also at that which I don't yet know!), a fresh perspective, a second glance. It brings scripture down-to-earth for me, and helps me understand. It may sound blasphemous but sometimes the language of the Bible gets in my way. Sometimes I enjoy just opening my Bible at bedtime and reading whichever Psalm the page falls to. The Message has brought the Psalms (and Proverbs) to life for me. I relate much better, now, to David. It's not beautiful poetry, and I wouldn't trade it for the eloquence of the original, but there are evenings when I can completely understand his crying out, "Take my side, God-- I'm getting stomped on every day. Not a day goes by but somebody beats me up; They make it their duty to beat me up" (Psalm 56). There are times when I, too, would like to yell, "Don't turn a deaf ear when I call you, God! All I get from you is deafening silence!" (Psalm 28.) And, gloriously, there are days when I also understand, "Hallelujah! Thank God! And, why? Because He's good, because his love lasts" (Psalm 106.) The Message helps me relate to the writers (and characters) of the Bible on a more personal level, which keeps me reading. I'll read from The Message when I can't bear to read any of the other versions.
Rating: 
Summary: A failed rendering
Review: Peterson's attempt to render the Bible into the "informal" fails, in my opinion. Contemporary English is one thing. Idiomatic English falling into slang and the inarticulate emphatic language pattens of the completely uneducated is another. This is most glaring in the Psalms and Proverbs. What should be beautiful and pithy become commonplace. Peterson's methods work well in the pastoral Pauline letters, for the most part, as they are suited to the subject matter of those epistles. I'm afraid this waters down the rest of the Bible, however. Think of this as "The Living Bible" translation with a street attitude. Yuck.
Rating: 
Summary: Watered Down Gospel
Review: This "message" cannot be a true translation or even a good paraphrase from the Original Greek as claimed because it leaves out, or distorts, the most basic orthodox doctrines of Christianity. For instance The Message translated John 1:1 as "The Word was first" whereas the KJV says, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God". Please notice that The Message left out a very important point which is that Jesus is God and that God is eternal (which would mean Jesus is eternal also). And then in verse two the message continues with this same theme when it says, "in readiness for God from day one" which the KJV translates as, "He was in the beginning with God." Again The Message neglects to point out that Jesus, who is God, was with God in the beginning, i.e., again he negates the fact that Christ is eternal. Also being "ready"for God is not the same thing as being "with" God from the beginning. This "message" has just destroyed the oneness of God along with several other basic doctrines of Christianity in just these two short verses--two of the most important verses in the whole New Testament. Therefore, I believe this "message" will be very damaging to the body of Christ by leading people to believe things that tickle their ears rather than the truths stated in the Bible. However, people who are having a problem getting into the Word, or bored by it, should find this version very satisfactory because of it's watered down Gospel. Peterson has made God into an image any unbeliever can accept which is an image that will not save. Very sad indeed! I would have rated it with no stars but we aren't allowed that option. Lori Eldridge --Endtime Prophets.
Rating:
Summary: Making poetry into street slang . . .
Review: Why do we have to take poetry and turn it into dribble? Is it understandable? Yes. But it does nothing for me. All the beauty is gone and only cheap words remain. This is a comic book edition of the scripture. Don't waste your time.
Rating: 
Summary: Just a little short of the Glory of God.
Review: I really enjoyed this PARAPHRASE of the Bible. However, I cannot recommend it for an in depth study of the Bible unless it's used as a companion to a solid word by word TRANSLATION, like the NKJ's, or the NASV (others, like the NIV or RSV are also good, because of their ease of use, but are -thought by thought- translations, which try to capture the author's original intent, but are not nessessarily carbon copys of the original greek text). The Message might also be used for one that has trouble getting into the word. One major problem I see is that certain words that are very important to questions of faith are excluded. For example, the word repent, which means to be sorry for everything in one's life that fails to meet up to the glory of God, is simply stated as "change your life". We cannot water down the Bible with cliches or a play on words and expect it to have the same effect. I think that this was a very noble effort that just fell a little short of what it could have been.
Rating: 
Summary: Gets to your heart
Review: I grew up in a fundamentalistChristian home, and -- dare I say this! -- the Bible has often bored me. It was stuffed down my throat as a child, and now as an adult I feel, "Wow, I've read this so many times. Can there actually be something relevant in here for me, now?" Yes, there is, and this book helps me see that clearly. Don't be misled, though -- this isn't a "version" of the Bible, it is one man's paraphrase. Serious, scholarly research couldn't, of course, be done with this book. But how many of us need the scholarly research in our daily lives? Not me, not usually. What I do need is to be reminded that God is alive and real and right here, right now, and "The Message" does that for me. I will point out that this is a very "Americanized" book, and that is unfortunate because it is limited only to an American audience. People in other countries, even those who speak good English, would have difficulty with so many idioms. But putting that aside, this book has helped me feel God's reality in my life once again.
Rating:
Summary: Revolutionary
Review: Wow. I picked this up, started reading Matthew...hard to put down. It is a God-filled, electric-enlivening, Spirit-used (Peterson likes the hyphen-words) book. Very poetic. Very powerful. Get it. Read it. Let God change your life forever.
Rating:
Summary: My eyes were opened
Review: This translation made Jesus come alive to me. His heart shone through on the pages. Peter and Paul also were revealed in a new light. It was like they were speaking to me today. I have highly recommended this book to everyone I know as a must read. I have given away a few copies as well.
Rating:
Summary: If only there were 10 stars!
Review: This book is magnificent. I have never hungered for His Word and understood it like I do when I read this book. It has brought me closer to God and showed me how to live my live. It is absolutely WONDERFUL!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent tool for youth ministry
Review: After first reading The Message, I was so impressed I purchased copies for each student in our youth group many of whom were new Christians. God used The Message to get them started reading the Word of God and encourage them into further study of the Bible. The Message is great if you feel you devotional life is getting stale and needs a jumpstart.
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