Eugene H. Peterson

Eugene H. Peterson
File:Eugene Peterson.jpg Eugene Peterson speaking in Seattle, 2009.
Born	(1932-11-06) November 6, 1932 East Stanwood, Washington
Education	B.A. Seattle Pacific University S.T.B. New York Theological Seminary M.A. Johns Hopkins University
Notable work	The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language

Eugene H. Peterson (born November 6, 1932) is an American-born clergyman, scholar, author, and poet. He has written over thirty books, including Gold Medallion Book Award winner The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Navpress Publishing Group, 2002), a paraphrase of the Bible.

Personal life

Peterson was born in East Stanwood, Washington and grew up in Kalispell, Montana. He earned his B.A. in philosophy from Seattle Pacific University, his S.T.B. from New York Theological Seminary, and his M.A. in Semitic languages from Johns Hopkins University. He also holds several honorary doctoral degrees. In 1962, Peterson was a founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) in Bel Air, Maryland, where he served for 29 years before retiring in 1991. He was Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia until retiring in 2006. He now lives in Montana.

The Message

Peterson is probably best known for The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. The Message has received criticism from some bible scholars. The stated goal of The Message was to make the original meaning more understandable and accessible to the modern reader. Peterson explains:

When Paul of Tarsus wrote a letter, the people who received it understood it instantly, When the prophet Isaiah preached a sermon, I can't imagine that people went to the library to figure it out. That was the basic premise under which I worked. I began with the New Testament in the Greek --- a rough and jagged language, not so grammatically clean. I just typed out a page the way I thought it would have sounded to the Galatians.

Selected works

• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society (1980)
• Run With the Horses: The Quest for Life at its Best (InterVarsity Press, November 1983)
• Traveling Light: Modern Meditations on St. Paul's Letter of Freedom (Helmers & Howard Publishing, 1988)
• Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination (HarperCollins Publishers, 1988)
• Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer (Harper San Francisco, 1991 reprint)
• Where Your Treasure Is: Psalms that Summon You from Self to Community (Wm. B. Eerdman Publishing Company, 1993)
• Like Dew Your Youth: Growing Up with Your Teenager (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1994)
• Subversive Spirituality (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publish Publishing Group, 1994, reprinted in 1997 and 2006)
• Take and Read: Spiritual Reading, An Annotated List (Eerdmans-Regent College Publishing, 1996)
• Leap Over a Wall: Earthy Spirituality for Everyday Christians (HarperCollins Canada / Religious, 1997)
• 1 and 2 Samuel - Westminster Bible Companion (Westminster John Knox Press, 1999)
• The Wisdom of Each Other: A Conversation Between Spiritual Friends (Zondervan, 2001)
• The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Navpress Publishing Group, 2002)
• The Christmas Troll (Navpress Publishing Group, 2005)
• Living the Resurrection: The Risen Christ in an Everyday Life (Navpress Publishing Group, 2006)
• The Pastor: A Memoir (HarperOne, 2011)

Pastoral Theology series

• Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1980)
• The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1980)
• Working The Angles: The Shape Of Pastoral Integrity (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, May 1987)
• Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1992)
• The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call (co-authored with Marva Dawn) (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000)

Praying with the Bible Series

• Praying with Jesus: A Year of Daily Prayer and Reflection on the Words and Actions of Jesus (Harper San Francisco, 1993) ISBN 0-06-066566-1 ISBN 978-0060665661
• Praying with the Psalms: A Year of Daily Prayer and Reflection on the Words of David (Harper San Francisco, 1993) ISBN 0-06-066567-X ISBN 978-0060665678
• Praying with Moses: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words and Actions of Moses (Harper San Francisco, 1994) ISBN 0-06-066518-1 ISBN 978-0060665180
• Praying with the Early Christians: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words of the Early Christians (Harper San Francisco, 1994) ISBN 0-06-066517-3 ISBN 978-0060665173
• Praying with Paul: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words and Actions of Paul (Harper San Francisco, 1995) ISBN 0-06-066433-9 ISBN 978-0060664336
• Praying with the Prophets: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words and Actions of the Prophets (Harper San Francisco, 1995) ISBN 0-06-066431-2 ISBN 978-0060664312

Spiritual Theology series

• Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Group, 2005)
• Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, January 2006)
• The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Group, 2007)
• Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Group, 2008)
• Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Group, 2010)

External links

• Eugene Peterson Books and Audio
• A Conversation with Eugene Peterson by Michael J. Cusick, Mars Hill Review, 1995
• Spirituality For All The Wrong Reasons by Mark Galli, Christianity Today, 2005
• Eugene Peterson: The Story Behind The Message by Clint Kelly, Lifeway
• Eugene Peterson @ Calvin College - January 24, 2006, Peterson reads the introduction and first chapter of Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading
• U2 Connections: Eugene Peterson by Angela Pancella, @U2
• The Psalms in America - an interview with Eugene Peterson, with samples of his interpretations of the psalms.
• Bono & Eugene Peterson | The Psalms - an interview with Bono and Peterson about the role of the Psalms in their lives, music, etc.