I think myself much too cool for fads, so even though I heard that a number of people were reading and quoting Eugene Peterson's translation of the Bible, The Message, it's taken me over ten years to finally read a portion myself. I read The Gospel of John over a couple of lunches. The story, of course, is fabulous. I love reading about Jesus and John's Gospel contains a number of the best anecdotes from His life. About the translation, however, I have mixed feelings. I've always found it nice to hear scripture in a different "voice" than what I'm used to. Rev. Peterson certainly delivers there. Where he left me cold was in his translation of the more poetic sections, like the first chapter. His words didn't stir my heart like the older, more literal translations do. Whether that shows the superiority of those translations, or just reveals me as an old fogey, I don't know. Either way, I would recommend folks to check it out if they get a chance.
--J. ( )

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