Eugene H. Peterson

Eugene H. Peterson
Eugene Peterson speaking in Seattle, 2009.
Born	(1932-11-06) November 6, 1932 (age 84) 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.

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.

Peterson is probably best known for The Message: The Bible in Contemporary Language. Although The Message has received criticism from some bible scholars, many people read Peterson's paraphrased Bible because they find it accessible. The stated goal of The Message was to make the original meaning more understandable and accessible to the modern reader. Peterson explains:

Pastoral Theology series

Praying with the Bible Series

Spiritual Theology series