Topic(s): Bible Infallibility

Todd Clippard

I do not own a copy of The Message, but I would never recommend anyone using a paraphrase as their main translation. A paraphrase is fraught with dangers, as it is nothing more than what one man or a few men think the Bible says. For example, in The Living New Testament Paraphrased, Romans 6:3-4 reads as follows:

"For sin's power over us was broken when we became Christians and were baptized to become a part of Jesus Christ: through His death the power of your sinful nature was shattered. Your old sin-loving nature was buried with him by baptism when he died, and when God the Father with glorious power, brought him back to life again, you were given his wonderful new life to enjoy."

Note how in the paraphrase one becomes a Christian and then is baptized. The Bible says we become a Christian (meaning one who belongs to Christ) when (not before) we are baptized (Galations 3:26-29).

Note also how all things happen when Jesus died and not when we obey. Finally, note the repeated reference to a "sinful" or "sin-loving nature." All of these concepts are patently anti-scriptural, but found their way into "the Bible" because of the theological and denominational bias of the writers.

Now, compare that to what the KJV, NKJV, or NASB say in these two verses:

"Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." KJV

"Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." NKJV

"Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4 Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life." NASB

The differences between the three translations is negligible, but the difference between the translations and the paraphrase is monumental.

I found a review of The Message online at http://www.bibletexts.com/reviews/bibles/msg.htm. This less-than-stellar review comes from a denominational reviewer, and I have pasted a portion of it below:

"The Message is not really a Bible translation. It is more of a Bible interpretation. What Peterson (the author of The Message - JTC) does is to consult the ancient text, then he retells the message of the Bible, verse by verse, in everyday, colloquial English, according to his own understanding of each verse's message. He does a pretty good job of it, except when his theological leanings get in the way of revealing the text's real meaning.
 
The Message does not fit into the category of a word-for-word translation such as the New Revised Standard Version, the New American Bible, or the New American Standard Bible, nor does it fit into the category of a phrase-by-phrase translation as the Good News Bible (Today's English Version) or the Revised English Bible. All of the above were done by teams of people that followed rigorous translation methodologies to ensure accuracy. Some of the Message's interpretation is very appealing, but it is not translation and much of the wording is not justified by the Greek text behind the verse. For example in John 1:1-13, there is so much that is mere interpretation, with no direct correspondence to the underlying Greek text, even though some of the interpretation is very insightful. Also Peterson's interpretation 1 John 5:20 represents the way he theologically understands the message, but his interpretation greatly differs from the way many other translators and commentators understand that verse."

I highly recommend you stick with a major translation of the scriptures, such as one of the three I mentioned and cited above.