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Christianity Today, December, 2007 |

It's a Wonder-Full Life

It takes a special kind of birth to grab the world's attention.

Eugene Peterson | posted 12/21/2007 10:11AM

Birth: wonder … astonishment … adoration. There can't be very many of us for whom the sheer fact of existence hasn't rocked us back on our heels. We take off our sandals before the burning bush. ...

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t	Posted: December 30, 2007 5:21 PM

the hypocrit who named himself "the prophet" who supports eugene peterson is no prophet but is an astrologer: A stargazer who is starstruck by the shining-bright peterson. Moosekatt needs a lesson in English, Creative Writing and spirituality, because if he thinks peterson can lump the natural wonder we have for creatures next to Moses' experience of God and then expect us to treat the two as equally profound, then he is a little strange. Peterson is sincere but sincerely wrong when he tries to spiritualize the trivial and treat as trivial the deeply spiritual. Peterson in his attempt at winning audiences has put on a mask that attracts people's attention but he feeds them nothing but Greek tragedy or belly laughs for food. He has no depth. That lack of depth is shown how he writes trivia as if it is marvelous and then treats marvelous things like Moses and his burning bush experience as if Moses was seeing a hawk fly by.No sir, you do not understand the importance of writing for depth

Moosekatt

Posted: December 28, 2007 4:26 PM


Mr. Peterson is no fool. And when he says things like, "We take off our sandals before the burning bush." He is speaking illustratively. I doubt very seriously he means such things in a strict literal sense. Maybe we need some basic English and Creative Writing classes in our Sunday school rooms nowadays...

a prophet

Posted: December 27, 2007 10:01 AM


boy o boy i am so glad i am not drinking from the poison that those critics of Eugene Petterson are drinking from. Please examine yourself now the flesh is running rampant, how can anyone live with you?

Jim	Posted: December 26, 2007 12:22 PM


The article is outstanding and uplifting and inspiring. One only wishes more people would enjoy the great book "The Message." Great reading! Keep up the good work Eugene!

David Proffitt

Posted: December 25, 2007 6:45 PM


Eugene Peterson; Eugene Peterson is a special person and writer. God has used him profoundly. I love The Message!! This is a very good article. Shame on the hateful people who have written this way against him. You do not know him as you pretend.

CLS	Posted: December 24, 2007 4:38 AM

Certainly part of the wonder of this birth of the God-Man into the neighborhood (Peterson's marvelous phrase from the prologue of John's Gospel in THE MESSAGE) is the fact that this was no ordinary human birth (as wonder-full as that is). Matthew and Luke record that this was a miraculous virgin conception (Matt. 1:18' Luke 1:24). I read the article and wondered at the omission. I suppose the idea of the virgin conception is rather scandalous to the enlightened modern reader--as is the substitutionary death of this Savior.

Anonymous

Posted: December 22, 2007 11:23 AM

Peterson writes one thought "We take off our sandals before the burning bush. We catch our breath at the sight of a plummeting hawk." Since when has Peterson or anyone else stood directly before God like Moses did to receive such an awesome mission from the very mouth of God? Peterson and his seeker friendly supporters are lying! We do not everyday stand before God as if we are merely looking at a bird swooping. Peterson's writing is the soft-porn of spirituality which tries to lie to people that they are meeting the very God who formed them just because they have warm-fuzzy feelings at Christmas. To meet God is a terrible and profound thing and you would most certainly take off your shoes and take off a few other horrible attitudes too. The voice of Jesus and the voice of the Father are powerful and deep and if you receive word from God you do not think it as an "everyday" wonder. Peterson and seeker friendly people need to wake up and be awestruck so that their hearts melt to wax.

t	Posted: December 22, 2007 6:07 AM

Peterson is a cash-cow and a holy cow and needs a wake-up call. When it comes to telling-him-off, the word of the Lord judges and, then, no man can stand. The Word of the Lord says "Peterson is a pop-star" and he is not a theologian and now has written a standard christmas platitude to keep his name in lights. His message to us is not to be trusted. Let Peterson stand down and support Jesus. Let him stand down as a pop-star: Then his word can be tested and found to be trustworthy.

J.A. Sclater

Posted: December 21, 2007 6:38 PM

I'm not sure what the previous writer (who gave the article one star) was on about, but it seems he or she had just been waiting to drop the verbal bomb on Peterson or whoever was first to tick him/her off with their evident lack of "depth." Peterson made it clear that people who are not into Christian belief substitute aesthetics, etc. for the truth - nowhere did he imply, as the above writer said, that this was real spirituality. I appreciated Peterson's emphasis on the Incarnation, the great miracle on which all other great miracles on our planet rest. It really was God who came among us and lived life under the same conditions we do - for our sake.

t	Posted: December 21, 2007 4:46 PM

Peterson, star of many, produces the porn version of spirituality and cheapens genuine holiness; speeding over a rare and sacred part of each of us deep in our inner sanctuary. Peterson turns the spiritual into the mundane and then the everyday he spiritualizes with gusto; he implies almost that we really experience God every time we enjoy a sunset or a cocktail on the beach. Every time we merely think of the flesh of Immanuel Peterson implies that we enter the "heights" of our religion. This takes away the depth which we have to treasure God's presence and the true bitterness of the cross each of us must take up. It turns religion into childs-play rather than the sincere work of having innocent hearts which proves God's grace and provision in us. Peterson messes up with the notion of innocence by ignoring the way in which we are cleaned by God in our spiritual infancy (Ezek16: 1-7) and made ready for life by God. Depth of appreciation is cast aside by spin, which traps us into a lie.

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