Rating: 
Summary: This book is awesome!
Review: I had heard passages from this book at a Rebecca St. James concert. I finally got a copy for myself yesterday and I can't put it down. This book speaks to me in a language I can definitely understand.
Rating: 
Summary: Easy to read, but hard to understand
Review: Sure, the language is contemporary and nuanced. Yes, Peterson writes in a style fairly close to typical American speech patterns. But over and over as I read through The Message, I kept thinking how difficult it was to understand points that should be obvious. Read Romans 4, and compare the traditional "Abraham believed, and it was credited to him as righteousness" with the unclear string of phrases Peterson used that obfuscate the basic idea. Why all the verbiage? I'm voting for the NRSV.
Rating:
Summary: Not pious but lifechanging
Review: The best Bible translation is the one YOU will read. The Message is readable, accurate and life changing. Sometimes we "snoot" at a freer translation and want a more "accurate" version. The Message is certainly not "snooty", it is certainly accurate and makes God's message understandable. I think even die hard KJVers would find much in this translation, even if they have to read it at night, with a flashlight under a blanket. I have emersed myself in the scriptures for most of my adult life. NO translation has spoken to me and urged me on to follow the Lord as has this one. Praise God that He gave such a gift of translation for this time.
Rating:
Summary: Eveyone should read this!
Review: I so badly wanted to learn about the Lord but had a hard time reading the King James Version and the NIV. A friend gave me this bible on loan to see how I liked it, and I tell you I found it so easy to understand, now I have a very hard time putting it down. I can finally learn about God the way I need to.Thank - you Eugene!
Rating:
Summary: God's Word, and I am awed! (this from a skeptic!)
Review: I was skeptical when I was given a copy of this book to read, that I would be terribly disappointed in the way the Word of God was re-translated into "today's language." The result of reading this book was just the opposite, I have not yet been able to put this book down! It takes some getting used to: Only the chapters are titled and highlighted with numerals, the individual verses are not numbered. Also the language is indeed different than a traditional Bible, no Thee's and Thou's, but it was much easier to understand and apply to my life. Overall, I am *very* pleased with this book. I will be purchasing copies for aquaintences, friends and family.
Rating:
Summary: Fresh, insightful, invigorating
Review: The Message is energizing in its "in your face" presentation of Scripture. The language is so straight-forward that it sometimes makes me laugh and appreciate anew the timelessness of God's Word. He is eternally current!
Rating: 
Summary: A great companion to read along with your Bible...
Review: I have found that having The Message along side my Bible helps me to really understand what the Bible is saying. Peterson's translation into contemporary English helps one fully understand the intended meaning of any passage in the Bible.
Rating:
Summary: This is the best paraphrase Bible there is!
Review: Eugene Peterson has really accomplished something in The Message. This is not only true to the language, but also puts it in terms people today can relate to. The Message is more than just a Bible. It brings it to life in a way you'll never forget.
Rating: 
Summary: A Different Gospel
Review: I was deeply grieved by a youth pastor below who used The Message as his primary translation. He would do well to read what a real Bible translation has to say about "tying millstones around the necks" of youth and the warning for not many to aspire to teach, for they will receive a stricter judgment. I was also nauseated by people who wrote that they were bored with the same "tired old verses". God's Word, tired and boring?? No way. It's the deceptive, selfish human heart in our material, entertainment age that demands entertainment at the cost of real human souls. Dumbing down and watering down the Word of God to appeal to people who have the capacity for intelligence but are too lazy to apply their intelligence to study and comprehension? If your teens are having a hard time understanding the Bible, parents and pastors, try spending some time with them and explaining it. Or encourage them to apply themselves in school. Galatians 1:8
But even if we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached to you, let him be accursed. I hope that Eugene Peterson does not find himself gnashing his teeth on judgment day as Jesus pronounces "I never knew you. Depart from me you worker of iniquity." I pity those teachers who follow in the footsteps of Mr. Peterson, who had added and subtracted from the Word of the Almighty God. The Message is filled to the brim with New Age references, a politically correct agenda and an obscuring of the message which is necessary for salvation. If a person is not familiar with New Age terminology, as many Christians are not, then they are ripe for the picking. Jesus is referred to as "the Master". The Master is a new age expression. New Agers believe that many "enlightened masters" have come to planet earth- Buddah, Krishna, Mohamed and Jesus being a few. Christians know that Jesus isn't merely an enlightened master, He is Lord and the only way to salvation. The Bible says that people who are not saved can not say that Jesus is Lord. Neither does the Message say it. What does that tell you? Here is a comparison of the NKJV version and The Message. If you want to compare the Message against any other version or verse, you can go to biblegateway.com and reference any version you like. Romans 10:9-10 (NKJV)
9that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (How is the NKJV too complicated for anyone who comprehends English to understand? But look at how the Message adds many words and yet complicates and obscures the message, not simplifying as was it's stated purpose.) Romans 10:9-10 (The Message)
9Say the welcoming word to God--"Jesus is my Master"--embracing, body and soul, God's work of doing in us what he did in raising Jesus from the dead. That's it. You're not "doing" anything; you're simply calling out to God, trusting him to do it for you. That's salvation. 10With your whole being you embrace God setting things right, and then you say it, right out loud: "God has set everything right between him and me!" Why does Mr. Peterson feel it necessary to change the "Jesus is Lord" to "Jesus is my Master"? It doesn't clarify anything. 2x he tells the person to make a confession other than what the real Bible says. This example is not even the worst of his mistranslations, additions, insertions of personal opinions not marked as thus, subtractions and twistings of scripture. The Bible says that Sexual immorality, adultery and homosexuality are sins, but The Message removes these references in favor of "sex without commitment and intimacy". Or sex without love. In other words, a non-discerning person (and believe me, if they think this is an honest translation they are sorely lacking in discernmenet) will be led to believe that sex is OK as long as they feel love, commitment and intimacy; whatever that means to them. This "bible", if it can even be called such, is preparing the church for the great apostacy when so called Christians will abandon real salvation for the one world religion. I was downright shocked when I read this book and then angered that so many are willingly swallowing the lie. Don't become one of the fooled, it's not only your soul at stake but also your family and friends, whom are in your realm of influence.
Rating:
Summary: A true Bible?
Review: Personally I think the argument over the legitimacy of "The Message" is somewhat ridiculous. Having had the great opportunity to receive formal training at a Christian college I study texts in the original language, but I would never preach or teach from a Greek edition. Why? Because few, if any, would understand it! Perhaps the reason so many of the church attending public are biblically illiterate is because of the over-emphasis on word for word translations. These translations are good for studying, but honestly are not easy reading. Though the biblical authors were inspired, their language was not. Language is simply a tool used to communicate ideas; the goal of Peterson's translation is to "convert the tone, the rythym, the events, the IDEAS, into the way we actually think and speak" (Introduction, emphasis added.) Not everything in the Bible can be easily understood, and until the end of this present world there will be those God has gifted with the building up of the church who are able to offer additional assistance - but this easy to read paraphrase is certainly a good avenue for the layperson to become familiar with the Bible's content.
| 
