Eugene H. Peterson


Eugene Hoiland Peterson 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, an idiomatic paraphrasing translation of the Bible into modern American English using a dynamic equivalence translation approach.

Personal life

Peterson was born on November 6, 1932, in East 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. He also held several honorary doctoral degrees. In 1962, Peterson was a founding pastor of Christ Our King Presbyterian Church 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.

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, 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:

Death

Peterson was hospitalized on October 8, 2018, after his health took an abrupt and dramatic turn. " 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 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" 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 and dementia.

''The Message''

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

Selected works

Pastoral theology series
Praying with the Bible series
Spiritual theology series