Eugene H. Peterson

Eugene H. Peterson
Peterson speaking in Seattle, 2009
Born	Eugene Hoiland Peterson (1932-11-06)November 6, 1932 Stanwood, Washington, US
Died	October 22, 2018(2018-10-22) (aged 85) Lakeside, Montana, US
Spouse(s)	Jan Peterson
Ecclesiastical career
Religion	Christianity (Presbyterian)
Church	Presbyterian Church (USA)
Academic background
Alma mater	Seattle Pacific University New York Theological Seminary Johns Hopkins University
Influences	W. H. Auden Karl Barth[1] Georges Bernanos Charles Dickens Fyodor Dostoevsky George Eliot William Faulkner John of the Cross Marilynne Robinson Teresa of Ávila
Academic work
Discipline	Theology
Institutions	Regent College
Notable works	The Message (1993–2002)

Eugene Hoiland Peterson (November 6, 1932 – October 22, 2018) was an American Presbyterian minister, scholar, theologian, author, and poet. He wrote over 30 books, including the Gold Medallion Book Award–winner The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (Navpress Publishing Group, 2002),^[2] an idiomatic paraphrasing commentary and translation of the Bible into modern American English using a dynamic equivalence translation approach.^[3]

Personal life[]

Peterson was born on November 6, 1932, in Stanwood, Washington, and grew up in Kalispell, Montana. He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy from Seattle Pacific University, his Bachelor of Sacred Theology degree from New York Theological Seminary, and his Master of Arts degree in Semitic languages from Johns Hopkins University.^[4] He also held several honorary doctoral degrees.^[5] 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 the James M. Houston Professor of Spiritual Theology at Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, from 1992 to 1998.^[6][7]

Controversy[]

A controversy was created when Peterson was reported to have expressed support for religious same-sex marriage, which had been endorsed by his denomination, the Presbyterian Church (USA), in an interview published in Religion News Service on 12 July 2017. He denied saying this the following day and further clarified his position by stating:

Recently a reporter asked me whether my personal opinions about homosexuality and same-sex marriage have changed over the years. I presume I was asked this question because of my former career as a pastor in the Presbyterian Church (USA), which recently affirmed homosexuality and began allowing its clergy to perform same-sex weddings. Having retired from the pastorate more than 25 years ago, I acknowledged to the reporter that I "haven't had a lot of experience with it." To clarify, I affirm a biblical view of marriage: one man to one woman. I affirm a biblical view of everything.^[8]

Death[]

Peterson was hospitalized on October 8, 2018, after his health took an abrupt and dramatic turn. "[It] was caused by infection", said his son Eric Peterson in an email. Peterson had retired from public life in 2017 after publishing his final book, As Kingfishers Catch Fire. This was around the same time as the same-sex controversy around him surfaced. In the days leading up to Peterson's death, his family is quoted as saying, "During [his final] days, it was apparent that he was navigating the thin and sacred space between earth and heaven. We overheard him speaking to people we can only presume were welcoming him into paradise. There may have even been a time or two when he accessed his Pentecostal roots and spoke in tongues as well." Peterson remained "joyful and smiling"^{[citation needed]} in his final days.

Peterson died on October 22, 2018, at the age of 85, a week after entering hospice care for complications related to congestive heart failure.^[9]

The Message[]

Peterson is probably best known for The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language.^[4] The stated goal of The Message was to make the original meaning more understandable and accessible to the modern reader. Peterson said:

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.^[10]

Books[]

• Growing Up in Christ: A Guide for Families with Adolescents (John Knox, 1976); then as Growing Up with Your Teenager (F. H. Revell, 1987); and then, with an additional chapter, as Like Dew Your Youth: Growing Up with Your Teenager (Eerdmans, 1994)
• A Year with the Psalms: 365 Meditations and Prayers (Word Books, 1979); revised as Praying with the Psalms: A Year of Daily Prayers and Reflections on the Words of David (HarperCollins, 1994)
• Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work (John Knox, 1980); then by (Eerdmans, 1992)
• A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society (InterVarsity, 1980)
• Traveling Light: Reflections on the Free Life (InterVarsity, 1982); then as Traveling Light: Modern Meditations on St. Paul's Letter of Freedom (Helmers & Howard Publishing, 1988)
• Run with the Horses: The Quest for Life at Its Best (InterVarsity, 1983)
• Earth and Altar: The Community of Prayer in a Self-Bound Society (Paulist Press/ InterVarsity, 1985); then as Where Your Treasure Is: Psalms that Summon You from Self to Community (Eerdmans, 1993)
• Forces Concealed in Quiet: Meditations from the Writings of John the Apostle [Gospel of John, 1-3 John, and Revelation] (Thomas Nelson, 1985)
• Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity (Eerdmans, 1987)
• Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John and the Praying Imagination (Harper & Row, 1988)
• Answering God: The Psalms as Tools for Prayer (Harper & Row, 1989)
• The Contemplative Pastor: Returning to the Art of Spiritual Direction. The Leadership Library, vol. 17 (Christianity Today/Word, 1989); then (Eerdmans, 1993)
• Under the Unpredictable Plant: An Exploration in Vocational Holiness (Eerdmans, 1992)
• Subversive Spirituality (Eerdmans, 1994); then eds. Jim Lyster, John Sharon, Peter Santucci (Eerdmans/Regent College, 1997)
• Take and Read: Spiritual Reading, An Annotated List (Eerdmans, 1996); then published jointly (Eerdmans/Regent College, 2000)
• Living the Message: Daily Reflections with Eugene H. Peterson, ed. Janice Stubbs Peterson (HarperSanFrancisco, 1996)
• Leap Over a Wall: Earthy Spirituality for Everyday Christians (HarperCollins, 1997)
• The Wisdom of Each Other: A Conversation between Spiritual Friends (Zondervan, 1998)
• First and Second Samuel. Westminster Bible Companion, eds. Patrick D. Miller and David L. Bartlett (Westminster John Knox, 1999)
• The Unnecessary Pastor: Rediscovering the Call. Co-authored by Marva J. Dawn, ed. Peter Santucci (Eerdmans/ Regent College, 2000)
• The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language (NavPress, 2002)
• The Christmas Troll (NavPress, 2004).
• Christ Plays in Ten Thousand Places: A Conversation in Spiritual Theology (Eerdmans, 2005)
• Eat This Book: A Conversation in the Art of Spiritual Reading (Eerdmans, 2006)
• Living the Resurrection: The Risen Christ in an Everyday Life (NavPress, 2006)
• The Jesus Way: A Conversation on the Ways That Jesus Is the Way (Eerdmans, 2007)
• Conversations: The Message with its Translator (NavPress, 2007); as The Message Study Bible: Capturing the Notes and Reflections of Eugene H. Peterson (NavPress, 2012)
• Tell It Slant: A Conversation on the Language of Jesus in His Stories and Prayers (Eerdmans, 2008)
• Practice Resurrection: A Conversation on Growing Up in Christ (Eerdmans, 2010)
• The Pastor: A Memoir (HarperOne, 2011)
• Holy Luck (Eerdmans, 2013)
• As Kingfishers Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God (WaterBrook, 2017)
• Every Step an Arrival: A 90-Day Devotional for Exploring God's Word (WaterBrook, 2018)
• Letters to a Young Pastor. With Eric Peterson (NavPress, 2020)
• This Hallelujah Banquet: How the End of What We Were Reveals Who We Can Be (WaterBrook, 2021)

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

References[]

External links[]

Wikiquote has quotations related to: Eugene H. Peterson

• Eugene Peterson Books and Audio
• Interview with Eugene Peterson by Krista Tippett, On Being podcast with transcript, August 2018
• 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.
• Emily McFarlan Miller (October 22, 2018). "Eugene Peterson, author of 'The Message' and pastor to other pastors, dies". Retrieved October 1, 2019.</ref>